Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Ryan RayFebruary 11, 2016

A handful of students from a private school in Osceola County visited Tallahassee Thursday to drop by the offices of Florida’s largest teachers’ union to deliver a message on behalf of adults in the school choice movement: “Drop the suit.” Specifically, they referred to the suit filed by the Florida Education Association and other groups against the state […]

Gary FineoutFebruary 10, 2016

Setting up a potential tug-of-war over millions in taxpayer money, the Florida House is rushing ahead with a plan that would force school districts across the state to share local property taxes with charter schools. Some legislators are pushing to steer more money to charter schools even though a recent analysis by The Associated Press […]

Melissa RossJanuary 25, 2016

The battle over charter schools has been joined in some Florida cities, particularly in places such as Palm Beach. Charters continue to grow in both popularity – and controversy. It’s against that tense backdrop that Jacksonville prepares to host an annual event looking to improve graduation rates for the city’s young male blacks, and this […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 29, 2015

Everyone wants good schools, but getting people (and politicians) to pay for them is a different matter. In St. Johns County, they may have found a way forward … despite the resistance of powerful politicians and “civic leaders” who stood in their way. In November, a referendum passed resoundingly in St. Johns County. It was […]

Associated PressDecember 13, 2015

Less than a mile from the state Capitol, a former steakhouse shows little evidence that it was once part of a movement to change Florida’s schools. It was on this location nearly two decades ago that the leader of a prominent Tallahassee church put together one of the state’s first charter schools. The space where […]

Phil AmmannDecember 2, 2015

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Florida students with disabilities could have expanded educational options in a bill that passed its final Senate committee hearing Wednesday morning. LobbyTools is reporting that SB 672, sponsored by Niceville Republican Don Gaetz, is now on its way to the Senate floor. If passed, the bill would expand the one-year Personal Learning Scholarship Account program, […]

Jac VerSteegAugust 16, 2015

You always hear that charter schools can innovate because they are freed from some of the stupid bureaucratic rules that plague traditional public schools. A couple of charter schools in Broward County are taking advantage of a “rule break” that truly appears “innovative.” They don’t have to pay their bills. That’s right, according to reporter […]

Melissa RossJuly 15, 2015

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With bold proposals out this week for improving student achievement in urban Duval County, Schools Superintendent Nikolai Vitti acknowledges: “It’s a tough job.” The challenge is one of scale,” Vitti said during an appearance on WJCT’s First Coast Connect. “It’s undeniable we have pockets of excellence even in very tough schools. We’re seeing improvement, the […]

Ryan RayMarch 30, 2015

The Florida Association of School Administrators — a major plaintiff and arguably the least overtly political — has pulled out of a lawsuit challenging the legality of Florida’s corporate tax credit scholarship program. “Following a full review of priorities, the Board made the decision to focus resources on FASA’s main objective – to ensure that […]

Julie DelegalJanuary 12, 2015

“Can’t we all just get along?” The immortal words of police brutality survivor Rodney King might make for great TV, but they’re a lousy statement on education policy. And yet, those words nearly jumped off the page as I read Trey Csar’s recent apologia for public school privatization. Csar is president of the Jacksonville Public […]

Tag: charter schools

Scholarship students urge teachers’ union to drop tax credit suit

Despite problems charter schools could get more state money

Jax Urban Ed Symposium to spotlight charter schools: “the good, the bad and the ugly”

St. Johns County school tax referendum: the most overlooked NE Florida story of the year?

State gave charter schools millions before they closed

Bill to expand education for students with disabilities passes final Senate committee

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: Make charter schools pay the money they owe

Nikolai Vitti: Standardized testing “exacerbated problems in schools around the country”

Key plaintiff pulls out of charter schools lawsuit

Julie Delegal: Lousy education policy blurs line between public, private