While the Easter Bunny is delivering festive eggs this week, the Florida Education Association said lawmakers are trying to take a chunk out of teachers’ nest eggs. The teacher’s union held a news conference in Tallahassee blasting state leaders for trying to impose “changes to the pension system that guarantee retirement insecurity.” The Florida Legislature […]

House Speaker Will Weatherford says Florida needs to be ready in case the test accompanying new education standards isn’t ready by a spring 2015 deadline. The standards, known as Common Core State Standards, are scheduled to be taught in every Florida grade beginning with the 2014-15 school year. The standards are a new way of […]

Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford is a big proponent of nontraditional education. Weatherford is pushing for an online state university in Florida, and he encourages families to consider different ways of learning besides district-run brick and mortar public schools. He’s a strong supporter of charter schools and the parent trigger bill, which enables parents to petition for […]

Curtis Nyarko is putting in a lot of late nights followed by early mornings at the lab – hoping to snare a high wage job in a high-tech field. Nyarko is a junior at Florida State University majoring in biology. He wants to stay in Florida and pursue a career in medicine. Nyarko says his […]

After years of adding requirements to earn a high school diploma, Florida lawmakers have proposed bills which would allow students more flexibility in how they earn a diploma. A House proposal (HB 7091) would create three diploma tracks: College and career; industry and scholar. All three diplomas require four years of English language arts. Students […]

A Senate committee has approved a bill which would change requirements for certain degree programs in Florida, designating some as “high demand.” The Career and Professional Education Act, known as CAPE, would also require high school students to take a financial literacy course. The bill is a priority for Senate President Don Gaetz. The legislation […]

Florida’s Senate President says the state’s teacher evaluation system is confusing and should be reworked so teacher ratings more closely match those of the schools they work in. Senate President Don Gaetz, a former school board member and elected superintendent, says schools should no longer evaluate some teachers based on test scores of students they […]

If Don Gaetz gives you a task, he will make sure you get it done. That’s how Cindy Frakes remembers Gaetz, whom she worked with in the Okaloosa County schools. Gaetz was the superintendent then, in the early 2000s. Frakes was, and still is, a member of the school board. Gaetz kept a list, Frakes […]

House Speaker Will Weatherford banged the opening gavel in the Florida House this morning, introducing the 60-day session with a speech heavily focused on education. He promised the continued “pursuit of a world-class, student-centered K-12 education system in Florida.” But he said attention must be paid to higher education as well, because “education solves problems […]

The 2013 Legislative session officially opens today in Tallahassee. Lawmakers will meet for 60 days and with no election or redistricting, fewer high-profile issues and a small budget surplus, education could be a headline issue this year. Here’s five things to watch as lawmakers return. Budget: Teacher raises? State analysts project Florida will have a […]