A parent is asking Gov. Rick Scott to reconsider a new state law requiring Bright Futures recipients submit a federal financial aid application.
Why should a student need a parent to fill out a financial aid application to renew a merit-based scholarship if the student pays for his or her education?
And why should a parent put their personal information at risk if they receive no benefit from the scholarship?
That’s what Palm Beach County resident John Loeffler is asking in a letter he wrote to Gov. Rick Scott last week.
“It’s kind of crazy, it doesn’t make sense,” Loeffler said.
Teachers are paid 52 percent more than their market value, according to a new study.
Teachers, did you know you are overpaid by 52%?
That’s the conclusion of a new study by conservative-leaning think tanks The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute.
Taxpayers, they conclude, are “overcharged” $120 billion each year from the difference in teacher salaries and compensation compared to similarly credentialed private sector workers. Teacher benefits are often far more generous than the private sector, the study notes.
Shamir Ali, 25, with his mother Shamim Sultana of Bangladesh. She was deported in Feb. 2009 for driving without a license.
Days after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told StateImpact Florida that DREAM Act student Shamir Ali was a “fugitive alien,” Ali was released from detention.
We got in touch with Ali, who is now making new college plans. Ali says he shouldn’t have been facing deportation and is thankful to be out. Here’s Ali, in his own words:
“I am still in disbelief! The back and forth was such a psychological roller coaster. They first denied me prosecutorial discretion but then approved it after all the media attention. Pretty much, it was all the support I received from people… Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart!
I was given an order of supervision for one year which lets me work, drive, and etc. I have to visit with an ICE officer every month and if I’m doing well, they will renew it after that year expires. I am VERY grateful for that … [and] I do appreciate ICE granting me that. I just wish they accepted it automatically since I qualify for everything under the Morton Memo released by ICE. All the media attention, petitions, and protests is what really pushed ICE to release me. Continue Reading →
Florida's black and Hispanic students are closing the difference with white classmates faster than the national average.
Florida’s black and Hispanic students trail their white classmates by smaller margins than the national average, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress results released Tuesday.
And Florida has been closing difference in reading and math scores between white and black and Hispanic students faster than the national average over the past decade.
Eliminating the so-called achievement gap is a major goal of the federal No Child Left Behind education law. Tests such as NAEP allow states and researchers to break down test scores by most demographic possibilities.
2011 NAEP results show testing gains have stalled and Florida ranks in the bottom half of states on everything except 4th grade reading scores. But Florida’s ability to reduce the achievement gap is a silver lining.
President Barack Obama (left), U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan (middle) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (right) at a Miami rally in March.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush has weighed in on Tuesday’s National Assessment of Educational Progress results. His solution to stalled progress: Raise the standards.
But Bush may have buried the lead in his statement, advocating against further budget cuts. Florida cut the sixth-most from the K-12 budget since 2008, according to one survey.
“And investing in education is also important,” Bush’s statement says. “We urge the Florida Legislature to protect funding for public education, particularly policies and programs that support, incentivize and reward student achievement.”
Gov. Rick Scott kept details of his education plans close to the vest in a radio interview Tuesday.
Gov. Rick Scott sat down for an interview with WLRN’s Phil Latzman this morning. StateImpact Florida slipped Phil a few questions.
Here’s a transcript of Scott’s responses. Listen to the full interview here.
Q: Studies show that half of STEM graduates — science, technology, engineering and math — choose careers in other fields. What specific policies are you advocating of schools to graduate more STEM graduates? And how could you make sure those STEM graduates actually take those jobs?
A: What I want to do is I want to start the debate. I want to understand…what I’ve done is, as you know, I’ve asked from our university presidents a lot of information about ‘You know, what sort of research are we doing to find out what sort of jobs are out there? What are employers looking for? What employers needs are?’
Florida scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress, also known as the nation's report card, have been flat the past six years.
Florida students have shown little progress the past six years on a national assessment test, according to National Assessment of Educational Progress scores released Tuesday.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress, also referred to as the nation’s report card, is considered the yardstick by which states can compare themselves and their progress over time.
First the good news: Fourth grade students continue to score above the national average on the reading test. Florida’s fourth graders scored 225 on a 500-point scale, besting the national average of 220.
Those scores were tenth-best in the country.
But 8th grade students continue to score below the national average on math. Florida students scored 278 while the national average was 283.
The headline? Low-income Title I schools could lose $1.1 billion. Other automatic cuts would include financial aid and career and technical education for adults.
If a debt deal is struck, Pell Grants would likely take a hit. Florida has the third-most Pell Grant recipients in the country.
Bangladesh native, Shamir Ali, now 25, was picked up in a workplace raid in Miami last week and now faces deportation. Ali arrived to Florida when he was seven years old and is DREAM Act eligible.
College student Shamir Ali has been released from a Florida detention center after being told he would be deported to Bangladesh.
The decision comes after Nestor Yglesias, spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami told StateImpact Florida Ali was a “fugitive alien” because he ignored a previous deportation order.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are letting Ali, 25, stay in the U.S. for one year with supervision, according to DREAM Act activist Felipe Matos with Students Working for Equal Rights.
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