Florida is moving ahead with plans to bring school choice to the class level, but will study the issue before taking a deep dive. The heart of a “course choice” proposal by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, (SB 904) was rolled into a digital learning bill (HB 7029) and passed[Read More…]
Tag: virtual education
Adam Putnam: ‘If we lose the parents, we’ve lost the battle’
Editor’s note: Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam was a late arrival and one of the last speakers at Wednesday’s education summit on Common Core in Orlando. But he delivered some of the most memorable lines, stressing better communication with parents about education reform and school choice. Here’s a transcript of[Read More…]
redefinED roundup: Charter school parents in New York, tax credit scholarships in Montana & more
New York: More than 1,000 charter school parents rally in Albany to convince the state to let charter schools compete for state funding for pre-K (Fox23 News). Montana: Lawmakers hear from parents and other child advocates who want their state to open charter schools and support giving families more choices, such as[Read More…]
Let’s talk about broader school choice
Editor’s note: Wendy Howard is executive director of the Florida Alliance for Choices in Education, which includes a broad range of school choice organizations. The views expressed here are her own and not that of FACE. Four years after my daughter Jessica Howard began a petition drive to make it[Read More…]
Tony Bennett praises Florida school districts for expanding school choice
Florida’s new education commissioner is known for his zealous support of charter schools and vouchers and other learning options that some critics see as anti-public school. But on Tuesday afternoon, Tony Bennett sat next to Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia inside a Tampa magnet school for boys, and[Read More…]
A superintendent’s legitimate concerns about charter schools & district flexibility
To appreciate the significance of what Nikolai Vitti is saying about parental choice, one must first read his resume. He’s a 36-year-old with a Harvard education doctorate who served as chief academic officer to nationally recognized Miami-Dade school superintendent Alberto Carvalho before being chosen in the fall to run the[Read More…]
Florida roundup: Charter school closing, school choice battle, pushback & more
School choice battle. The Palm Beach Post sees one unfolding in the coming legislative session. Charter school closing. Global Outreach Academy, citing financial problems, tells Flagler school district officials on New Year’s Day that it’s shutting down immediately, reports FlaglerLive.com. Another charter school closes mid-year in Lee County, reports the Fort[Read More…]
New Florida House speaker says school ‘choice’ subcommittee is about the educational future
A new Florida House subcommittee devoted to all things school choice does not necessarily signal major reforms in the upcoming legislative session, says incoming House Speaker Will Weatherford. The point, rather, is to keep choice in the debate. “I think choice has always been in the conversation,’’ Weatherford, who is scheduled to be voted in[Read More…]