International teachers fill special education vacancies in Florida

| 12/14/2023

International teachers fill special education vacancies in Florida

Florida started the year with 7,000 teacher vacancies, according to the Florida Education Association. According to the U.S. State Department, the number of international teachers employed in the U.S. jumped by 69% between 2015 and 2021. And the Florida Department of Education ranked special education as the top subject area where teachers were critically needed in Florida this year. [Source: WMFE]

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» Opinion: Teacher shortage a 'myth'? I see it every day

Florida releases A-to-F school grades but with no punishment for bad marks

Florida released its annual A-to-F school report card Monday, but this year bad marks carry no negative consequences for schools because the state transitioned to a new series of standardized exams and could not fully run grade calculations. School grades, first issued in 1999, are based on student performance on state math and reading tests. The grades released Monday are for the 2022-23 school year. More from the Orlando Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Times.

See also:
» See the Department of Education's grades for all Florida schools by county

Florida Trend Exclusive
Streamlining school spending

Jamie Rosenberg, the founder of AdoptAClassroom.org, came to realize funneling money to teachers to buy supplies was difficult. Whether it’s teachers buying school supplies or grant recipients of government programs, the compliance requirements to ensure funds are used for the right purpose create friction and thwart the speedy implementation of good intentions. The problem led him in 2014 to create ClassWallet, a platform for purchasing and reimbursing public funds. [Source: Florida Trend]

New Florida law blocks Chinese students from academic labs

A new state law is thwarting faculty at Florida’s public universities who want to hire Chinese graduate students and postdocs to work in their labs. In effect since July, the law prohibits institutions from taking money from or partnering with entities in China and six other “countries of concern.” The list of banned interactions includes offering anyone living in one of those countries a contract to do research. [Source: Science]

Florida plans to cut red tape for schools. But will lawmakers add some too?

School board members across the state say fewer mandates would give them breathing room to innovate and better compete with charter and private schools. Yet even as lawmakers talk of deregulating schools, they are proposing adding new rules too. Almost 50 House and Senate bills pertaining to education already have been filed for 2024, not including those pertaining to deregulation.[Source: Tampa Bay Times]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› Sarasota school district seeks to move past Ziegler ‘distraction’ [Tampa Bay Times]
The Sarasota County School Board on Tuesday called on fellow board member Bridget Ziegler to resign, citing her role in a sex scandal with statewide implications and calling her continued presence a distraction to the school district’s business. Ziegler has not been accused of committing any crime, but has faced criticism for being involved in a sexual relationship with another woman while using her post on the board to push policies unfriendly to the LGBTQ+ community.

› South Florida colleges to boost construction spending to $620 million in 2024 [South Florida Business Journal]
Construction spending on college facilities is on an upward trajectory, according to data from a national construction firm. Higher education institutions are projected to spend approximately $620 million on construction costs in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties in 2024, said Adrian Barrios, DPR Construction's business unit leader for South Florida.

› FSVA to operate as a private school [WINK News]
Andrew Locantora opened the Florida Sports Virtual Academy so that student-athletes can maximize their time practicing their sport without missing out on school. It’s an academic advisory and tutoring program, but from the start, Locantora had bigger goals. Right now, the program costs around $6,000, but this time next year, Locantora expects that price to be cut nearly in half by turning FSVA into a private school.

› Florida officials punish Broward high school that allowed trans student to play girls sports [Miami Herald]
State officials found that Monarch High School broke two rules for allowing a trans female student to play on the girls volleyball team, and punished the school with a one-year administrative probation and a penalty of $16,500. In a three-page letter sent to the school’s interim principal on Tuesday, the associate director of eligibility and compliance services for the Florida High School Athletic Association said the school “permitted a biological male to participate on the girls volleyball team,” listing 13 games in the 2022-23 season and 20 in the 2023-24 season.

Tags: Education eNews

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