Florida Senate committee tackles mental health, charter schools and “Schools of Hope”

While House Democrats continued to blast Republican efforts to recast Florida education policy, Democrats in the Senate found common ground with the opposite party Wednesday on some similar issues.  GOP leaders on the Senate PreK-12 Appropriations Committee accepted several Democrat amendments to chairwoman Kathleen Passidomo’s priority bill, SB 1434, which aims to refine and revise some…

Puerto Rican Students Displaced by Storm Adjust to Mainland Schools

The flow of students from Puerto Rico has slowed in recent weeks, but mainland schools continue to take in new evacuees five months after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.  In parts of the country with large Puerto Rican communities, districts are still hiring bilingual staff, monitoring students closely for signs of trauma, reconfiguring classrooms, tinkering…

VIDEO: Legislative Weekly – Week 4

Tallahassee, FL – This week’s updates on the Florida Legislative Session come directly from the steps of the Historic Capitol where we will join with over 125 school board members next week at the FSBA Annual Day in the Legislature. Watch this week’s edition to learn more about proposed budgets, chamber priorities, and the components…

Legislative Weekly – 2018 Session Kickoff

Tallahassee, FL – With Florida’s 2018 Legislative Session kicking off next week, Executive Director Andrea Messina provides members with an overview of what’s to come. Be sure visit the FSBA Session Spotlight Blog and 2018 Legislative Session page for in-depth summaries, resources, and analyses.

How the GOP tax overhaul could impact your kid’s education

The sweeping $1.5 trillion tax overhaul President Donald Trump signed into law last week will likely impact many areas of American life, including education.  Experts are still analyzing what the GOP tax plan means for each state, but it could affect everything from how parents pay for private schools to the amount of money available…

Appeals court upholds ruling against Florida education funding challenge

Florida’s First District Court of Appeal has agreed with the trial court against a group of parents who complained the state had violated its constitutional role to fund an “an efficient, safe, secure and uniform high-quality education.”  The case, filed in 2009,  questioned whether the Legislature and executive branch did enough to meet the “paramount duty” in…

Florida Supreme Court is asked to block new education law

Raising the prospect of “irreversible damage” to the public education system, nine school boards want the Florida Supreme Court to block a massive education law approved in May.The school boards late Monday filed a constitutional challenge at the Supreme Court to the bill, which has become known in the education world by the shorthand HB…