redefinED

If you ask Florida Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) what he thinks the education world will look like in the year 2040, he’ll tell you it will be going back to the past. “I see us moving back to the one-room schoolhouse where we have students of different capabilities working with each other to help everyone rise,” Brandes says. The Pinellas...

TAMPA – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday reiterated his pledge to establish a state-funded program that would eliminate the 13,000 students on a waiting list to receive the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) for lower-income families. Speaking at Tampa Bay Christian Academy, where 180 of the school’s 260 students (72 percent of whom are black or Hispanic) use the...

I had the opportunity recently to visit a new, small private school on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona. The school illustrates an education trend that is providing a new avenue for addressing America’s largest achievement gap. The United States has done very poorly by Native Americans, including but hardly limited to K-12 education. Starting in the late 19th...

Editor’s note: redefinED is supporting National Autism Awareness Month each Saturday in April by reposting articles from our archives that celebrate those who champion the educational rights of children with autism. Today’s post, which originally appeared in June 2018, features a dedicated teacher who refused to give up on a child with profound autism. By Livi Stanford Abigail Maass never spoke....

Lawmakers moved forward in the sixth week of the session on several bills related to school choice. Here is a brief recap. The House Ways and Means Committee approved PCB WMC 19-02, a tax package bill that includes a provision to require school districts to share tax referendum revenues with charter schools. Voters in eight Florida counties had approved in...

By Joy Smith-McCormick Among the most important choices families must make, education commands our focus, as it is the foundation upon which high-functioning, productive citizens are developed. The education sector has been religious in its practices for centuries, but over the last 20 years more options to deliver education have emerged. Just as other sectors have responded to public...

By ROGER MOONEY  ZEPHYRHILLS – Gazing at his 8-year-old granddaughter from across his dining room, George Hill concluded that he and his wife, Robin, have been blessed. “She’s dedicated. She’s smart. She’s a hard worker,” he said, describing the child who was born addicted to the opioids her mother, who wants nothing to do with her, took while pregnant. He used another word...

A bill that would require Florida school districts to share tax revenues with charter schools is headed to the House floor. The House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday voted 15-2 to approve a package of tax issues (PCB WMC 19-02), a section of which addresses charter schools being denied funding from voter-approved local tax referendums. In November, voters...

Editor’s note: This opinion piece, written by the executive director of the Florida Parent Network, appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat March 27. Imagine grocery shopping with your friend. She lives near a safe and convenient store with a wide variety of options that meet the nutritional needs of your family. Now imagine that you can only shop in your neighborhood. The store...