..And Then There's the A++ Plan
It appears that the democrats, and more than a few moderate Republicans, were able to fend off another of the Governor's "devious" plans to weaken the class size ammendment.
Several legislative issues still remain unsettled; a voucher ammendment; funding for the Technology Tools for Teachers (currently unfunded); and the A++ plan which includes Middle and High School reforms.
The Florida DOE's Committee for High School Reform Task Force has sent to Gov. Bush a list of recommendations to "change high school as we know it." The recommendations rely heavily on two two reports. One a 1997 phone survey by Public Agenda and the other, an on-line survey of high school students conducted by the National Governors Association. Summaries of the reports say students would work harder if the course work were more challenging and they were allowed to take courses that interested them.
The recomendations and the A++ plan call for more rigorous course requirements for graduation, including 4 years of math, level 2 or above; offering students the opportunity to graduate with a major or minor area of study; providing for a differentiated diploma recognizing various levels of proficiency.