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 7, 2014

Crist Wants To Pause Penalties During Switch To Common Core-Based Standards

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist said he would pause any penalties for students, teachers and schools while the state transitions to new Common Core-based math and language arts standards and a new online test. Florida school leaders have asked for a three-year pause while teachers get comfortable with the new standards and students adjust to […]

Study Finds Family More Important Than Education For Success

Family and wealth — and not education — are the most important factors in whether a child succeeds in life according to 30-year study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Children whose parents were married and working ended up better off than peers in poor or single-parent homes. Just 33 of the nearly […]

July 21, 2014

Gov. Scott Rolls Out Plan To Prepare Workers For High-Tech Jobs

Gov. Rick Scott spent Monday touring high-tech South Florida companies looking to hire. He wants to make sure firms like Boca Raton’s Modernizing Medicine, which designs electronic medical record systems, have workers ready. “If you think about – I’ve got kids and even have, hard to believe, I have grandkids – the jobs of the […]

July 10, 2014

Former Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett Reaches Ethics Deal

Former Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett will pay a $5,000 fine as part of a proposed deal with Indiana ethics investigators, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by the Associated Press. Bennett admits using state resources for his 2012 reelection campaign. But Bennett was also cleared of any ethics violations related to changes […]

July 7, 2014

Rhee Group Backing Off Florida Advocacy Efforts

Former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee’s education advocacy group is scaling back its Florida efforts, Travis Pillow scoops for redefinED. StudentsFirst spokesman Lane Wright said Florida has already adopted many policies the group promotes, so they are focusing efforts elsewhere. That’s true. But, the group can’t exactly claim victory and walk off the field. StudentsFirst […]

June 30, 2014

Republicans Have Made Up Their Minds About Common Core

The national Republican fight over Common Core math and language arts standards is over, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others supporting the standards have lost. That’s the conclusion of Vox writer Libby Nelson, based on a new Pew Research Center poll from last week. Pew Research Center data […]

June 11, 2014

The Sunshine Economy: Common Challenges, Changing Classrooms

Our partners at WLRN put together a special education hour of the Sunshine Economy this week. The conversation ranged from a talk with Broward County’s superintendent about Common Core to a chat with a group of high school students about diversity in the classroom: In this edition of The Sunshine Economy: The school year may […]

May 23, 2014

How Much Influence Does Koch Money Have At FSU?

There are questions about whether a nonprofit founded by a prominent conservative activist has too much influence at a public college. Florida State University rewrote its agreement with the Charles Koch Foundation after some on campus complained that the relationship undermined the school’s academic integrity. But critics say it still gives donors with their own […]

May 21, 2014

Hackers Stole Employee Data From Florida’s New Testing Company

Hackers stole employee data earlier this month from the American Institutes for Research, the company chosen to produce Florida’s next standardized test. No student information was stolen, according to Education Week. But, the hackers got Social Security numbers and credit card information for about 6,500 current and former employees. From the story: “The breach only […]

May 12, 2014

Remembering Early Desegregation In Florida

This weekend marks the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education—the Supreme Court decision declaring separate schools were inherently unequal. A recent ProPublica investigation found at least 300 school districts that are still under court-ordered desegregation. Eleven of those districts are in Florida. Even though Miami-Dade County had those desegregation orders lifted relatively recently in 2001, it was an early […]

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