Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Guest AuthorApril 16, 2015

Florida has successfully operated tax credit education scholarships for 13 years. More than 70,000 underprivileged students throughout Florida currently benefit from these scholarships, which provide important school choice options. These students, whose household incomes are only 5 percent above the poverty level, two-thirds of whom are black or Hispanic, and the majority of whom live […]

Mitch PerryApril 16, 2015

For those of you out there less enamored by Florida’s reputation as the “Gunshine State,” there was some positive news out of Tallahassee Wednesday night. That proposal that would give school superintendents the ability to designate a school district employee or volunteer to carry a concealed weapon on a school campus was scheduled on the […]

Drew WilsonApril 14, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott signed HB 7069 Tuesday, reducing the number of tests Florida public school students take as well as making changes to teacher evaluations and school year start dates. “This legislation reduces the number of tests our students take, including the 11th grade English Language Arts test that we eliminated this year through an […]

Ryan RayApril 6, 2015

The pro-business political action committee Americans for Prosperity — Florida continues to make waves this Session as it prepares to distribute mailers to a handful of legislators thanking them for their advocacy on charter school expansion. The move to gain good will among members of the Florida GOP majority serves as the carrot to AFP’s punitive stick, […]

Associated PressApril 1, 2015

Prospects are dim for a contentious bill that would allow designated select individuals to carry guns in Florida public schools. The Senate Committee on Pre-K-12 Education declined to vote on the bill this week. It’s one of the committees the bill was required to pass to reach the Senate floor, and it won’t meet again, […]

James CallMarch 10, 2015

The House Education Committee spent about an hour Monday discussing and approving an overhaul of Florida’s testing-focused school accountability program. The measure was approved on a unanimous vote. Read a staff analysis here. Chairwoman Marlene O’Toole said this past week she wanted to get the measure to the floor as quickly as possible, and Monday […]

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 […]

Ryan RayMarch 3, 2015

Two proposed committee bills to move back the date of Florida’s presidential primaries have sailed through legislative committees in as many days. The House version of the proposal, PCB RCEC 15-05, was introduced and approved in the House Rules Calendar & Ethics Committee without questions or debate in under three minutes on Monday, resulting in […]

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 […]

Gary FineoutFebruary 26, 2015

For nearly 2 million Florida public school students, the next few weeks could be a crucial moment in their education. The state is undertaking one of the biggest changes in its classrooms since former Gov. Jeb Bush pushed through his signature A+ school grading system nearly 16 years ago. Students will switch this spring to […]

John Legg: Don't let vulnerable kids get mired in politics of education

Mitch Perry Report for 4.16.15 — The $2 billion elephant in the Capitol

Rick Scott signs bill to cut school testing

Americans for Prosperity sends mid-Session mailers thanking supportive lawmakers

Bill to allow guns in public schools hits major setback

House Education panel talks school accountability reform

Julie Delegal: Tweaking the tests – Common Core pushback

Bills to move back presidential primaries zoom through committee

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

Florida legislators under pressure to alter school testing