Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

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 DelegalFebruary 24, 2014

Second of three parts. We bristle at the idea that marriage is closely associated with economics, but, as the studies tell us, it is: Men wait to marry until they’re financially ready, and women see it “as a sign of having arrived rather than a way to get there,” as “The New York Times” reported […]

Julie DelegalFebruary 23, 2014

First of three parts. A Jacksonville attorney says that despite all the GOP rhetoric about the importance of matrimony, the Florida Legislature is poised to hasten its demise. Judith Erwin embodies most people’s definition of accomplishment, but she’s not so sure. She’s a successful family law attorney. She recently published her first novel, “Shadow of […]

Julie DelegalFebruary 16, 2014

The wind and rain plunged us all into the bone-chilling 40-degree range. But the weather didn’t keep the leadership apparatus of the Republican Party of Florida — or its Jacksonville loyalists — from showing up for Charlie Crist’s book signing. Crist, a former Republican governor now running for his old job as a Democrat, is […]

Guest AuthorFebruary 12, 2014

The point of school choice is to give parents options because we know different students thrive in different learning environments. So our need to assure that all these schools are holding up their end of the bargain is made no easier by those who demand we treat them as though they are all alike. Julie […]

Julie DelegalFebruary 9, 2014

To the jurors in the Michael Dunn murder trial: don’t read this. I’m the columnist Judge Russell Healey warned you about. This is a media account he doesn’t want you to read. In a nutshell, I agree with the father of Jordan Davis, the 17-year-old youth who was shot outside of a Jacksonville gas station […]

Julie DelegalFebruary 6, 2014

Duval County School Board member Jason Fischer, a rising young conservative in North Florida, wrote an admirable op-ed on transparency and accountability for our public schools. Most citizens would agree that while the school-grading system needs major tweaking, accountability is a good thing. Fischer advocates for full disclosure of data that relates not only to […]

Tag: Julie Delegal

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?

Julie Delegal: The end of marriage? The economics of being married

Julie Delegal: The end of marriage? Alimony reform would mean more divorce

Julie Delegal: Blame our uncivil politics on gerrymandering and ideologues

Jason Fischer: School choice requires policymakers to strike a balance

Julie Delegal: Florida is not my “castle”

Julie Delegal: Private-voucher schools must show how they spend tax dollars