Parkland shooting weighs heavy on Florida education debate

| 2/22/2018

Parkland shooting weighs heavy on Florida education debate

The Florida Senate Education Committee unanimously passed the House's mega school choice package bill on Tuesday, but not before it made some major changes influenced by the Parkland shooting. The shooting loomed over even seemingly unrelated issues like teachers' unions. More from the Tampa Bay Times and WMFE.

The Florida teachers strike that unsettled a nation and fueled a movement

Some teachers left goodbye messages to their students on classroom blackboards. Others cleared their desks. It was Feb. 16, 1968, a Friday, and a sign of what was coming that Monday in Florida: the nation’s first statewide teachers strike. Among their concerns: low pay, poor funding, a lack of planning time, missing materials, and more. More from the Washington Post and the TBO.com.

Florida ranks 4th, again, for Advanced Placement success

Florida ranked fourth in the nation again for getting students to take — and pass — Advanced Placement classes, with students in the class of 2017 continuing a decade-long trend of AP improvement, results released this morning showed. See how Florida ranks with other states in this news release from the College Board. Also read more at the Orlando Sentinel.

Plans for school voucher expansion in Florida sparks fiery debate

Two main views tend to emerge when it comes to the topic of school vouchers. Advocates say they give disadvantaged kids access to better schools. But opponents say vouchers drain money and resources from traditional public schools. A new proposal by Florida lawmakers is reigniting debate on both sides of the voucher camp. Full story from WUSF, here.

Florida Community College System facing potential shift in governance

Despite high graduation rates and increases in awarded degrees, a bill in the Senate looks to give Florida’s Community College System a governing facelift. This has led many community college leaders to warn of the unnecessary and unintended consequences that may result from such a bill. [Source: WGCU]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› UNF selects new president [Jacksonville Business Journal]
The University of North Florida has selected the dean of the business college at the University of Cincinnati as its next president. David Szymanski is a professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati.

› University of Florida among Peace Corps’ top volunteer-producing colleges & universities [UF News]
The Peace Corps announced that the University of Florida (UF) ranked No. 5 among large size schools on the agency’s 2018 Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities list. There are 68 Gators currently volunteering worldwide.

› Florida House advances a financial literacy course [Tampa Bay Times]
A proposal to add a standalone high school financial literacy class to Florida's course offerings moved through the House Education Committee on Wednesday, falling short of what some members — not to mention some banking lobbyists and the state Senate — were hoping for.

› Miami-Dade Schools want $30 million to protect against mass shootings [Miami Herald]
Miami-Dade County’s school system wants an extra $30 million this year from Florida to better prepare classrooms for a mass-shooting era — with bulletproof glass, advanced monitoring of social media and social workers trying to spot troubled students before they erupt in violence.

Tags: Education eNews

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