Florida Schools

Challenges facing districts in the Tampa Bay area vary, but low pay and the rising cost of living are cited as factors making it harder to fill classrooms. Here's a breakdown by county.

By combining forces, smaller school districts have found a way to bargain for better health insurance policies for their teachers by turning to a self-insured plan.

Pasco and Hillsborough district leaders say they want to reduce excessive technology use, so that it enhances rather than displaces hands-on learning.

A new study found students experience unintended consequences: less time for extracurricular activities, confusion about selecting courses and majors, and going through college too quickly.

The system serves hundreds of thousands of students and costs billions. On "The Florida Roundup," Politico reporter Andrew Atterbury breaks down the legal challenge and why homeschooling is a major factor.

It alleges nearly $5 billion in taxpayer dollars are being sent to private schools and charter schools via the Family Empowerment Scholarship, which aren’t held to the same standards or oversight as traditional public schools.

Florida Southern College’s Roberts Academy marks 15 years of helping students with dyslexia close literacy gaps — and reshape their futures.

The move opens the door to the possibility of religious charter schools and state-funded scholarships for religious universities.

Last school year, more than 54,000 alerts were sent from Florida campuses. Nearly half — 0r 44% — were related to student behavior. Only 1% of alerts were related to suspicious activity and another 1% for a campus threat.

As South Florida school districts predicting dwindling enrollment into next school year, the steady decline in birth rate will contribute to the dramatic year-to-year student loss.

On "The Florida Roundup," best-selling author James Patterson talks about increasing children's reading literacy, how parents can help and his thoughts on some of the state's educational policies.

Florida school districts have control over some of the local tax money they receive and have the ability to decrease tax rates, but all taxes that school districts levy have some level of state control.