Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorJanuary 18, 2015

A recent commentary published in Context Florida written by William Mattox, a fellow with the right-wing think tank James Madison Institute, provides a glimpse of the strategy pro-voucher forces use to build support for their program. It begins with an anecdote of a student who says he was ill served in “government schools” – a […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 6, 2015

Several days before the White House announced the U.S. would be normalizing relations with Cuba, a high school sophomore from Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood gave a speech that wowed a bipartisan group of state legislators and education advocates at a conference sponsored by the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options (HCREO). In his speech, […]

Guest AuthorJanuary 3, 2015

Several days before the White House announced the U.S. would be normalizing relations with Cuba, a high school sophomore from Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood gave a speech that wowed a bipartisan group of state legislators and education advocates at a conference sponsored by the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options (HCREO). In his speech, […]

Gary FineoutDecember 30, 2014

A Florida judge on Tuesday tossed out a lawsuit aimed at blocking an expansion of the state’s main private school voucher program. Chief Circuit Judge Charles Francis didn’t rule directly on the main points of the lawsuit. But instead he said that those who filed it didn’t legally show how the expansion would harm them. […]

Guest AuthorOctober 6, 2014

The Florida Education Association is highly litigious, politically active and flush with resources from membership dues and fees. It often gets its way, but not without collateral damage. In its fight with the Legislature for more school funding, the union is determined to destroy a privately funded scholarship program giving 68,000 of Florida’s poorest students the opportunity to […]

Julie DelegalSeptember 14, 2014

Former and would-be Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has defied this columnist’s prediction. Coming out on a policy that has divided Florida for 16 years was definitely against the odds. The Tanned One has chutzpah. The policy is education reform, and, as governor, Crist stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his predecessor, Jeb Bush, for whom education is now […]

Guest AuthorSeptember 8, 2014

When the Florida courts consider several lawsuits filed recently by the Florida Education Association and other anti-voucher groups, I hope someone will call me as a witness. That’s because I am a public school parent who agrees that some of our education tax dollars aren’t being spent in a way that serves the public interest. […]

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 […]

Bob SparksApril 28, 2014

Last week, a federal judge issued a ruling serving as a perfect illustration of how the judicial system should work. The case left one side glad and the other side sad, but the reasoning behind the opinion demonstrates why thoughtful jurists deserve our respect. On April 22, District Judge Mark Walker dismissed part of a […]

Julie DelegalOctober 14, 2013

This is part two of a six-part series on Florida’s Future with the Common Core State Standards, presented in partnership with Folio Weekly. A complete version of this series will appear in Folio on Oct. 16. Everyone, it seems, has chimed in on the Common Core State Standards, which the Florida Department of Education adopted […]

Tag: Florida Education Association

Joanne McCall: Pro-voucher strategy evades accountability

William Mattox: Embattled school in Little Havana fears déjà vu all over again

William Mattox: Protect progress in any language

Florida judge dismisses voucher expansion lawsuit

William Patrick: Coalition forms to help protect scholarship program for poor

Julie Delegal: Charlie Crist and the Voucher Factory

William Mattox: History project highlights debate about education spending

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

Bob Sparks: On occasion, judges can surprise both sides

Julie Delegal: Florida and the Common Core: Uncommon alliances