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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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January 17, 2012

Florida Tops Nation In Charter School Laws, Study Says

The Sunshine State ranks 3rd in the country for having some of the best charter school laws, according to a study by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS). Each of the 42 states with charter school laws are scored on how well their laws support charter school growth, accountability and quality. Actual school performance isn’t a factor in the NAPCS […]

January 13, 2012

Gov. Rick Scott Wants to Rank Every Florida School First to Last

Fortune magazine is out with a new profile of Gov. Rick Scott this week that discusses what he’s learned in his first year in office. The profile hits all the standards marks — Photo of state seal-emblazoned cowboy boots? Check. — but also includes this intriguing detail: I’m sitting in the governor’s Tallahassee office as […]

January 11, 2012

Teachers At Religious Schools Not Protected By Discrimination Laws

The Supreme Court ruled today that religious employees of a church, including private, religious schools cannot sue for employee discrimination, according to the AP. In the Michigan case, the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School of Redford, Mich., was sued by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Cheryl Perich, a teacher at the […]

Why Florida Is Not Likely to Pick A Fight With Unions This Year

What a difference an election can make. Last year Legislatures across the country — buoyed by a Tea Party sweep in 2010 elections — challenged teachers and other public employee unions over their ability to collectively bargain pay and other benefits. Florida Gov. Rick Scott wanted to limit collective bargaining in his initial 20-page education plan. […]

January 10, 2012

House Speaker Says Higher Ed System Has “No Clear Mission”

Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon said state lawmakers trying to benefit their own parochial interests have muddied the mission of the state’s higher education system. Cannon, R-Winter Park, said the House will study how to improve the system because the state’s economy is tied to a “strong and dynamic” higher education system, according to prepared […]

Gov. Scott Makes Anthropology Joke in Speech

The one truly funny moment during Gov. Rick Scott’s State of the State speech came when he referenced his much-publicized spat with anthropologists earlier this year. In arguing for the need to better match college graduates with open jobs, Scott cited anthropologists as a degree Florida probably didn’t need any more of. In Tuesday’s speech […]

Budget and School Choice Lead Florida Education Agenda

The biggest issues affecting education debate in Tallahassee this year may have nothing to do with classrooms. The once-every-ten-years redistricting, South Florida casinos and overhauling state insurance rules should provoke contentious debate, lawmakers and education advocates said. Those bills could squeeze out education as the session’s marquee issue. Last year the Legislature approved a sweeping […]

January 6, 2012

Lawmakers Will Revisit Law Overhauling Florida Schools

Last year’s big legislative education debate could also be this year’s big issue, according to the chairman of the Florida House education committee. Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine, told the Florida Times-Union that a top priority was to make sure districts were making progress on a law that requires teacher evaluations, implements performance-based pay and […]

December 28, 2011

Seven Education Leaders To Watch In Tallahassee

When the Legislative session opens next month, expect these folks to make the most news — or maybe just the most noise. Gov. Rick Scott — Scott got much of what he wanted last year. The first bill he signed into law — with a press event at a charter school — required statewide teacher […]

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