Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Ryan RayMay 24, 2016

Former Gov. Jeb Bush is not one to stay out of public life for too long. On Tuesday, his plans for what comes next after departing from the 2016 GOP presidential primary came into focus. Bush will again assume the reins as president and chairman of the Excellence in Education Foundation board of directors, an organization he […]

Peter SchorschApril 19, 2016

Kudos to Florida Supreme Court Justice Fred Lewis. As detailed in an article in the Ocala Star-Banner, Lewis took the time to speak to students at Ocala’s Trinity Catholic High School. He did so as part of the court’s Justice Teaching Initiative, which he founded in 2006 to help Florida’s K-12 students understand the state’s laws and justice system. It’s a free program […]

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 […]

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 […]

Mark FerruloFebruary 19, 2015

Do you think Florida’s school accountability system, with punitive high-stakes testing and unreasonable mandates, is out of control? To teachers and other folks on the front lines in the fight to improve our public schools, it most definitely is. Last week, more than 6,000 teachers, parents, education advocates and other concerned Floridians participated in the […]

James CallFebruary 16, 2015

Four school board members from across the state have organized as an alternative to the Florida School Board Association. The Florida Coalition of School Board Members is disgruntled by the FSBA support for a lawsuit against a tax credit scholarship program by the Florida Education Association. The state has sought dismissal of the cased, arguing […]

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 […]

Daniel TilsonDecember 31, 2014

So you ask, how did Florida’s future fare in 2014? And you say your friend is wondering what our 2015 prospects look like? Glad you’re asking, because I was contemplating just such things while chasing my 9-year-old kid and her friend around the carnival at a local park today. They’re great pals, classmates at our […]

Daniel TilsonDecember 23, 2014

My 9-year-old now tells me Santa Clause is fictional. So, I’m sending my letter to someone real, or…well, someone who exists, anyway: Dear Gov. Scott (and please share with GOP colleagues), It’s that time of year. No, not time to instruct staff to delete leftover sensitive emails or texts from the past year. No, not […]

Jac VerSteegDecember 15, 2014

If Florida lawmakers are such “school choice” advocates, they should give public schools the same choices enjoyed by the private voucher schools. The voucher schools never were required to give students the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and won’t be required to administer the tests involved in Florida’s switch to a testing system based on Common […]

Tag: Vouchers
Crowds gather to see Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. (Gabrielle Russon)

Jeb Bush to return as chair of Foundation for Excellence in Education

Justice Fred Lewis addresses Catholic high school students

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

Key plaintiff pulls out of charter schools lawsuit

Mark Ferrulo: Education community overwhelmingly opposes punitive testing

Lawsuit spawns rival state school board association

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

Daniel Tilson: Florida 2014 – Days of Future Past

Daniel Tilson: A Christmas letter to Gov. Rick Scott

Jac VerSteeg: Let public schools choose to give voucher-school tests