News

Greater FL Consortium of School Boards UNANIMOUSLY Passes Resolution to "Suspend High Stakes Testing"

September, 2014

The Greater Florida Consortium of School Boards unanimously passed a resolution against high stakes testing. After at least two hours of discussion, they rejected the language we reported in our last post about this, including the parental opt-out language that we supported, and went with a simple motion to "Suspend high stakes testing." The details of what this means will still have to be worked out.

Here are some statements from some of the board members present from the Fort Meyers News Press:

"It gives parents some confidence that the school board worked for them," Dozier said. "I think the parents will be happy with that."

Karen Brill, the president of the consortium, said she believes the consortium can serve as a model for future change at the state level.

"This was like moving mountains with this group," she said. "I think what we showed to them is that we're really all saying the same things but in different ways. We're showing the Legislature that they can do it because we're just as diverse as they are."

Miami-Dade board member Lawrence Feldman, whose district has made headlines in recent weeks for its outspoken stances on testing, urged the group to beef up the motion.

Here is a photo of activists rallying at the event:

The group will still meet for a few hous on Saturday the 20th.