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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August 28, 2014

Florida’s Teacher Union Says Scholarship Program Is Unconstitutional

When Florida first approved its private school tax credit scholarship program in 2001, Florida Education Association attorney Ron Meyer said education groups questioned the legality, but no one really objected to helping low-income students get out of low-performing schools. But then the scholarship program started to grow. Lawmakers approved a law that automatically expanded the […]

Read: School Boards Group Outlines Consequences Of Skipping State Tests

Last night, the Lee County school board became the first district to refuse state testing entirely. Other Florida school districts are also considering saying no to state exams. The Florida School Boards Association is meeting next week and has posted an outline of the consequences for not complying state law. The first step is an […]

Lee County School Board Becomes First To Say No To State Tests

Lee County’s school board became the first in the state Wednesday night to decide district students would no longer take statewide exams, according to the Fort Myers News-Press. What happens next in uncertain. State law requires school districts to participate in the statewide testing program. Those scores are used to determine grades for public schools, […]

August 27, 2014

Florida Ready To Challenge Federal Testing Rules For Students Learning English

Gov. Rick Scott is ready to take the federal government to court over testing rules for students learning English. The U.S. Department of Education says Florida must count those students’ results after one year in school. Scott and Florida educators want to give students two years to learn English. Scott said Education Commissioner Pam Stewart […]

Recapping The Results From Tuesday’s Education Races

Voters turned out two leaders of the Florida School Boards Association in campaigns contested on school choice and Florida’s new math and language arts standards. But incumbents mostly won reelection across Florida Tuesday night, or advanced to a November runoff. Two-term Indian River school board member Karen Disney-Brombach was defeated by Shawn Frost and Volusia […]

August 26, 2014

Opting Out Of Testing Would Come At A Cost For Florida School Districts

A handful of Florida districts are talking about skipping state-required tests this year, including the new Florida Standards Assessment replacing most of the FCAT. Last week, Palm Beach County school board members said they wanted to send a message to state leaders by skipping the new exam. Earlier this month, Lee County school board members […]

August 25, 2014

Gov. Scott Wants To Review Florida Standards And Local Testing

Gov. Rick Scott says he wants to review testing in Florida schools and the state’s new Common Core-based standards. It’s part of Scott’s latest campaign trail education proposal, released Monday. Education has been a top issue during the campaign, as Scott and other candidates have used the issue to draw contrasts between themselves and their […]

August 20, 2014

Poll: Support For Common Core Falls As Awareness Rises

The more Americans learn about Common Core, the less likely they are to support the math and language arts standards for K-12 public schools. That’s one conclusion to draw from the annual poll from Phi Delta Kappa, a professional group for educators, and polling firm Gallup. Last year, two-thirds of Americans said they had not […]

August 19, 2014

Poll Finds Support For Common Core Declining Among Republicans And Teachers

Public support for Common Core math and language arts standards dropped in the past year, and less than half of teachers now say they support the standards, according to an annual back-to-school poll Education Next. Just over half of the general public — 53 percent — said they support Common Core. That’s down from 65 […]

August 15, 2014

Bush: Florida Standards “Not Substantially Different” From Common Core

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush hit the campaign trail with current Gov. Rick Scott on Friday. Bush has been one of the nation’s most prominent supporters of the Common Core math and language arts standards adopted by dozens of states, including Florida. Scott? Not so much. After initially supporting the standards, Scott withdrew support for […]

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