A veteran educator at the helm of a Ft. Lauderdale Catholic School is among nine academic leaders announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona as recipients of the Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership for 2022. All nine school leaders, who are included in the 2022 cohort[Read More…]
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Florida charter school enrollment increases by 20,000 students
Charter school enrollment in the Sunshine State increased by 20,013 students in the 2021-22 school year according to data released by the Florida Department of Education. More than 360,000 students enrolled in one of 703 charter schools, a growth of 5.8% over the prior year. Unlike private schools, which suffered the first[Read More…]
Top-notch Florida education entrepreneurs make first cut for $1 million national award
Five Florida education providers are among 64 quarterfinalists from 33 states and the District of Columbia who are in the running for a prestigious $1million award for educational excellence. SailFuture in St. Petersburg, RCMA Immokalee Community Academy, Hope Ranch Learning Academy in Hudson, Colossal Academy in Davie, and Kind Academy[Read More…]
West Virginia advocacy group creates website to show impact of contested scholarship program
Almost immediately after a judge’s ruling shut down the state’s first education savings account program, emails flooded the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy from families pouring their hearts out. The father of an academically gifted son with attention deficit hyperactivity wrote that he was anticipating the financial flexibility afforded[Read More…]
Florida corporations funded more than $500 million in scholarships in 2021-22
The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship served 85,612 low- and middle-income students last year, according to a new report from the Florida Department of Education. The program funded $568.8 million in scholarships, worth an average of around $7,300, during the 2021-22 school year. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog,[Read More…]
Vermont to school districts: No more religious discrimination in town tuitioning school choice programs
Vermont residents who live in towns too small to operate district high schools may now use public funds to send their children to faith-based private schools. The Education Agency of Vermont recently told school administrators that they must comply with a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck[Read More…]
Florida school owner sentenced and ordered to repay stolen scholarship money
The former owner of a South Florida daycare recently was sentenced to prison for committing fraud against the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship. Lissette Orta, the owner of Kids Palace Daycare in Hialeah, was sentenced Sept. 9 to 21 months behind bars after being found guilty of committing more than $100,000[Read More…]
Buckeye Institute points to Florida families’ long-term satisfaction with education savings accounts in new report
A new policy report from an Ohio-based independent research and educational institute offers commonsense solutions for improving K-12 academic outcomes in the state, all of which center on the availability of additional education choice options. The Buckeye Institute posits in #StudentsFirst: Empowering Parents to Help Students Regain Lost Learning that[Read More…]