Why Florida?
August 28, 2018
Rosa Castro Feinberg, Former Miami-Dade School Board member and current co-chair of LULAC Florida’s Government and Media Relations Committee, asks a good question in this article: “Why is Florida the only state that’s not in compliance with federal education standards?” The answer is pretty clear to Castro Feinberg—the state’s ESSA plan “excludes critical protections for English learners, students with disabilities, students of color, and low-income students,” concerns which are consistent with federal feedback and red flags raised by civil-rights and other advocates. What’s to be done? “Pick up the phone, call the commissioner’s Office, call the governor’s office and ask them to revise the state ESSA plan,” and ask state-level candidates and lawmakers “to align state accountability laws with the federal law and to require revision of the state ESSA plan.”