Education

Gov. Rick Scott has signed a budget that’s very different than the one he’s been paying for since he authorized massive education cuts two years ago.

Back then, pundits speculated Scott may have sealed his fate as a one term governor when he proposed a few billion dollars worth of cuts to education. Scott, for his part, seemed surprised by the widespread backlash.

The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting and StateImpact Florida have obtained internal emails and a recording of a company meeting that provide new insight into allegations that K12 Inc., the nation’s largest online education company, uses teachers in Florida who do not have all of the required state certifications.

The Foundation for Florida’s Future isn’t giving up on the parent trigger bill. They’re asking people to announce their support on Twitter and other social media with ready-made post to cut and paste.

The bill — officially titled Parent Empowerment in Education — would give parents more power in choosing how to change a chronically failing school.

Teachers might not have to wait another year for a raise after all.

Leaders in the Florida Legislature are working on a fix to the education budget that provides $480 million in raises for teachers and other school personnel.

But according to the budget, that money won’t be in paychecks until June 2014.

Lawmakers say a technical fix should get teachers their raises before next year.

Florida is working toward full implementation of Common Core State Standards by the 2014-15 school year.

The standards set benchmarks for each grade level. And instead of learning a little bit about a lot of things, students will be expected to absorb a lot of information about fewer subjects.

Education Commissioner Tony Bennett says Florida’s transition to Common Core is on schedule.

The Florida Education Association and National Education Association filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s teacher evaluation system.

The system was created under a law passed in 2011 known as Senate Bill 736.

Will Florida need a ‘Plan B’ test for new standards set to hit state schools in 2014? And if not, will school have the computers and bandwidth necessary for the online tests?

That’s just one item on tomorrow’s State Board of Education agenda.

As the spring semester winds down around the country, one teacher, Gerald Conti, is not going quietly.

Conti is retiring from Westhill High School in Syracuse, NY at the end of this school year and his resignation letter has become a manifesto for critics of the Common Core.

The State Board of Education will get an update next week on Florida’s next education standards, the Common Core State Standards.

The meeting will include information about the technology needed to implement the new assessments that are scheduled to begin in early 2015.

Education Commissioner Tony Bennett says he will have more information next week about plans for implementing new education standards known as Common Core.

The State Board of Education is meeting next week.

“We have rolled out a very aggressive implementation plan,” Bennett said. “We know that we have to be fully implemented and prepared to teach and assess these standards in 2014-15.”

Florida and 45 other states are transitioning to Common Core.

Patricia Levesque runs two foundations created by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — the Foundation for Florida’s Future and the Foundation for Excellence in Education.

A loose-knit network of education activists generally opposed to the direction Florida has been taking its schools recently is attempting to organize into a more potent political force.

The groups include parents, people who want more state funding for schools, and others who are fed up with the brand of testing-based school accountability that Florida has become famous for. Under the umbrella of the Alliance for Public Schools, they are hoping to bolster their fundraising capacity and step up their efforts to influence legislation at the statehouse.

More than half of Florida’s Hispanic and black students at state universities currently eligible for the state’s Bright Futures college scholarship would no longer qualify when new standards take effect on July 1, according to a University of South Florida analysis obtained by the Florida College Access Network.

By comparison, about 40 percent of white and Asian students at state universities would no longer be eligible for the scholarship.

The Florida House has released its proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Speaker Will Weatherford says education was prioritized over everything else.

“The big winner is education,” Weatherford said. “We invested over a billion dollars into our K-12 education system from last year.”

He said that amounts to a 6.2 percent increase in overall education funding.

Weatherford said they created “a silo of funds” to be funneled down to the districts, including up to $676 million available for teacher pay.

A business advocacy group is running television ads that say Florida might have to cut education funding if the state expands Medicaid health coverage.

The National Federation of Independent Business has also set up a website — FloridaCanDoBetter.com.

Supporters of the parent trigger bill held a briefing with reporters today near the Capitol.

The briefing was hosted by Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future. The foundation was created by former Gov. Jeb Bush.

Florida’s Senate President says the state’s teacher evaluation system is confusing and should be reworked so teacher ratings more closely match those of the schools they work in.

Third grade students will spend at least eight hours a year taking Florida’s next standardized test, with high school juniors will spend nearly 10 hours to complete the new online standardized test.

March 1 is the deadline for Congress to strike a budget deal or a series of automatic spending cuts totaling $1.2 trillion over a decade takes effect.

Florida lawmakers are considering a bill which would change the way the state calculates class size limits required by the state constitution.

Lawmakers may allow district schools to use the more flexible rules granted to charter schools.

Supporters say the charter school bill that has a good chance of passing Florida’s Republican controlled Legislature this year will better regulate charters and expand choices for parents.

One thing the bill won’t do is require the same evaluations for charter school teachers as traditional public school teachers.

The parent trigger bill is back, and House Speaker Will Weatherford thinks it has a good chance of passing this year.

He even tweeted about it shortly after the bill was filed.

“It’s great public policy. It empowers families. It empowers parents, gives them the choices that they need,” Weatherford told StateImpact Florida. “It engages them in the education of their children.”