Tallahassee, Florida –  Today, the House Pre-K – 12 Appropriations Subcommittee voted to reward high achieving students by passing HB 7059 which rewards student-achievement instead of seat-time.

“I thank members of the House Pre-K – 12 Appropriations Subcommittee for their commitment to increasing accelerated learning options for Florida’s students,” said Patricia Levesque, Executive Director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future. “This bill will open the door to restructuring education around what truly matters – student learning.  Evolution from seat-time based education is the next step to bringing every student a quality education that is customized to meet their unique learning style and pace.”

Florida has dramatically improved the quality of public education during the past decade, but our work is far from finished. These initiatives move Florida further down the path of improving education for all students. The Foundation looks forward to working with members of the Florida Legislature to continue our success.

Tallahassee, Florida – For over a decade, Florida has graded school districts A-F, just like it grades schools.  Based on that data, today Governor Scott released how each of Florida’s 67 school districts rank from highest performing to lowest performing.

“We applaud Governor Scott’s initiative to rank Florida’s school districts in order to promote performance by encouraging competition,” said Patricia Levesque, Executive Director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future.  “Florida has already experienced the results accountability and transparency have on schools.  While grading school districts is not new, this additional level of transparency will better equip parents and community leaders to be more involved in ensuring their school district is leading the state and nation in student performance.”

School grading and school district grading are foundational elements of Florida’s leading accountability system for public education.  This year, 30 school districts received an A, 23 received a B, 13 received a C, and one received a D.

Chair Dean Colson discusses quality and competitiveness, student financial aid, governance issues in presentation

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.— Attorney Dean Colson of Coral Gables presided over his first meeting today as Chair of the Florida Board of Governors, opening with comments focused public universities’ quality and competitiveness, student financial aid and governance issues. The Florida Board of Governors is the constitutional appointed oversight body of the 11-institution State University System, which serves more than 325,000 total enrolled students. His comments, as well as his complementary PowerPoint presentation with data underscoring points of focus, are both posted in today’s Board meeting materials located at http://www.flbog.edu/pressroom/meeting_agenda.php?id=129.

Colson was elected unanimously at the November meeting of the Board of Governors and was first appointed to the Board of Governors by the then-Governor in January 2010. Colson has been a partner with the law firm of Colson Hicks Eidson in Miami since 1981, and served as Vice Chair of the Florida Board of Governors and Legislative Committee Chair the past two years. He served nearly 20 years on the University of Miami’s Board of Trustees (1991-2009), a private university, including as its Chair.

Colson cited many of the metrics in the 2010-11 Board of Governors’ Annual Accountability Report released this week (see attached email), as well as the Board of Governors’ just-finalized Strategic Plan for the State University System of Florida: 2012-2025. The Board’s Annual Accountability Report has undergone significant enhancements the past two consecutive years, and is quickly evolving into a leading model for accountability among public university systems nationally. It was formally presented Wednesday in the Strategic Planning Committee (and is posted in that section), and will be taken up by the full Board at today’s full-membership meeting.

Immediately following Chair Colson’s remarks, House Speaker-designate Will Weatherford addressed the Board of Governors as a follow-up to his recent letter regarding the growth of distance learning, one of the priorities of the past year of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee. His letter is posted under Advance Materials at http://www.flbog.edu/pressroom/meeting_agenda.php?id=129.

About the State University System of Florida
The State University System of Florida is governed by a 17-member Board of Governors, a constitutional body and led by appointed public servants. The System is comprised of 11 institutions with a total enrollment of more than 320,000 students, making it the fourth-largest public university system in the nation in terms of enrollment (some states have more than one university system). The Florida Constitution (Article IX, Section 7) was amended by the state’s voters in 2002 to establish a statewide system of governance for all Florida public universities. As a result, the Florida Board of Governors was created in 2003 to oversee the State University System of Florida. Responsibilities include defining the distinctive mission of each institution and ensuring the well-planned coordination and operation of the System. The Board’s 17 members include 14 appointed by the Governor, with three serving by virtue of their designations (a faculty member, a Florida Student Association student representative, and the Florida Commissioner of Education). The Board of Governors appoints a Chancellor who serves as the chief executive and administrative officer of the State University System. For more, including the Board’s Annual Report that reflects accountability measurements and benchmarks occurring at each institution, see www.flbog.edu.

Tallahassee, FL – Today, the Senate Pre-K – 12 Committee voted to increase educational opportunities for Sunshine State students. SB 962 allows for a one-time bump in the statewide tax credit cap to $250 million in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. This will allow 6,500 more children from low-income families the opportunity to select and attend the best school to meet their unique needs.
“I thank Senators Benacquisto, Altman, Bogdanoff and Wise of the Senate Pre-K – 12 Committee for their commitment to offering every student the quality education they deserve,” said Patricia Levesque, Executive Director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future. “This successful, cost-saving program has given thousands of low-income students a choice in their education that would not otherwise be available to them. The changes SB 962 introduces will give even more parents a voice in their children’s education.”

Education in Florida has dramatically improved during the past decade, but our work is far from finished. This legislation moves Florida further down the path of ensuring every child has access to a quality education. The Foundation looks forward to continuing to work with members of the Florida Legislature to imoprove student achievement.

Tallahassee, Fla.  – For the first time in 10 years, the Florida State Board of Education today approved new achievement level scores for grades 3-10 in reading and grades 3-8 mathematics on the annual FCAT 2.0 assessments. Since Florida began administering the FCAT in 1998, data from reading and math has been used to gauge student achievement and to identify policy changes needed to link learning to best practices. These new achievement scores improve the movement that has kept Florida on the forefront of learning and achievement for more than a decade and will better prepare Florida students for college or a job after high school.

“A good education and the ability to get a job are inextricably linked, and as a student whose family lived in public housing and struggled financially, I know how important both of those things are,” said Governor Rick Scott. “I commend the Board of Education for approving these standards today. This is a positive step toward making Florida’s education system the best in the country.”

For four months, Florida educators, higher education, business and community leaders, in partnership with the Florida Department of Education (DOE), participated in an achievement-level-creation process known as “setting cut scores.” This process requires the Florida State Board of Education to establish mathematics achievement level scores for grades 3-8, including an End-Of-Course (EOC) Algebra 1 assessment, and reading achievement level scores in grades 3-10, which includes a passing score for high school graduation. FCAT 2.0 achievement scores provide a framework of expectations for reporting how much our students learn in each grade level to teachers, parents and other stakeholders.

“On behalf of the State Board of Education I would like to thank Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson and his leadership, both with his DOE team as well as with the many important external participants, which ensured meaningful stakeholder participation in the decision making process,” said State Board of Education Chair Kathleen Shanahan.  “Our goal as a board is to ensure the students in Florida’s education process have every chance to succeed in our global economy.”

The achievements approved today include the following criteria for preparing public high school students for college or a career:

·         Grade 10 reading score of 245 in Level 3 satisfies the reading assessment standard for high school graduation.

·         Grade 10 reading score of 262 in Level 4, and maintaining a “B” average, allows a student to enroll in dual enrollment credit-bearing courses with credit for those college courses in the subject area, bypass the P.E.R.T. test, and enroll in a Florida College System institution without taking a remediation course in reading.

·         The Algebra I End-Of-Course assessment includes two important scores: Level 3 as passing and Level 4 as high achieving and potential to be college ready by the time of high school graduation.

“I support the new cut scores because they aim high, and are designed to prepare our students to be ready to live and work in a competitive world,” said State Board of Education Vice-Chair Bobby Martinez.  “Our decision reflects what we want for our students and is solidly grounded on the extensive work of a lengthy and transparent process informed by educators familiar with students’ abilities and the content assessed and with the professional input of key stakeholder groups.”

“In order to continue moving Florida in a direction to better prepare our students for successful participation in a competitive learning-and-earning society, we must remain diligent in setting good standards,” said Department of Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson. “Today’s action keeps Florida students on a path to be globally competitive.”

“I want to commend the teachers and administrators who have dedicated their efforts and resources to ensure that our students are on track to being well prepared for their future. Today’s 2011 NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) results show that fourth and eighth grade students in Hillsborough and Miami-Dade continue to make tremendous progress when compared to other large city districts in the nation, with Hillsborough leading the country in grade 4 reading, tying with Charlotte, N.C., in grade 8 reading, and tying with Austin, Texas and Charlotte as the second highest performing districts in grades 4 and 8 mathematics.  Miami-Dade students scored higher than the average of students in large cities (populations over 250,000) both in terms of scale scores and percentage scoring above basic in reading for grades 4 and 8, and in grade 4 mathematics.  The commitment and leadership in these districts represent Florida’s focused mission to reduce the academic achievement gap while supporting our students in their pursuit of excellence.

“Congratulations to Superintendent Elia in Hillsborough and Superintendent Carvalho in Miami-Dade for their diligent efforts to improve student academic achievement in their districts. Under their leadership, I am confident we will continue to witness positive results in the future.”

-AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company Endows Florida Independent Benefits Council -

Tallahassee, Fla. – Florida educators will soon get critical information about how to prepare financially for retirement thanks to a new $750,000 grant from AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company to the Florida Independent Benefits Council (IBC) to fund a comprehensive, three-year statewide education initiative specifically for school employees.

The educational initiative will support school employees in planning their retirements and realizing their financial goals.  The IBC, composed of leadership from Florida’s four leading education associations – Florida Association of School Administrators, Florida School Boards Association, Florida Association of District School Superintendents and the Florida Education Association – is the only entity of its kind in the country dedicated to ensuring access to high-quality retirement investment options for school employees.

“We are pleased to receive this support from AXA Equitable,” said Dr. Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association and chairman of the IBC.  “Educators and public school employees have not always gotten the best deal on retirement investments.  The IBC has worked hard to change that, and this grant will allow us to equip the education community with knowledge to protect themselves.”

Work is already underway on the research phase of the Financial Educational Initiative, with focus on understanding the beliefs, needs and existing financial education levels of administrators, teachers, staff personnel, and risk managers throughout Florida.  Through this initiative public education employees will have access to collateral, webinars, website material and tools, videos and live presentations to help educators make wise financial planning decisions.

“The financial security of our teachers and education support personnel is a high priority – we care about them while they are in our schools, but also when they are planning for their retirement said,” said Clara Cook, secretary/treasurer of Florida Education Association. “On behalf of the state’s 140 thousand teachers and public school employees, we thank the IBC and AXA Equitable for this educational effort.”

Several years ago, the IBC created an independent vetting process to negotiate the best deals in supplemental retirement plans for Florida educators, after determining that educators were paying excessive fees and were subject to onerous terms.  The outcome of that process was The Model Plan, an array of investment choices from a variety of firms that guarantee educators the best deal offered to any investors in Florida.

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Atwater, applauded the work of the IBC and Robin Westcott, Insurance Consumer Advocate joined today’s event on behalf of the Department of Financial Services that has issued several consumer alerts about Equity Indexed Annuities.

“These are trying economic times for Florida’s citizens.  Educators who have devoted their lives to teaching and nurturing the next generation of Floridians deserve the best retirement planning information and investment options,” said Atwater. “My office regularly issues consumer alerts on just such issues to help keep our citizens informed.”

As it concludes the research phase, the IBC will use the AXA Equitable grant funding to begin the development and implementation of educational materials and tactics identified as necessary based on the research. One of the primary goals of the education initiative is to teach employees that full disclosure of terms and fees are vital for 403(b) investment products because voluntary retirement savings are going to become a much more important part of an employee’s successful retirement.

“The IBC has continued to play an integral role in providing valuable information to school professionals across the state,” said Juhan Mixon, executive director of the Florida Association of School Administrators. “During these challenging economic times and with limited state dollars, it is important to note that our organization has continued to leverage its good relationships with the private sector in an effort to help consumers statewide.”

In addition, the IBC continues to advocate for The Model Plan at the district level to ensure that it is available to all public school employees for their investment needs.

About the IBC and The Model Plan

The Model Plan is a program designed to help Florida K-12 employers meet the new IRS regulations governing the operation of 403b accounts. The state’s four major education associations – the Florida Education Association, the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, The Florida School Boards Association and the Florida Association of School Administrators – formed the IBC to negotiate the best possible deal for Florida’s 350,000 school employees. The result is the IBC Model Plan.

TALLAHASSEE – Child sexual abuse survivor Lauren Book said the Penn State case and other new revelations of alleged abuse highlight the need to strengthen the law to require child abuse reporting and increase the penalties for failing to report.

Book said she will advocate for changes to federal and state laws to clarify that all persons are required to report suspected child abuse, to increase the penalties for failing to report, and to end the statute of limitations relating to prosecution of sexual abuse of children younger than 16, a change she helped to pass in Florida in 2010.

In a new revelation of alleged sexual abuse by an assistant basketball coach at Syracuse University, police previously declined to take action because the statute of limitations had expired, according to news reports.

“There is no statute of limitations on how long it takes victims to heal – that takes a lifetime,” Book said. “There should be no statute of limitations shielding those who sexually abuse children.”

Since the Penn State revelations, allegations of child sexual abuse have been revealed at the Citadel and most recently at Syracuse University. Book said the allegations point to the need for a massive culture change in society’s acceptance of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

“How many more horrific cases like this will it take before our society says sexual abuse of children is unacceptable, and we won’t tolerate it?” Book said. “If we want to challenge the culture, we need to change the law.”

Book was a victim of child sexual abuse at the hands of her nanny from age 11 to 17. Her memoir, “It’s OK to Tell”, empowers survivors to come forward.

“Our message is, it’s ok to tell,” Book said. “For that to be true, people need to be ready and willing to act on information and protect children.”

Book has worked to change Florida law in recent years to better protect victims of sexual crimes, to end the statute of limitations for prosecution of sexual abuse, and to create predator-free zones around schools and day care centers.

Major effort concluded after national vetting, extensive data research

Strategic Planning Committee Chair: ‘Now we move quickly toward identifying the implementation strategies for every single goal and outcome to be achieved in the next 15 years’

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—The Florida Board of Governors of the State University System voted at its most recent meeting to approve the “Board of Governors’ Strategic Plan for the State University System of Florida: 2012-2025,” featuring an array of new or updated components and performance metrics that will revolve around three key themes – Excellence, Productivity, and Strategic Priorities for a Knowledge Economy – and reflect a major milestone and achievement by the Board of Governors, and its stakeholders and partners in the effort.

The three key areas align to the beginning of this intensive effort, which started with a planning conversation in the summer of 2010 and then “kicked off” in earnest at a Board of Governors’ special workshop in January devoted to the future of the State University System. The workshop provided detailed input and guidance to the Strategic Planning Committee, and its charge to provide a new Strategic Plan. The Committee identified increased or new goals and performance indicators for the 13-year period through 2025. The most recent Strategic Plan, conducted nearly 10 years ago, was dated 2005-2013. The Strategic Planning Committee is one of the standing committees of the Board of Governors, which is tasked in Article IX, Section 7(d), Florida Constitution, to “operate, regulate, control, and be fully responsible for the management of the whole university system.” The Board, as the governing body for the State University System of Florida, strongly believes that the future of Florida is dependent upon a high-quality, comprehensive and efficient system of public institutions. There are 11 institutions in the State University System of Florida, with more 322,000 students enrolled at all levels.

The Strategic Planning Committee worked on an aggressive timetable to produce the document by year-end. It includes such ambitious targets as increased degree production at all levels, especially for minorities and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). The State University System of Florida is already in the top 10 and top 6 nationally for overall graduations rates and minority graduation rates, respectively. The plan also recognizes and serves to increase the nationally competitive standing that the State University System has attained in several areas, particularly research and development (R&D) expenditures, and corresponding commercialization opportunities that produce dozens of new businesses and jobs in Florida each year.

“The work product of this committee during the past 18 months – with all of the research, vetting and data review from across the nation – is nothing short of extraordinary, and it is also good public policy direction for the future of our public universities, providing us with new or amended performance indicators that we will monitor closely,” said Frank T. Martin of Tallahassee, Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee and a global expert in transportation issues. He currently serves on several national transportation boards, including the American Public Transportation Association.

“I want to thank all of my fellow Board members – for their input and support along the way, for the particularly productive January workshop earlier this year, and for the intensive meetings this summer to stay on track and finalize our work by the end of this year. This is a sound and thorough framework that represents extensive analysis and conversation with stakeholders. The work is not done – now we move quickly toward identifying the implementation strategies for every single goal and outcome to be achieved in the next 15 years for the State University System of Florida.”

The Board of Governors re-emphasized in this Strategic Plan the nationally renowned tripartite commitment of American public universities: Teaching, Research, and Public Service. Performance indicators that are found today in the Board of Governors’ Annual Report (posted at www.flbog.edu) will be changed, added to, or otherwise addressed in the 2012 Annual Report released in January 2013. Input from the public, the Legislature and governmental policy staff played a major role in the development of the augmented “dashboard” of performance measurements that debuted several years ago. Input again from all stakeholders will be vital in the design of tracking mechanisms necessary for new data streams required to produce any additions or changes for the dashboard in the 2012 Annual Report.

The 2011 Annual Report will be released and presented by the Board Chair at the Jan. 18-19 Board of Governors meeting in Tallahassee. The Annual Report has undergone significant enhancements the past two consecutive years, and is quickly evolving into a leading model for accountability among public university systems nationally. This year, for instance, a set of brand-new “interactive” web-based features for users will be unveiled when the 2011 Annual Report is presented in January.

In the new Strategic Plan, there are many new goals and increased outcomes set for existing goals. A few examples include:
· Today, the System awards more than 53,000 baccalaureate degrees each year. The 2025 goal is 90,000 a year, in order to raise the state-level attainment of degreed citizens, and contribute to the national-level goals. Americans with four-year degrees has been falling significantly in relation to the attainment of foreign countries. (The universities’ own annual work plans already address this degree production as well.)
· In the “Excellence” area, the number of institutions in the System that currently have Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification is seven. The Board set a target for all institutions in 2025 to have this classification, as it is a premier national indicator of a public university’s commitment to community engagement.
· In the “Productivity” area, we have an initial data capture of the percentage of students participating in identified business engagement activities – this is currently estimated at about 35 percent. This represents a new metric created in the Strategic Plan, and the Board staff will consult with the campus professionals regarding how to best define and track this new item.
· Today, 28 percent of all freshmen students in the System were in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class. By 2025, the Strategic Plan goal raises that to 50 percent.
· Faculty membership across the System in National Academies is 38, ranking the System 10th nationally. By 2025, the goal is to have 75 and be ranked approximately fifth in the nation.
· Today, the number of licenses (from R&D discoveries) and options executed is about 150 annually. The 2025 goal is 250 annually.

The full Strategic Plan document is posted at www.flbog.edu/pressroom. The new Strategic Plan goals are detailed beginning on page 19. (Keep in mind, some states have more than one public university system – Florida has one university system.)

Also, as part of the Strategic Planning Committee process throughout 2011, several Board regulations also were developed or updated to promote the collaboration and coordination of academic degree program delivery across the State University System. (Eds: Board “regulations” are not the same as state “rules”.) Some existing language in Board regulations was amended to clarify the approval processes for campuses and other educational sites by delineating responsibilities between the Board of Governors and universities’ Boards of Trustees. Two regulations specifically were amended from language in the 1970s-80s during the time pre-dating the Board of Governors (operating as the Board of Regents), when the System was much smaller with fewer universities. That language also did not include the university Boards of Trustees – as those bodies were established in the past decade.

As Board Chair Ava L. Parker and Committee Chair Frank Martin have stated, updating these Board regulations has been critical and necessary, in order to ensure that there is no unwarranted duplication in the System – and to demonstrate to the Legislature and other stakeholders that the Board is meeting its constitutional obligations and responsibilities to oversee a coordinated, accountable State University System.

About the State University System of Florida
The State University System of Florida is governed by a 17-member Board of Governors, a constitutional body and led by appointed public servants. The System is comprised of 11 institutions with a total enrollment of more than 320,000 students, making it the fourth-largest public university system in the nation in terms of enrollment (some states have more than one university system). The Florida Constitution (Article IX, Section 7) was amended by the state’s voters in 2002 to establish a statewide system of governance for all Florida public universities. As a result, the Florida Board of Governors was created in 2003 to oversee the State University System of Florida. Responsibilities include defining the distinctive mission of each institution and ensuring the well-planned coordination and operation of the System. The Board’s 17 members include 14 appointed by the Governor, with three serving by virtue of their designations (a faculty member, a Florida Student Association student representative, and the Florida Commissioner of Education). The Board of Governors appoints a Chancellor who serves as the chief executive and administrative officer of the State University System. For more, including the Board’s Annual Report that reflects accountability measurements and benchmarks occurring at each institution, see www.flbog.edu.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Marrow Nation®, a drive that aids in the collection of potential bone marrow donors, is coming to Tallahassee Nov. 12, 13 and 19. Kidz1stfund™ invites the Florida State University community to join the bone marrow registry in hopes of finding Seminoles that can be a match and save a life. Fans can help the thousands of recipients who are waiting for a bone marrow transplant.

Marrow Nation® has helped match patients with donors resulting in 50,000 transplants in the last 25 years. The drive is stopping in Tallahassee in support of the new initiative by Jimbo Fisher and his wife Candi to find a cure for a rare blood disorder called Fanconi anemia (FA). In March, the Fisher family’s youngest son, Ethan, was diagnosed with the disease. FA results in a decline in the patient’s blood counts over time, eventually leading to bone marrow failure. The Fisher’s founded Kidz1stfund™ to support families affected by FA, raise money for research and ultimately find a cure.

The FSU football team, women’s basketball team, and marching chiefs have all held bone marrow drives to see if they could be a match for young Ethan Fisher, as well as the thousands of others waiting for bone marrow transplants.

The Bone Marrow donor drive will be located in front of the Unconquered statue by Langford Green before the University of Miami and University of Virginia games.

Help the 3000 people that await bone marrow transplants every year with a simple cheek swab test. Join the 9 million people already registered and save a life with a simple transplant.

What: Bone Marrow Donor Drive

Who: Marrow Nation®

When: Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011

12 p.m through First Quarter of Football Game

Where: In Front of the Unconquered Statue, Langford Green, Florida State University