Scathing Purple Musings
Color me purple in Florida ALL Week
Why the Florida Senate Remains the Nation’s Key Battleground on Education Policy
Writes Matt Dixon in the Florida Times-Union: The Republicans hold a 26-14 lead in the Florida Senate, which simple math will tell you means they should be able to muscle out any legislation they deem important. Politics, though, isn’t always by the numbers. In recent years, a bloc of six Republican senators has acted as a thorn in the side of the Senate’s GOP leadership, helping kill key bills. T
YESTERDAY
Will Weatherford’s Massive Expansion of Vouchers Promises Cash Bonanza for Step Up for Students
That “massive expansion” of Florida’s voucher system Will Weatherford promised is here. From Flagler Live: Under the proposal (PCB FTSC 14-02), retailers could divert sales-tax payments to the system; middle-class families would qualify for partial scholarships; and each scholarship would cover more of the cost of attending a private school. The bill would also increase a cap on the program’s fund
FEB 20
Broward Has to Finance Mavericks’ Charter Schools $1.5 Million in State Fines
Just over two weeks ago, Mavericks Charter School president Frank Biden was talking smack to charter school opponents that “we are going to take you down.” While the rogue brother of the vice president was proposing to “look his enemies in the eyes” through another billionaire-funded 501(C)(4), he didn’t mention that three of his schools were scamming taxpayers and failing kids. Writes Sun-Sentine
FEB 19
Florida BOE Faces the Music; Passes Common Core Anyway
Florida’s unelected Board of Education, long serving as reliable cronies to rubber stamp Jeb Bush’s education agenda, finally had to face critics in yesterday’s public hearing on Common Core. Not that there ever any doubt that they would ever act differently, yesterday’s passage revealed the Board’s complete void of independent thought. Consider this from Matt Dixon in the Florida Times-Union: The
FEB 11
Pam Stewart Snubs Teachers in Recognizing AP Success, Participation
From an FDOE press release: Tallahassee, Fla., February 11, 2014 – Florida earned high marks for the percentage of graduates from the class of 2013 who took an Advanced Placement (AP) exam while in high school, earning them a second place national ranking according to a new report issued today. The 10th Annual AP Report to the Nation noted that 53.1 percent of Florida graduates participated in rig