Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jac VerSteegApril 15, 2015

The Florida Legislature has passed, and Gov. Rick Scott has signed, an education reform bill that is dishonest – and politically cowardly – at its core. The measure tries to appease parents and others sick of over-testing. It scales back the number of tests. That’s fine. It also reduces the weight given to tests when […]

Phil AmmannMarch 30, 2015

Jeb Bush continues to lead the field as best-known presidential hopeful tested in a new poll of Republican voters released Monday by CBS News. Behind Bush is former Gov. Mike Huckabee, followed by Sens. Rand Paul and Marco Rubio. Respondents could choose as many names as they wanted. Showing the biggest movement in the past month is Texas […]

Phil AmmannMarch 24, 2015

At Virginia’s Liberty University, Ted Cruz made it official. The Texas senator declared his long awaited White House bid on Monday with a passionate 30-minute speech, calling to “reignite the promise of America.” Cruz, a tea party firebrand, became the first in a soon-to-be-very-crowded Republican field with an event at the bastion of Christian conservatism; […]

Phil AmmannMarch 24, 2015

At Virginia’s Liberty University, Ted Cruz made it official. The Texas senator declared his long awaited White House bid on Monday with a passionate 30-minute speech, calling to “reignite the promise of America.” Cruz, a tea party firebrand, became the first in a soon-to-be-very-crowded Republican field with an event at the bastion of Christian conservatism; […]

Guest AuthorMarch 8, 2015

Florida’s educational ship of state hit an iceberg last week. By the end of the week, Education Commissioner Pam Stewart was insisting that it was just a “small gash” and that the problem had been fixed. Legislators are rushing in to change the route and even suggesting that the ship return to port. The voyage […]

Associated PressMarch 7, 2015

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Friday night he is standing by his support for the Common Core school standards rejected by a segment of the GOP’s most conservative members, including other potential presidential candidates. “Raising expectations and having accurate assessments of where kids are is essential for success, and I’m not going to back […]

Julie DelegalMarch 4, 2015

Rep. Debbie Mayfield, R-Vero Beach, has been listening to parent complaints about high-stakes testing. Mayfield, like most parents and educators, is so frustrated with the entire standards-based accountability system that she wants to give entire school districts the ability to “opt out” of standards-based tests altogether. Judging from an action alert obtained from a Tea […]

Bob SparksMarch 3, 2015

Florida’s most conservative Republican governor in history was about to speak before last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, MD. Despite a record few Republicans in any state could match, his appearance before a room full of conservatives was considered a road game. Between 2007 and 2015, he fell from grace among […]

Julie DelegalMarch 2, 2015

Part one of this two-part series examines one senator’s move to lower the stakes in Florida’s high-stakes education accountability system, and how the stakes got so high in the first place. For several years, parents and teachers have bristled against the centerpiece of education reform in Florida. “Teacher accountability” is the political term for it, but what […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 27, 2015

In what appeared to be the most anticipated moment at CPAC 2015, Jeb Bush went into the lion’s den this afternoon and seemed to emerge not only unscathed, but actually stronger in the process. Although some of his responses regarding immigration garnered boos from the Conservative Political Action Conference crowd, they weren’t substantial, and were […]

Tag: common core

Jac VerSteeg: Fewer tests in school-grade formula is like less spit in milk

Voters favor Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton 2016, CBS poll shows

Bill Day’s latest: The “Cruzzard” takes flight

Bill Day's latest: The "Cruzzard" takes flight

Catherine Martinez: Florida's Titanic testing journey

Jeb Bush defends Common Core school standards

Julie Delegal: Tweaking the tests – Common Core pushback

Bob Sparks: Jeb Bush earns a respectable passing grade at CPAC

Julie Delegal: Tweaking the tests – what to watch in education legislation

Jeb Bush dares to piss off CPAC crowd, but cheers ring too