State Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine, introduced a bill to the state House Education Committee Thursday that would grant flexibility and boost accountability among state colleges and universities, stressing outcome-based metrics, including Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) degree production.
Under Florida statutes, a student who wishes to qualify for in-state tuition fees for higher education has to provide proof of residency, and if the student is a dependent also must provide proof of his or her parents’ legal residency. State Rep. Reggie Fullwood D-Jacksonville, “filed legislation [Friday] to stop the practice of forcing legal residents from paying expensive out-of-state tuition at Florida’s colleges and universities.”
The state Board of Education today approved Gerard Robinson, a hard-charging reformer currently serving as Virginia’s education secretary, to be Florida’s next education commissioner.
Incoming Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam recently petitioned the State Board of Education to delay considering a ban on sugary drinks in schools, claiming the focus on soda and chocolate milk does not address the broader picture of school nutrition while insisting students will be better served once the Department of Agriculture is given authority under the president’s new child nutrition bill to establish standards for all school food offerings.
ThinkProgress is reporting that Putnam received upwards of $61,000 in campaign contributions from sugar and dairy interests during the 2010 election cycle, including donations from Coca Cola and individuals associated with U.S. Sugar Corporation.
rss