State Board of Education eyes 11 school districts over mask policies
Continuing to pressure school districts over their handling of COVID-19, the State Board of Education has scheduled a meeting next week to look at whether 11 districts have complied with rules aimed at preventing student mask mandates.
State Board of Education votes to investigate Alachua school district, superintendent for mask mandate
The state Board of Education on Tuesday voted in favor of a recommendation to โuse its enforcement powersโ against Alachua County Public Schools after the district defied a statewide order to allow students to opt out of wearing a face mask without a doctorโs note.
Florida Board of Education adopts rule banning โcritical race theoryโ in public schools
Floridaโs Board of Education approved a proposal Thursday that specifies how American history should be taught in public schools and outright bans the teaching of โcritical race theoryโ in Florida classrooms.
Florida school voucher program up to 34,000 students
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ After a change made during this yearโs legislative session, a Florida school voucher program has expanded to nearly 34,000 students, a state official said this week. The Family Empowerment Scholarship Program was created in 2019, with a cap of about 18,000 students for the 2019-2020 school year. The program, which is funded directly from the state education budget, is designed to help lower-income and working-class families send children to private schools. It is part of more than two decades of efforts by state Republican leaders to expand school choice. The Board of Education, which met Wednesday in St. Petersburg, approved a rule spelling out details of the program.
Training requirements bolstered on human trafficking
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida foster parents and safe-house workers who help victims of human trafficking will be required to get training on how trafficking for forced labor intersects with the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Labor trafficking became part of the specialized training requirements for foster parents and staff on Friday, according to a rule change made by the Florida Department of Children and Families. Through the rule-making process, state agencies that deal with children have put a renewed focus on making sure human trafficking is identified. "Tragically, human trafficking is an epidemic in our country," Gov. "Children of all ages need to know and understand the hazards of human trafficking and how to protect themselves from dangerous predators."
More money sought for school legal fights
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida Department of Education is seeking more than $1 million in the upcoming fiscal year to cover mounting legal expenses, a $785,000 increase over what it received for the current year. This spring, lawmakers agreed to give the department $250,000 to pay for ongoing and potential future litigation against state education policies. In their budget request for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, education officials said the money is needed to help with costs tied to four separate lawsuits. In the coming months, the department also could face a court battle about a newly created vouchers program, known as the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program. Organizations such as Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the Southern Poverty Law Center argue the scholarship program is unconstitutional.
State board takes helm of Florida Virtual School, names director
iStock / DOConnellTALLAHASSEE, Fla. - After reports about questionable spending and other problems, the State Board of Education on Monday began acting as trustees of the Florida Virtual School and named a longtime Miami-Dade County educator to serve as executive director. During a conference call, the board approved hiring Louis Algaze as executive director. Among Algazes responsibilities will be to select an independent firm to conduct an audit of the virtual school. The changes came after the Orlando Sentinel reported about problems at the virtual school. Lawmakers this spring passed a budget-related bill (SB 2502) that shifted control of the virtual school to the State Board of Education, replacing the previous board of trustees.