FSBA Session Spotlight – October 21, 2019

The Legislature will hold a third round of Interim Committee Meetings this week. Education related Committees and Subcommittees will receive information on educator professional development, health concerns for student athletes, workforce development issues, and teacher compensation.  Committees also will consider a few bills of interest, including bills relating to public records, athletic trainers, homelessness, and…

Six things to know about the U.S. Census and Florida

Census Tract 119.04 in Hillsborough County constitutes a perfect rectangle in a densely populated section of West Tampa just north of Al Lopez Park . . . . The Census Bureau defines a tract as “hard to count” if 73% or fewer residents return their Census questionnaires. In the 2010 Census, the mail-back rate for…

FSBA Session Spotlight — May 15, 2019

We are pleased to announce the publication of the FSBA 2019 Legislative Session Summary. Our Summary provides an in-depth analysis of the education related funding in the state budget and detailed summaries of the education related bills passed during the session.  We will update our Summary if, during the coming days, Governor DeSantis chooses to…

FSBA Session Spotlight — May 4, 2019

The 2019 Legislative Session has adjourned, sine die, with public education enjoying some important victories in education funding and policy, but also enduring some significant disappointments.  We are still sorting through the final bill actions, including the status of last minute amendments to the bills that are of interest, but we have provided a PRELIMINARY…

Florida Legislature finishes K-12 education budget with $248 increase per student

Florida lawmakers said they were finished negotiating the preK-12 education portion of the budget during a Sunday evening meeting, closing out one of the largest and typically one of the most contentious areas of the state’s massive funding plan.  If the session is to finish on time, the entire state budget must be finished by…

FSBA Session Spotlight — April 10, 2019

Today’s agenda includes both Senate committee meetings and House and Senate floor sessions. Bills of interest under consideration today include bills relating to term limits for school board members, parental rights, school choice, local referenda, career education, public records, and government accountability. Today’s schedule is posted below and will be updated to show the outcome on…

FSBA Session Spotlight — March 28, 2019

Today’s agenda is fairly brief, but several bills of interest will be considered including, among others, bills relating to school board term limits, civics education, early learning, and government accountability. Today’s schedule is posted below and is updated to show the outcome on these bills after each meeting concludes. Please note that all of the…

FSBA Session Spotlight — March 19, 2019

Before diving into this third week of the Legislative Session, please be sure to watch our FSBA Weekly Video Update featuring FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina providing a recap of the main events during the second week of the Session.  The third week of the Legislative Session begins with a particularly busy schedule today that…

FSBA Session Spotlight — March 12, 2019

The second week of the Legislative Session is underway with several bills of interest scheduled to be considered today, including bills relating to health and safety, government accountability, exceptional students, curriculum, personnel, and term limits for school board members. Today’s schedule is posted in the file below and is updated throughout the day to show…

FSBA Session Spotlight — January 25, 2019

Most of the 3rd week of Legislative Interim Committee Meetings provided presentations on the implementation of legislation that passed during the 2018 Legislative Session.  Of particular interest were presentations to both the House and Senate Committees on the implementation of SB 7026 – last year’s school safety bill.  Please click on the files below for a summary of…