Although the Florida Department of Education released specific details about testing and other waivers, it was still unclear whether the Class of 2020 would receive a diploma if they lacked certain graduation requirements. Florida requires Algebra I and the 10th grade FSA in order to graduate. Seniors who lack these scores usually have additional time…
The Florida Department of Education issued additional guidance to their March 17th press conference. In addition to closing school campuses through April 15th and moving to distance learning for students, they have eliminated certain restrictions on funding. In addition, all state college campuses are closed for the remainder of the spring semester. School Districts…
Governor DeSantis canceled state testing and school grading for the 2019-2020 school year. Schools will remain closed through April 15th. From WCTV- Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in a press conference Tuesday afternoon that all remaining state testing for school readiness, voluntary Pre-K and K-12 will be canceled for the 2019-2020 school year. Requirements for graduation, grade promotion…
This year, the nation watched as teachers in numerous states began to walk out of schools and storm state capitals demanding better working conditions for themselves and better learning conditions for their students. Many of these states offered no collective bargaining rights yet educators were organized and angry. West Virginia teachers ended their strike after…
My experience with Parent Teacher Home Visit Project was truly eye-opening. I have always known that there is so much more to teaching than simply what goes on in the classroom. We all know the old adage “it all starts at home” but the child’s home life is a very important part of their school…
As the new school year begins, many counties are looking at ways to keep students in class and out of jail by employing the use of civil citations instead of arrests for minor, non-violent offenses. Orange County is one central Florida district pledging to increase their use of civil citations in an intentional effort to…
Governor Scott signed HB 7069 into law at a private, voucher school in Orlando. It was a fitting setting for a bill that funnels billions of taxpayer dollars into private voucher and charter entities with little to no public oversight. This bill was created by jamming 55 different education bills into one unwieldy, 278 page…
A showdown is occurring over the issue of mandatory 3rd grade retention. Third grade students whose parents opted them out of the Florida Standards Assessment this spring are now faced with possible retention regardless of their classroom performance or grades. Manatee County was refusing to promote children without test scores to the fourth grade citing…
In an eleventh hour move, Senator Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) added over a hundred pages of policy changes to two unrelated bills. The amendments attach numerous bills together in what is commonly referred to as a “train.” Some bills, thought to be long dead, now comprise two runaway “trains” moving through the Florida Senate. The controversial…
