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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April 30, 2013

Changes To Parent Trigger Not Enough, Bill Fails In Florida Senate

Update: It’s deja vu in the Florida Senate, where the parent trigger bill has gone down to defeat for the second year in a row on a 20-20 tie vote. The bill was expected to pass this year thanks to a new makeup in the Senate and some amendments that watered down the original version. [...]

April 29, 2013

Common Core Opponents Having Little Success In Florida — So Far

Tampa resident Tim Curtis says he is concerned about the federal government is encouraging states to adopt Common Core State Standards. Curtis would like the state a timeout to study the standards further.

Tim Curtis says the federal government doesn’t have a record of getting things done. It’s why the Tampa resident is concerned the federal Department of Education offered grants to states adopting new math and English standards known as Common Core. Earlier this month, 150 members of the Tampa 9/12 Project – a group which shares [...]

With Senate Vote Near, Who Supports The Parent Trigger?

Questions have been raised about petition signatures submitted by StudentsFirst. The group was founded by former D.C. school chancellor Michelle Rhee and supports parent trigger laws around the country.

The session’s most controversial education bill — the parent trigger — hits the Senate floor today. The bill would allow the majority of parents at a school earning a failing grade to choose how to restructure the school. The options include closing the school, firing the principal or staff and converting to a charter school. [...]

April 25, 2013

Central Florida Mom Explains Her Opposition To Common Core

Patricia Sullivan takes a question during a rally against Common Core at the Capitol. Protesters were asked to lobby legislators about slowing down implementation of the new standards.

A mom of four from Mount Dora is doing her best to convince Florida lawmakers to slow down the Common Core train. Florida is scheduled to complete the transition to the new academic standards in time for the 2014-15 school year. Patricia Sullivan home schools her kids and is concerned about the changes home school [...]

April 24, 2013

Bennett: PARCC Is Not The Only Exam Florida Will Consider

Education Commissioner Tony Bennett said Florida could choose another test tied to Common Core standards -- despite managing the money for the group designing PARCC.

Update: The headline of this post has been changed for clarity. Despite Florida handling the money for one of two new exams tied to new education standards, Education Commissioner Tony Bennett said the state is not committed to adopting the test. Florida is one of 21 states and the District of Columbia which has joined [...]

Common Core Protesters Take Their Fight To The Florida Capitol

Dozens of protesters fanned out at the Capitol yesterday, trying to convince lawmakers to put the brakes on Common Core State Standards. A coalition of groups working under the moniker Floridians Against Common Core Education is organizing rallies opposing the new teaching standards that are being phased in nationwide. Florida is on schedule to complete [...]

April 23, 2013

State Review Finds K12 Teacher Certification Problems

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

An inquiry by the Florida Department of Education’s Inspector General found that online educator K12 Inc. employed three teachers in Florida who lacked proper certification to teach some subjects, according to a draft report. Virginia-based K12 is the nation’s largest operator of online schools. K12 operates in 43 Florida school districts, including in Miami-Dade, Broward, [...]

Read The Florida Department of Education Investigator’s Report On K12, Inc.

A series of emails led Seminole County school officials to question K12's teachers.

Below is the draft report from the Florida Department of Education inspector general. The agency was asked to investigate whether K12, Inc. was using properly certified teachers in Seminole County. The report finds no evidence that the company used teachers lacking Florida certification. But the report found the company did use three teachers who were [...]

Read K12, Inc. and Seminole County Schools’ Response To State Investigation

Attorneys for K12, Inc. and Seminole County schools have responded to a preliminary report by a Florida Department of Education investigator.

The Florida Department of Education inspector general has released a draft report in its investigation of online education firm K12, Inc. The agency was asked to investigate whether K12, Inc. was using properly certified teachers in Seminole County. The report (read it here) finds no evidence that the company used teachers lacking Florida certification. But [...]

April 15, 2013

State Board Will Get Update On Common Core And Teacher Raises Tuesday

Education Commissioner Tony Bennett will update the State Board of Education on how much progress Florida districts have made toward meeting a 2014 deadline for new education standards.

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. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett has already said he’ll be updating progress on [...]

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