Seminole County school board chairwoman Dede Schaffner admits it — her county is tough on people wanting to open new charter schools. But Schaffner said the district isn’t asking anything more than the state asks of Seminole County. Last month the school district rejected three applications for new charter schools. In one case, district officials […]

Colleges will need to produce more science and technology graduates, according to Gov. Rick Scott’s economic agenda released Wednesday. Less than 20 percent of Florida university system graduates earn degrees in science, technology or math — also known as STEM — Scott wrote in a release. That rate of STEM graduates will not fill the […]

Parents unhappy with their children’s schools are using labor union tactics to build support for charter schools, according to a story by the Associated Press. California was the first state to adopt a so-called ‘parent trigger’ law, which allows a majority of parents to vote to convert a district school to a charter school. Florida […]

The death of Apple founder Steve Jobs is an education story as well as a business story. Among the Jobs tributes flooding the Internet Wednesday night was this from the parent of an autistic child. Although the son does not talk, the parent wrote, he uses Apple’s iPad to communicate. “Thank you Steve Jobs for […]

Florida schools will have little construction money next year after state economists reduced their estimate by 70 percent Monday. Schools will have about $113 million available, down from the $380 million initially expected for the budget year beginning July 1, 2012. Utility taxes provide much of the school construction fund, but economists said fewer people […]

Charter Schools USA is one of Florida’s largest for-profit management companies, with 25,000 students in three states. The company was just awarded a contract to help turn around three Indiana schools taken over by the state. Charter Schools USA CEO Jonathon Hage is a one-time adviser to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and helped draft […]

For 15 years Florida has conducted an experiment in public education. The goal was to improve the entire education system by granting charter schools more leeway to innovate. Welcome to StateImpact Florida’s Charter Schools 101 series examining the effect those schools have had on students, teachers, parents and communities — and what comes next. One […]

Waiving No Child Left Behind rules will put less emphasis on testing, according to a release from the federal education department. The agency breaks down the impact on the three major parties in the education system. For teachers: ESEA flexibility will move accountability systems toward decisions that are based on student growth and progress. They […]

Jon Huntsman earns the highest grade — a B- — among the 2012 Republican presidential field, according to grades issued by Time magazine education columnist and blogger Andrew J. Rotherham. As governor of Utah, Huntsman raised teacher salaries, extended kindergarten and signed a statewide private school voucher law. Rotherham also sums up Huntsman’s differences from […]

The Florida Board of Education could recommend lawmakers revise the state school performance system at a meeting tomorrow. School districts have complained the system sets higher standards for the state’s lowest-rated schools. For a low-rated school to pull itself off a watch list the district must improve more rapidly than other state districts. The result […]