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 […]
Private schools in Florida are coming together to share their resources in case of a school emergency. Dana Markham is the president of Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale. She says private, independent schools don’t have a support network the way public schools do. Public middle and high schools, for example, share School Resource Officers […]
Driver Gwendolyn Tillman doesn’t usually get between students fighting on the school bus. “Usually if there are some other guys on the bus and the guys have respect for the bus drivers, the other young men on the bus will pull them apart,” Tillman said. If nobody pulls the kids apart, bus drivers are instructed […]
A mom desperate for better security at her daughter’s elementary school is paying a deputy to patrol the school in Flagler Beach for at least the next two months. School safety and security is at the top of the priority list for Florida lawmakers during the legislative session that begins in March. Lawmakers are already […]
Reinforced entry gates. School resource officers in elementary schools. Teachers with guns. Politicians, pundits and school officials have tossed around ideas how to beef up security since the horrific school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut last month. The Florida Legislature will be asked to increase security funding for school districts when it convenes in March. Dr. […]
A shooter entered a Connecticut school and opened fire Friday. While details are still emerging, it’s worth looking at what Florida schools must do to prepare for an on-campus emergency. The Florida Department of Education has a statewide policy outlining how school’s should prepare and respond to an on-campus emergency. The policy was approved in […]
About two dozen protestors gathered Thursday to ask Hillsborough County school officials to change school policies after three students with disabilities dies following school-related events this year. The most important change they requested is that all aides working with students with disabilities are properly trained. But the group also had a more detailed list of […]
A group of parents is asking for the resignation of Hillsborough schools superintendent MaryEllen Elia and school board member Candy Olson following the deaths of two special needs students. A protest is planned for 4 p.m. today at the school board meeting. School board members are also questioning the district’s policies, the Tampa Bay Times […]
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