When local school board members in Lee County and Palm Beach County began talking about opting the entire district out of state testing, the state warned them they would face punishment if they dared.
“But the district better be prepared to pay the price of skipping the new exam — quite literally. Skip the exam and the state is likely to withhold money.
“The ramifications could be pretty dramatic for a district that wanted to do this,” says Florida Department of Education spokesman Joe Follick. “This is uncharted waters. No districts have done this.”
“Follick added the state could withhold state funds, grants and lottery money. Lawmakers could decide on additional sanctions, he said. Most K-12 public school operations are funded through the state.
“School board members say opting out an entire school district is unlikely.
“I believe in assessment,” Palm Beach school board member Karen Brill said last week. “I believe in testing that’s used for measurement, not punishment. I believe that we as a district need to research opting out from the new Florida Standard Assessments.
“Sometimes it takes an act of civil disobedience to move forward.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Follick added the state could withhold state funds, grants and lottery money. Lawmakers could decide on additional sanctions, he said. Most K-12 public school operations are funded through the state.”
Suppose a district opted out of testing and suppose that Dr. Ravitch just happened to Blog about it, I would send this brave district money. And I know that I would not be acting alone.
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I’m so sick of the phrase ‘state funds’ these are TAX PAYER DOLLARS and if the tax payers in a certain district’s elected school officials decide to opt out, they should be able to and still get THEIR own tax dollar back for their district! It is, as we would say in education: an inappropriate punishment for the crime.
Between the federal government/Arne withholding wavers and state officials constantly threatening to withhold money (that in reality belongs to their constituencies), it would seem that not taking these tests is a crime akin to stealing the gold from Fort Knox. I mean really what is the crime, who is it hurting? If local officials feel that is best for their students not to take these tests, not to spend money on these tests, then they should be able to spend their tax dollars how they choose.
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If you send this school district money, you better make sure the money is spent on classroom instruction, and not on payments to the Florida public pension system (like Prop 30 money in Calif. that was supposed to be for education). Florida has a $19 billion unfunded pension liability.
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It makes me sick that people think this is normal behavior. This is scary as hell. As a teacher I see first hand what damage these tests are doing.
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I love the laissez-faire approach to charter schools in these ed reform states coupled with the threats and punishments meted out to public schools.
They know this ed reform thing doesn’t hang together and makes no sense, right?
Which is it? Are they authoritarian top-down managers or deregulatory free marketeers?
Why isn’t rejecting over-testing an “innovation”? These people are bucking the status quo. I thought we rewarded that.
Anyone and everyone can open and run a charter school in Florida, yet public schools can’t even be trusted to weigh in on testing?
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That’s the whole point. Once public education is destroyed, there won’t be any more testing mania because it will have fulfilled its function.
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“Follick added the state could withhold state funds, grants and lottery money.”
And the district should have a petition for an injunction ready for the following lawsuit that charges the state with violating its duties: (from the constitution)
“SECTION 1. Public education.—
(a) The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders.”
Seems pretty clear cut to me that the state would have to provide those funds and cannot legally withhold them.
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I sort of agree with you, not based on the statute but based on what will be public pressure. It’s public money, and they don’t like all this testing. The state should cut it out with the “hammer/everything looks like a nail” approach and talk to these people.
It never should have reached this point. Courts are supposed to be last resort. They’re not babysitters for state officials who don’t know how to talk to people.
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It’s the state constitution that is mandating that the state provide the education. It’s not a matter of whether or not the courts should be deciding, they have to decide, that’s what they’re paid the big bucks for.
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Here’s the groovy charter school story ‘o the week:
“Former Multnomah County Chairman Jeff Cogen, who resigned last September after admitting having an affair with a county health department employee, is taking a new job as the head of Portland’s Leadership and Entrepreneurship Public Charter High School.”
The employee got “pushed out of her job” for the county as a result of the affair, but he landed on his feet. Now he’ll be running a charter school, although he’s a lawyer with absolutely no experience or qualifications.
http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-32079-former_multnomah_county_chairman_jeff_cogen_to_head_charter_school.html
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OK, so this is making me rather glad that in NH the state contributes next to nothing to local educational expenses.Not to mention,exactly where, from whom, does the stet of FL think the money they are “giving” the districts comes from?
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The Orange County school district will have to create 1,000 new End of Course exams to comply with the law that mandates that every course have an exam, primarily for the purpose of ranking and rating teachers. Is the state funding this effort? Districts are supposed to be measuring learning gains on tests but this is not possible given that the students have never taken these exams before. You can read more about Florida’s test obsession here http://kafkateach.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/tests-tests-and-more-tests/
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Chiara, this is priceless. “I’m really focused on helping kids to thrive,” Cogen says. Will he teach the class on safe sex since he had affair with public health employee?
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Sadly, Arne Duncan’s playbook is being adopted by State Superintendents…
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http://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/columnists/2014/09/03/rosanne-wood-brief-stand-testing/15041789/
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There is a disturbing trend in the culture of oppression and bullying in Florida, where it blurs the distinction between correctional and educational. I was not surprised that the uncovering of the Boot Hill Cemetery reform school was in Marianna, Florida. Florida’s educational policies and human rights violations are a national embarrassment.
It is little people, the public servants, that are in the vanguard of progress, NOT the politicians. The politicians, in threatening “drastic” ramifications and sanctions should districts put student’s needs first, are the old guard which takes on the correctional officer M.O. that is one prone to abusing, fear-mongering, and isolating of the real educators, the real community leaders.
Florida teachers, you are not alone in this!
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