Education bill: The Florida legislative session moves into its final three weeks, with a series of education issues to be decided. The Senate is reviewing the House education bill, and among the proposals being considered is replacing the House bill with the Senate version. Both bills would establish a Hope Scholarship[Read More…]
Tag: President Donald Trump
Florida schools roundup: Teacher bonuses, shootings aftermath and more
Teacher bonuses: More than 163,500 Florida teachers qualify for bonuses under the state’s Best and Brightest Teacher Scholarship Program, according to Florida Department of Education data. The bonuses range from $800 to $7,200. More than 9,000 will get the top awards. They qualify by being rated highly effective and scoring[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: More on school shooting, education budget and more
Deadly shooting: Broward County detectives say Nikolas Cruz has confessed to killing 17 people and wounding more than a dozen others in a shooting spree Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. He said he arrived at the school via Uber, fired more than 100 shots, dropped his[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: Scholarship fund, Scientology, sales tax and more
Scholarship fund empty: The state’s Gardiner scholarship, which is awarded to students with special needs, has exhausted all its available funding for the first time since it began in 2014. About 10,500 students are receiving the scholarship this year, and another 1,270 have been approved but are on a waiting[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: Hurricane, DACA, schools of hope and more
Storm closes schools: All schools in Monroe County are closed today as the Keys are evacuated for Hurricane Irma. Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Lee, Collier, Hernando, St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River counties are closing schools Thursday and Friday, and other districts around the state are monitoring the storm. Miami Herald.[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: Teacher bonuses, H.B. 7069, charters and more
Teacher bonuses: The Miami-Dade School District is asking the state for $2.3 million grant though the “schools of hope” program to pay highly rated teachers extra to work in five of the district’s failing schools. If the schools are selected by the state for the program, teachers who are rated[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: Guns at schools, staffing, enrollment and more
Guns at schools: The Lee County School Board postpones a discussion about allowing licensed gun owners to keep firearms locked in their cars at schools. All firearms are currently banned from school property, but board member Steven Teuber is proposing the change in policy. Fort Myers News-Press. School staffing: Lake[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: Bright Futures, board term limits, DeVos visit and more
Bright Futures: State Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, files a bill that would make the expansion of Bright Futures passed in this year’s legislative session permanent. Under it, more than 46,000 qualifying Florida students would have state university tuition and fees fully covered. Senate leaders say they also want to expand the[Read More…]