John O'Connor is the Miami-based education reporter for StateImpact Florida. John previously covered politics, the budget and taxes for The (Columbia, S.C) State. He is a graduate of Allegheny College and the University of Maryland.
The biggest reason Florida scored well? The 2011 Students Success Act, which requires teacher evaluations partially based on test scores, eliminates long-term contracts for new teachers and requires districts to set up pay systems based on teacher performance.
“Florida mandates that performance drive all district personnel decisions, including placement, layoff, and tenure decisions,” the StudentsFirst analysis says. “The state has already made progress in its implementation as well.”
Florida scored lower on the “empowering parents” and “spend wisely” categories.
“It took me more than a semester to figure out my GI Bill benefits,” said Ryan Galluci, deputy legislative director with the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Galluci said only 58 percent of veterans knew they were eligible for college benefits, according to a survey.
Student Veterans of America hosted a conference in Orlando this week to discuss the issues and how to solve them.
Congress avoided diving off the so-called 'fiscal cliff,' but they only put off the deadline on spending decisions until March.
Lawmakers extended college tax breaks in the federal fiscal deal struck late Tuesday, but punted on long-term spending decisions such as federal education funding and financial aid programs, such as Pell Grants for low-income students.
The American Opportunity Tax Credit has been extended until 2017 — This allows students to take a $2,500 credit up to four years for qualified college expenses. The credit was set to expire this year. Extending it has a cost of $67.3 billion over 10 years.
Student Loan Interest Deduction — Can deduct up to $2,500 in student loan interest annually. The deduction is now permanent. The income limit for the deduction was scheduled to be reduced, and a 60-month time limit would be imposed. The estimated cost is $9.7 billion over 10 years.
Coverdell Savings Accounts — Allows for up to $2,000 annual contribution to pay for higher education and K-12 costs. The deal makes the program permanent.
Here’s the most interesting section to us, where reporter Jeff Solochek asks Bennett about the volume of school policy changes:
There’s been talk that Florida and other states might have taken on too many reform initiatives at the same time. Do you see that as a problem?
The short answer is no. I think what we have to be mindful of is alignment. … I think the answer to your question isn’t more or less. The most important thing we have to do is make sure when we pursue these reforms, that we are very careful and very intentional about aligning the reforms to each other so we don’t create disconnects.
Are there ideas that you want to bring to Florida?
First of all, remember, be it criticized, be it noted, however you want to define it, I was the person who was described as bringing the Florida reforms to Indiana. So there hasn’t been a whole lot other than a pure voucher system that we implemented in Indiana that wasn’t previously implemented in Florida.
Here's some of our favorite stories from 2012. More to come in 2013.
It’s New Year’s Eve and we’re taking a look back at our stories from 2012. Here’s a wrap-up of the best, most interesting or notable stories from StateImpact Florida.
Emails between K12 officials and teachers suggested the company had asked teachers to sign off on Seminole County students they had not taught. The emails raised questions about whether K12 was using teachers properly certified according to Florida law.
The national switch to Common Core standards will continue to be a big story in Florida in 2013.
We’re wrapping up 2012, which means it’s time to peer into the crystal ball for what’s coming up in 2013.
Florida’s new education commissioner is likely to be the big story, but Common Core is on the horizon as well.
Here’s what we’ll be watching for in the next year.
Tony Bennett – Florida’s education commissioner might be the nation’s most high-profile state post. The state is known as the laboratory for a suite of policies many states have adopted the last few years.
Gov. Rick Scott says students receiving private school tax credit scholarships should have the same requirements as public school students -- including standardized tests.
The Florida Department of Education released 2012 high school grades, part of the state’s school accountability system. The data includes each component of the school’s score and demographic data. Continue reading →
The grades were aided by a number of changes approved by the State Board of Educations. The board lowered the passing grade on the state writing test, suspended the penalty for schools whose lowest-performing students did not improve their scores and only allowed school grades to drop by a maximum of one letter.
This year 47 percent of high schools earned an ‘A,’ up from 31 percent last year. ‘B’ grades did the opposite — down to 31 percent from 47 percent last year.
“The school board and I are extremely proud of our teachers, students, and school leaders who work hard to meet or exceed goals,” Orange County superintendent Barbara Jenkins said in a statement. “We…realize that our high school grades next year may look different as we incorporate end-of-course assessments for biology and geometry. We are diligently preparing for Common Core and fully implementing the standards that help ensure our students are ready to compete in a global economy.”
StateImpact seeks to inform and engage local communities with broadcast and online news focused on how state government decisions affect your lives. Learn More »
