The Georgia Department of Education is threatening to close the Georgia Cyber Academy, run by K12, over concerns about special education services.
The Georgia Department of Education is threatening to close an online charter school run by K12, the nation’s largest online education company, over issues with special education students.
The agency issued a report last week that the K12-run Georgia Cyber Academy has repeatedly failed to comply with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and has violated student civil rights by failing to provide services required by the law.
The school has 1,100 special education students, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.The 12,000-student school is the largest public school in the state.
The agency will begin the process of closing the school in April unless the concerns are addressed.
UCF Professor Stanley Smith says his research shows charter schools perform worse than non-charters when poor and minority students are taken into account.
Dr. Stanley Smith, a professor at the University of Central Florida’s business school, analyzed school grades of Florida elementary schools last summer, examining the effect of poverty and minority status on those grades.
Smith found that “when the poverty and minority characteristics of the student population are controlled, the average charter school performs significantly lower than the average traditional public school.”
U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, a Jacksonville Democrat, has asked the U.S. Department of Education to investigate K12.
U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, has asked the U.S. Department of Education to investigate K12, a publicly traded online education provider that operates in 42 Florida school districts, including in Miami-Dade, Broward, Hillsborough, Orange and Duval counties.
“Given the seriousness of the allegation and their potentially damaging effects on Florida students enrolled in the program, I respectfully request a federal investigation of this matter,” Brown wrote.
Gov. Rick Scott unveiled an education plan that he says focuses on preparing high school gradiates for college or careers.
Gov. Rick Scott unveiled his education plan this morning.
Many of the details had already been reported, but the overall plan focuses on making sure high school graduates are ready for college or a career.
Among the highlights:
Preparing teachers and schools for the switch to Common Core standards, considered tougher than those currently in use in Florida. Scott is asking for $2 million to help train teachers.
Allowing school districts more flexibility from state regulations and loosening restrictions on charter school enrollment.
Seeking private donors to pay for debit cards teachers can use to purchase school supplies.
The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act lays out how school districts should place students. The "strong preference" is in general education classrooms, according to a Florida Department of Education memo.
The school district wants Frost to attend a specialized program at another school, his family says, and are asking him to take tests and provide evidence he can handle life at his neighborhood school before enrolling him.
Privacy laws prevent Hillsborough County school officials from commenting on Frost’s case. The district says it follows all federal and state laws for placing students with disabilities.
The big highlight? There is a “strong preference” for placing students with disabilities in general education classrooms. And the burden is on the school district to prove the student is better served somewhere else — not on the student to prove they can handle the work or environment.
Here’s why: The 2006 Florida Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Holmes.
We’ve annotated some significant portions of the opinion. That includes the portion where the majority explicitly says they are not basing their decision on the section of the state constitution which Amendment 8 would rewrite.
A Florida Department of Education task force will meet this afternoon to talk about a new proposal to change state law for district and charter school facilities funding.
Under the proposal, districts would be required to provide facilities funding to charter schools based on the number of students enrolled. Funding would be compulsory, ending the current practice of choosing facilities funding by need.
School districts would have the option of raising local property taxes an additional .15 mills to pay for charter school facilities. Districts can currently levy 1.5 mills on taxpayers for school facilities.
The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System filed the lawsuit, which alleges the company misled investors in what K12 did and did not report about how it makes money.
A judge must decide whether the suit can go forward. If it does, K12 could be forced to reveal new information about its operations.
The question is whether K12 used uncertified teachers for some of its online classes in Seminole County, and if the company asked certified teachers to sign class rosters of students which they did not teach.
After adding $1 billion to education funding this year, Florida has moved to the middle of the pack for state cuts to education since the start of the Great Recession in 2008.
However, Florida still spends $296 less per student — adjusted for inflation — than before the Great Recession began in 2008.
Florida lawmakers are not expected to face a budget shortfall this year, according to a new revenue projection, which means schools could avoid further cuts in the next state budget.
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