ARTICLE: Legislative Session & Legislative Budget Request Process

This article was contributed by Kim McDougal, Senior Government Affairs Consultant, G R A Y | R O B I N S O N and FSBA Advocacy and Legislative Services team member As we approach the General Election and anticipation for the 2021 Legislative Session grows, below are updates from Tallahassee regarding the upcoming session…

Baker Act Reporting Center: More than 36,000 children placed under act in 2017-2018

The University of South Florida’s Baker Act Reporting Center has released numbers from the 2017-2018 fiscal year that show cases of involuntary examinations under The Florida Mental Health Act (commonly known as ‘the Baker Act’) are on the rise.  The annual report shows that 205,781 people were placed under the Baker Act during the year. …

Quality pre-K found to have multi-generational effects

Can talking during snack time and making Jell-O in pre-K help break the cycle of poverty?  One of the leading experts on the effects of early education thinks so.  A bevy of research touts the benefits of high-quality early education, but Nobel prize-winning economist James Heckman’s most recent published work from the University of Chicago…

Senator “disturbed” by claims of Pinellas County Sheriff in regard to school safety law

The chairman of the state’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission is making some claims about local school districts that one state senator calls “disturbing” if they are true.  Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who chairs the commission, testified before the Senate and House Education committees on Tuesday and accused school districts of…

School leaders face hurricane, security issues

With the annual legislative session nearing, lawmakers and education leaders likely will have to grapple with the fallout of Hurricane Michael on Northwest Florida school districts and continued questions about how to bolster school safety throughout the state. Those issues drew discussion Wednesday during a State Board of Education meeting in Pensacola that also included…

Jose Oliva names ed policy subcommittee chairs (via Florida Politics)

Jose Oliva names ed policy subcommittee chairs By Drew Wilson on December 14, 2018 House Speaker Jose Oliva has selected Republican state Reps. Cord Byrd, Byron Donalds and Ralph Massulo to chair the House education policy subcommittees, according to a list of assignments first obtained by Florida Politics. Byrd, a second-term Republican representing Nassau and Duval counties, will chair… READ…

Public school allies sound the alarm over Corcoran recommendation and committee chairs

Public school advocates don’t like what they see and hear coming out of Tallahassee.Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis’s selection of Richard Corcoran as his choice to be the next Education Commissioner and the appointment of two pro-charter school lawmakers – with questionable credentials, according to their critics – have led public education allies on the left and…

Education fault lines separate Florida House, Senate

A fight over education policy is brewing at the Capitol. It pits supporters of traditional public schools against advocates for more school choice.  With new leaders in place, the Florida House and Senate will be the battleground for the contest over the state’s educational future. Each chamber will have its own distinct ideas about how…

Florida, schools getting $95.8 million for Puerto Rico students

Florida and county school districts are receiving $95.8 million in federal reimbursements to cover costs of taking in thousands of students from Puerto Rico who fled the island for Florida after Hurricane Maria last year, the office of U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy announced Tuesday.  Under the plan, Florida will retain $47.7 million and distribute another…