Florida

Putting Education Reform To The Test

Topics

Florida's Education Lawsuits

Latest Posts

Court, Public Relations Battle Over Florida Private School Programs Heating Up

The legal and public relations battle over Florida’s private school scholarship programs continues, with the statewide teacher’s union revising its lawsuit and a school choice group producing a new television ad supporting the programs. Wednesday, the Florida Education Association amended its complaint challenging a new school choice law. The new complaint adds South Florida parents […]

Why The ACLU Is Challenging Single-Gender Classes In Florida Schools

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed federal complaints against school districts in Broward, Hernando, Hillsborough and Volusia counties over the use of all-girls or all-boys classes. The ACLU wants the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to investigate the programs. StateImpact Florida’s Gina Jordan spoke with Galen Sherwin, a senior staff attorney […]

What The Florida Teacher Evaluation Lawsuit Could Mean For Other States

The Florida Education Association’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s test-based teacher evaluations — if successful — could become a model for teacher’s union across the country, Governing magazine reports. And over at the Quick and the Ed, labor attorney Danny Rosenthal argues the FEA normally would have a difficult time proving the government […]

Bennett Says State Leaders Are Listening To Complaints About Teacher Evaluations

Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett says state leaders and lawmakers are listening to teacher concerns about evaluations. The Florida Education Association is suing Bennett, the Department of Education, and a few school districts over teacher evaluations. The union believes a 2011 law requiring teacher evaluations violates the equal protection and due process rights of school […]

Teachers Union Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Florida Teacher Evaluations

The Florida Education Association and National Education Association filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s teacher evaluation system. The system was created under a law passed in 2011 known as Senate Bill 736. State law requires school districts base at least 40 percent of a teacher’s evaluation on student Florida Comprehensive Assessment […]

Teacher Evaluation Data Can Be Kept Private For One Year Judge Says

A circuit court judge has ruled that teacher evaluation data is exempt from public records laws for a year, denying the Florida Times-Union’s request seeking the information. The paper was seeking three years of the component data used to calculate teacher evaluations gathered by the state. The Florida Department of Education initially said in January […]

What The Florida Supreme Court Pension Decision Could Mean For Merit Pay Lawsuit

In 2011 lawmakers approved a law requiring public employees — including teachers — pay 3 percent of their salary into their retirement account. Public employee unions challenged the law, arguing it unconstitutionally changes a contract with workers and violates workers’ right to collectively bargain pay and benefits. A circuit court overturned the law, but Thursday […]

Is Gov. Scott’s Testing Proposal A Trojan Horse For Vouchers?

Teacher’s unions and critics of Florida’s various private school scholarship programs have long argued that students who received those scholarships should have to face the same scrutiny as public school students. That means taking the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test — or its upcoming successor — in order to make apples-to-apples comparisons between school performance. But […]

About StateImpact

StateImpact seeks to inform and engage local communities with broadcast and online news focused on how state government decisions affect your lives.
Learn More »

Economy
Education