The following bill has been filed for the 2022 Florida legislative session, which begins Jan. 11 and runs through March 11. BILL NO: SB 1294 TITLE: Individual Education Plan Meetings SPONSOR: Sen. Joe Gruters, R – Sarasota WHAT IT WOULD DO: It would add to ss. 1002.20 and 1014.04, F.S.[Read More…]
Tag: special education
Students with intellectual, developmental differences continue to thrive at Jacksonville private school
Like most schools that were shuttered by the COVID-19 virus, North Florida School of Special Education in Jacksonville had to sprint to set up a distance learning program for students suddenly confined to their homes. For Sally Hazelip, the head of NFSSE, it was a longer race that taught her[Read More…]
School choice gave this educator a LiFT
SEMINOLE, Fla. – Kim Kuruzovich’s daughter Gina has moderate autism, speech apraxia and dyslexic tendencies. She began a suite of therapies at age 2, then, at age 4, saw a psychologist for an educational evaluation. The expert wasn’t encouraging. “He told us, ‘You can look forward to Gina putting pencils[Read More…]
In memory of Brandon Berman
Brandon sat quietly in his wheelchair but grew increasingly agitated as his lawyer, Clint Bolick, answered rapid-fire questions from an aggressive reporter. His mother, Donna Berman, stood behind him, worrying he might erupt into a fit, or worse, a seizure. Brandon’s service dog Cody even sensed the frustration and made a noise in defense of his best friend. “Can we get him out of[Read More…]
Cheese, charter schools & promising developments in special ed
by Allison Hertog Charter schools often have an awkward, if not contentious, relationship with their local districts. That makes sense, as the public charter school movement is essentially a reaction to what can be a cookie cutter way of educating kids in neighborhood schools. Yet charter schools are part of[Read More…]
Education Next asks: should there be special needs enrollment quotas for charter schools?
Should charter schools be required to educate an identical proportion of special needs students as public schools? Should charters be required to follow the same rules governing special needs students as public schools? Last month the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights released a memo that said yes[Read More…]
Leaving public school to follow her faith
This is the second story in an occasional series that looks at teachers and school choice. Read our first story here. For years, Merili Wyatte was a special needs pre-kindergarten teacher at a perpetually A-rated traditional public school in Tampa, Fla. She loved the Title I school, her coworkers and her[Read More…]
Florida roundup: Pension ruling, school safety, Bible distribution & more
Pension ruling. In a case brought by the state teachers union, the Florida Supreme Court rules 4-3 that it is constitutional for the state to require teachers and other state workers to contribute 3 percent of their pay towards their pensions. Coverage from the Herald/Times Capital Bureau, Palm Beach Post,[Read More…]