Influence

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Education is big business. These are stories about the politicians, businesses, lobbyists and other leaders seeking to impact education decisions.

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May 21, 2013

Board Of Education Wants More Focus On Common Core

The Florida Board of Education is meeting today in Jacksonville. The panel heard an update from Education Commissioner Tony Bennett on three strategic initiatives being carried out over the next year. The initiatives are part of a reorganization at the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) that involves analyzing every position. A lot of job descriptions [...]

May 15, 2013

FAU President Resigns: “Controversies Have Been Significant”

Florida Atlantic University’s president says bad publicity splashed across national headlines was too much. Mary Jane Saunders has resigned. Next month would have been Saunders’ three-year anniversary as president. While the university is showcasing her string of accomplishments, there was no way to get around a spate of missteps in recent months. “There is no [...]

May 14, 2013

Florida Republican Party Ads Praise Gov. Scott’s Education Record

The Republican Party of Florida has released two new Web videos to defend Gov. Rick Scott’s record on education. The first is a compilation of news stories about Scott’s statewide tour celebrating his successful push to include teacher raises for the budget year beginning July 1. Scott asked lawmakers for $480 million in additional salary [...]

May 13, 2013

Crist: “Teachers Are Smart And Cannot Be Bought”

Republicans turned against former Gov. Charlie Crist shortly after he greeted President Obama in 2009 and accepted federal stimulus money. Crist is now a Democrat and contemplating a run for governor.

Charlie Crist isn’t officially a Democratic candidate for governor — yet. But the former Republican governor spoke to Hillsborough County Democrats Saturday night. He addressed two issues during his brief speech: The hug — his 2009 embrace of President Barack Obama in Fort Myers — and education. Crist made it clear both K-12 and higher [...]

Education And The 2013 Florida Legislative Session

Now that the Florida Legislature has wrapped up its regular session, pundits are weighing in on how education fared. Lawmakers added a billion dollars back into the education budget, which totals about $20 billion. But compromises were made. Some of the big issues were addressed Friday during the Florida Roundup on WLRN 91.3FM in Miami. [...]

May 12, 2013

Internal Recording Reveals K12 Inc. Struggled to Comply With Florida Law

K12 is the nation's largest online education company and served Florida students in 43 school districts.

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. Last month, a draft report by [...]

May 7, 2013

Bennett Isn’t Backing Down To His Critics

Education Commissioner Tony Bennett is a lightning rod for criticism — and he knows it. He had his share of critics in Indiana, where he lost his reelection as state superintendent last November. “We couldn’t overcome the rhetoric of the teachers unions and the undercurrent that they generated,” Bennett told The Huffington Post a day after [...]

May 3, 2013

How Parent Trigger Opponents Claimed #ParentEmpowerment As Their Own

This week the controversial parent trigger bill died in the Florida Senate on a tie vote — for the second year in a row. Supporters quickly announced they wouldn’t give up on the bill, but their attempts to fire up an online campaign didn’t quite work out the way they planned.

May 2, 2013

Tweet That: Bush’s Foundation Not Giving Up On Parent Trigger Bill

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 [...]

May 1, 2013

Who Supports, Opposes The Common Core?

Common Core opponents rallied in January at the Indiana statehouse.

Earlier this week we told you why opponents of new education standards fully adopted by 45 states have found less traction in Florida than in Indiana, Alabama and other states. The standards, known as Common Core State Standards, will allow Florida to compare students performance to other Common Core states and students around the globe. [...]

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