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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September 17, 2013

A Scott, Bush Split On State Board Of Education

Two State Board of Education members criticized Gov. Rick Scott’s leadership on education issues Tuesday, highlighting a rift between Scott and former Gov. Jeb Bush. Board members Kathleen Shanahan and Sally Bradshaw — who served as former Bush chiefs of staff — said Scott needed to show more leadership on Common Core State Standards and […]

September 16, 2013

Opposition To Florida Education Standards Growing As Lawmakers Return To Capitol

The last time lawmakers all gathered in Tallahassee, the opposition to Florida’s new math and English standards was just getting started. But opponents of the standards, known as Common Core, have turned up the heat throughout the spring and summer. The opposition hails from the political right and the political left, and their concerns range […]

September 11, 2013

A Q & A With House Speaker Will Weatherford

We caught up with House Speaker Will Weatherford at yesterday’s meeting of the Suncoast Tiger Bay civic club. Weatherford, a Wesley Chapel Republican, took questions about Obamacare, Stand Your Ground and requiring power customers to pay the cost of new nuclear plants up front. We asked him about the expected legislative debate over Common Core […]

September 6, 2013

Indiana Report Finds Bennett’s Grade Changes Were “Plausible”

An Indiana report has found that school grading formula changes former Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett made in 2012 while the elected superintendent of Hoosier State schools were “plausible” and “consistently applied” to all schools. Indiana lawmakers requested the review after the Associated Press published emails showing Bennett and his staff discussing how to change […]

Jacksonville Man Starts Online Campaign To Rename Forrest High School

More than 72,000 people have signed an online petition to change the name of a Jacksonville high school named after a Civil War general and the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, according to the Florida Times-Union. Duval County schools superintendent Nikolai Vitti told StateImpact Florida earlier this year that he would support […]

September 4, 2013

Education Department Now Tweeting A Standard Of The Day

Common Core State Standards, 140 characters at a time. The Florida Department of Education’s Twitter account is now sending out a “standard of the day” to its more than 5,700 followers. The tweets include a link to the math and English language arts standards which outline what students should know at the end of each […]

September 3, 2013

What We Learned At Gov. Scott’s Education Summit

Last week Gov. Rick Scott asked three dozen parents, educators, lawmakers and business leaders to take a look at state education policies at a three-day summit in Clearwater. They were asked to review four things: New Common Core standards which take full effect next year; Florida’s next standardized test; the state school grading formula; and […]

August 29, 2013

Florida Lawmaker Files Bill To Stop New Education Standards

A Florida lawmaker has filed a bill that would put the implementation of Common Core education standards on hold until the the State Board of Education conducts an independent review of how much the new standards will cost and holds a public hearing in each of the state’s congressional districts. In addition, the bill would […]

A Q & A With Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Nan Rich

Nan Rich is a former state Senator who was the first Democrat to announce she’s challenging Gov. Rick Scott in 2014. Rich stopped by the WUSF studios Wednesday for a Florida Matters interview with Carson Cooper. Here’s what she said about education. You can hear the full interview Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. on WUSF. Q: […]

August 28, 2013

PARCC Multi-State Test Still An Option For Many At Education Summit

What’s the status of Florida’s relationship with the multi-state test being designed to test new Common Core State Standards? It’s complicated. The Partnership for Assessment of College and Careers was originally thought to replace most of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test beginning in 2015. Florida is one of 20 states working on the test, paid […]

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