Florida legislators are considering halving the incentive funds that supported advanced courses in high schools in the state. Educators warn that the proposed cuts would come at the expense of the best and brightest of the county's high school students. The Florida House is looking at cutting in half the funds provided for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge (AICE) programs. Starting in 1984, those funds have been distributed to each school district based on the number of students who pass the tests for the advanced courses. Last spring the state cut the incentive program by a third. Now legislators are looking to do it again, and cut even more, Alachua County school spokeswoman Jackie Johnson warned Monday. "The cut to the program for this school year that the Legislature made in 2008 amounted to more than $767,000," Johnson said. "This would be another $767,000 on top of that." The funds are used to hire teachers, offer additional courses and sections, provide supplies, pay for the tests and cover the fees required for schools to participate in the advanced programs, Johnson said. The Legislature had asked the Florida Legislature Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to come up with a list of recommended budget cuts, and the AP cuts was one of them. Those recommendations are being discussed by House and Senate education subcommittees. The recommendations propose reducing AP incentive funding to the level required to cover student exam fees and required teacher bonuses or to reduce the funding to match the cost per credit hour of similar courses at state universities.
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http://www.gainesville.com/article/2009032...g-cut-for-AP-IB-
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Thanks to Mark Pudlow for the clip and the lead.