LWVeducation
Action issues on testing, charter school management, common curriculum, and use of public funds for education were updated at the Florida League of Women Voters convention this past week.
Voices from local leagues were heard.
The implications of the changes are summarized. We can go to work in new ways! Take a look.
If you want to take the pulse of charter school legislative priorities, watch this video. It is yesterday’s Florida Senate Education Committee workshop on charters. They have a long list of proposed bills to consider, and they are looking for ways to combine bills in order to move forward.
The two most comprehensive bills were from Senator Montford and Senator Legg. Continue reading
I had a glimpse into the future yesterday. Such a contrast between what is and what could be! Believe it or not, it was the Senate K12 Education Committee meeting on video. It started off with a review of the districts’ technology plans. This past year, the State of Florida administered 4 million tests online. This year, they will do 5 million. The infrastructure is there, more or less.
I did not realize that funding for technology was recently incorporated into the FEFP per student allocation. Thus, the increase is ear marked. Districts are spending on average, 53% of this technology money for infrastructure. Thirty one percent goes for assessments, and six percent for professional development. According to the DOE, this approach is working.
Now for what could be….
We will do a series of posts on educational issues likely to come up in the Florida legislative session. We would like to hear from other states as well. Let’s begin with the accountability of the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) scholarship program.
What are the children learning; where is the money going, and how is it spent?
Keeping track of the $86 million for 67, 142 students in over 1400 schools is no easy task. Transparency issues in reporting have arisen in charter schools. Senator Legg, Chair of the Education Committee indicated that remedies would be made. How can he improve transparency in the private school sector for tax credit vouchers?
Senator Gaetz wants answers to a list of questions about testing. How much time do they take? What happens if students do not take them. Where are we on setting passing levels. He wrote a letter to the Commissioner of Education, Pam Stewart. She answers at the Senate Committee Meeting on Wednesday. You can watch it. Read on, more is happening.
The Commissioner of Education, Pam Stewart did a presentation today about testing in Florida’s public schools. Part of her comment about the impact of testing on student achievement in Florida was unsettling, or just plain wrong. In the video of the Education Appropriations Committee meeting today, she said Florida’s children from low-income families tested number one in the country and other groups were in the top 10. It is a rosy view of the situation.