According to George Sheldon, Secretary for Florida's Department of Children and Families, one in five American children has no health insurance. In Florida, this number is reflected in the 763,000 children statewide who are currently uninsured. One program making a difference for families, as regards the anxiety and fret parents feel when no health coverage exists for their kids, is a program called Florida KidCare. The program, a combined effort by the state and federal government, has about 1.9 million children enrolled in one of its four programs.

For more information on Florida KidCare, click here.

According to Senate Bill 30-A, an amendment to Florida's Constitution that was approved by the Florida Legislature and voters statewide back in 2002, school class sizes were restricted and were to be reduced gradually until the maximum number of students per class was based on classroom-to-classroom averages and not district-wide or school-wide averages. Thus, at the start of this school year, the 2002 amendment will have finally achieved what it set out to do, limit the number of students per classroom to ones that are manageable: 18 students for grades Pre-K through 3; 22 students for grades 4-8; and 25 students per class for grades 9-12.

During legislative session, however, Florida lawmakers agreed to adjust the provisions of Senate Bill 30-A and are hoping other Floridians will agree with their proposed changes, Amendment 8, come November. Do you agree with Amendment 8 or not? Read more and let us know what you think.

After fining Florida's standardized testing contractor, NCS Pearson, three million dollars for costs related to delays in FCAT score reporting, the Florida Department of Education is asking for more. In a written statement released by Education Commissioner, Eric Smith, Smith says, "Pearson's usage of unproven technology systems this year has caused great turmoil for our parents, teachers, administrators and other education stakeholders and I remain committed to holding the company fully accountable for these disruptions." Read more.

After significant anomalies in FCAT test scores were reported in several school districts around the state, a lawsuit has been filed against Florida saying that the state is failing to provide a high quality public education system promised in it's own constitution. Additionally, the lawsuit points to the state's persistent focus on standardized testing, a focus most educators would agree is not producing sufficient results. Read more.

What incentive does an out-of-state seasoned educator have when applying for a teaching job in Florida? None. If a teacher moves to Florida, having never taught in the state, they are treated as first year teachers and given no tenure at all. Additionally, with constant budget challenges faced by Florida's public school system annually, it is this same group of folks at risk of losing jobs come year end.

In a recent Sun Sentinel article, Roseanne Harrison, a teacher with six years experience in the Chicago Public School System prior to moving to Florida and recently laid of after one year in a Broward County school, states, "Teachers are the foot soldiers. We're the first ones they put in, and [the ones] they get rid of first. It's a money game. They lay off teachers and get this projected budget, which is always significantly lower than what they get. Then, they hire all the teachers back."

Despite many of these teachers getting hired back once school systems know actual budgets, how can Floridians expect teachers to continue teaching when their out-of-state teaching experience can't even be used to help keep their jobs from being eliminated. Read more.