Julie Delegal, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Julie DelegalJune 22, 2014

Jacksonville is ground zero for the public education budget disaster that is the result of 15 years of misguided “reform” in Florida. Three months ago, Duval Superintendent of Schools Nikolai Vitti introduced an innovative, if short-lived, proposal to allow open enrollment district-wide to keep more students in the public system. His reason? The public school […]

Julie DelegalJune 12, 2014

California Superior Judge Rolf Treu has swallowed the corporate-reform narrative on education –hook, line and sinker. According to the Los Angeles Times, the judge agreed with attorneys representing nine student plaintiffs who contend that it’s teacher tenure law — not student poverty, not state underfunding, not bureaucratic largesse, not any other factor — that disproportionately […]

Julie DelegalMay 5, 2014

It looks like my columns questioning the efficacy of school privatization in Florida have hit a nerve. Again. Voters might remember that I’ve long opposed voucher schools because, among other reasons, they don’t administer the same high-stakes tests to their students that public schools do. Without equal accountability, parents of mostly low-income children who now […]

Julie DelegalApril 22, 2014

Often, I find myself explaining to my public-school advocacy friends that no one can afford to take on Bush-brand education reform and live to get elected. Barack Obama didn’t even try, and sang Jeb’s praises instead. And, if I’m reading the political landscape correctly, neither will Hillary Clinton, even if she’s called to square off […]

Julie DelegalApril 3, 2014

“Our hands are tied.” That’s what Duval County School Board members say about allowing charter schools to open in Jacksonville. State law mandates that, unless a charter school’s application indicates financial mismanagement, school boards can’t say “no” to opening a new one. Board members say the district can’t afford the legal fees needed to fight […]

Julie DelegalMarch 24, 2014

It’s been a long time since I’ve written about the long-suspected, but largely disproven, link between vaccines and autism. Jenny McCarthy, the model, actress and co-host for the television show “The View”, is mother to a child who has an autism spectrum disorder. She’s taken some hellish Twitter flack lately for her belief that infant vaccines cause autism. Like Jenny, […]

Julie DelegalMarch 16, 2014

The proposed legislative expansion of Florida’s private-school voucher program may jump the blurry line between private money and public money. Instead of diverting only corporate taxes to pay for private-school vouchers, House Speaker Will Weatherford wants to use your sales tax dollars, and mine, to expand the voucher pot by another $30 million. Many Floridians […]

Julie DelegalMarch 3, 2014

Officials at private schools that accept voucher students are now “terrified,” writes Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel. They’re worried about some legislators’ suggestions that schools that admit students who pay tuition with tax-credit vouchers should be required to administer the same standardized tests that public schools do. But take heart, private school officials! House […]

Julie DelegalMarch 2, 2014

Journalists at the Florida Times Union have set the Internet ablaze by publishing a Florida Department of Education database of teacher-evaluations information. The paper’s editors sued the state to force the release of the data and won their public records lawsuit that they filed in February of last year. While the paper lost at the district […]

Julie DelegalFebruary 25, 2014

Last of three parts. There is a train of thought that says women — particularly feminists — are responsible for the breakdown of the traditional family. Phyllis Schlafly, the 1970s-era antifeminist icon, has re-entered the news in conservative circles. On Jan. 14,the right-wing online outlet WND captured Schlafly saying that feminism is “the main reason […]

Julie Delegal

Julie Delegal: Florida’s school-budget chickens come home to roost

Julie Delegal: Judge gets it wrong in California teacher-tenure case

Julie Delegal: Let’s determine if Bush-brand education reforms are working

Julie Delegal: Charlie Crist, this education article is for you

Julie Delegal: Duval case shows why we can’t afford not to challenge charter schools

Julie Delegal: Autism, Jenny McCarthy, and me

Julie Delegal: Do you want your Florida sales taxes going to religious schools?

Julie Delegal: Voucher students must take the tests public-school pupils do

Julie Delegal: Educators upset with state’s system for assessing teacher performance

Julie Delegal: The End of Marriage? Has feminism weakened marriage?