TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A group of teachers and Florida’s teacher union are going to court to stop the state’s “Best and Brightest” teacher bonus program.
The Florida Education Association and seven teachers filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday against the Florida Department of Education and the state’s school districts.
The lawsuit alleges that the bonus program discriminates against older teachers, as well as black and Hispanic teachers.
The program was first started in 2015. It awards bonuses to teachers who received good evaluations and who also earned top scores on the standardized tests used to get into college.
Several teachers suing the state received good evaluations, but they didn’t have access to tests taken years ago.
A spokeswoman for Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said the department would not comment on the lawsuit.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.