Out of office, Jeb Bush retains major influence on education policy [View all]

[Baitball Blogger]

TALLAHASSEE — Former Gov. Jeb Bush is six years out of office, but his influence over the state's education policies may be greater than ever.

The Foundation for Florida's Future — a million-dollar educational incubator Bush founded in 1994 that's led by his former deputy chief of staff — is widely considered the single most influential voice over the state's educational policy, far surpassing either teachers or parents.

And the issues that it focuses on — creating more charter and virtual schools; ending tenure and instituting merit pay for schoolteachers; strengthening the state's FCAT and other standardized "accountability" tests — have surged to the top of the agenda espoused by the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott. Opposition from teachers' unions and some parents has been drowned out or ignored.

"The legislative leadership of the past couple of years both with the speaker and president and the education chairs have been really reform-minded," said Patricia Levesque, head of the Foundation for Florida's Future. "So we really see our role as supporting the agenda they want to accomplish."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/fl-jeb-still-influences-state-education-20120603,0,248466.story