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 5, 2013

Parent Trigger Bill Passes Florida House

Just as it did last year, the Florida House has passed the parent trigger bill following much debate. The bill’s official title is Parent Empowerment in Education. It gives parents a say in what changes should be made to a chronically failing school. Turnaround options include closing the school, turning the school into a charter, […]

Group Seeks To Inform, Unite Florida’s Education Activists

A loose-knit network of education activists generally opposed to the direction Florida has been taking its schools recently is attempting to organize into a more potent political force. The groups include parents, people who want more state funding for schools, and others who are fed up with the brand of testing-based school accountability that Florida […]

Explaining The Differences Between 501(c)3 And 501(c)4 Non-Profits

A band of activists is trying to organize Florida education groups toward a common purpose. To do so they are forming two non-profit groups, one a 501(c)3 and the other a 501(c)4. What does that mean? Under Internal Revenue Service rules, a 501(c)3 is a non-profit for religious, charitable or educational purposes. These types of […]

April 3, 2013

Hundreds Rally For School Choice At The Capitol

They came by the hundreds wearing bright yellow shirts emblazoned with School Choice Day across the front. Kids from around Florida waved signs outside the Capitol with messages scrawled in different colors: “Thank you for my scholarship.” “Parental choice matters.” “We need educational options.” The event drew lawmakers and other state leaders. Education Commissioner Tony Bennett took the podium […]

April 1, 2013

Lawmaker Wants To Create School District-run ‘Innovation Schools’

A new charter school bill gets its first committee hearing today in Tallahassee. This one is different from other charter school proposals for two big reasons: It allows districts to operate their own version of a charter school, instead of the school being operated by an outside entity. A popular Democrat is behind it. The […]

March 26, 2013

Parent Trigger Supporters Try To Debunk ‘Misconceptions’ About The Bill

Supporters of the parent trigger bill held a briefing with reporters today near the Capitol. The briefing was hosted by Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future. The foundation was created by former Gov. Jeb Bush. The group is staunchly behind proposed legislation titled Parent Empowerment in Education (SB862/HB867). It’s much better […]

March 25, 2013

Florida House Speaker Uses His Unique Upbringing To Craft Education Policy

Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford is a big proponent of nontraditional education. Weatherford is pushing for an online state university in Florida, and he encourages families to consider different ways of learning besides district-run brick and mortar public schools. He’s a strong supporter of charter schools and the parent trigger bill, which enables parents to petition for […]

House Speaker Will Weatherford Pushes Non-Traditional Education Agenda

Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford isn’t shy about pushing his non-traditional agenda for public education. It’s based on his own life experience. He’s in favor of options that are growing in popularity, like virtual classes and charter schools. StateImpact reporter Gina Jordan sat down with Weatherford in his office to talk about his educational roots. […]

March 21, 2013

A Close Reading Of Arguments For And Against Common Education Standards

University of South Florida education professor Sherman Dorn parses some of the language — what he calls “blarney” in a St. Pat’s Day theme — surrounding new education standards adopted by Florida, 44 other states and the District of Columbia. The standards, known as Common Core, ask students to know fewer topics, but to have […]

March 19, 2013

Online Charter School Network Will Try Again Next Year In Three Districts

A network of online charter schools tied to education firm K12, Inc. will not seek to open schools in Marion, Orange and Seminole counties next year, The Orlando Sentinel reports. A lawyer representing Florida Virtual Academy said the schools would not be able to open by next fall if the local school districts continued to […]

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