TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the House Government Operations Appropriations Subcommittee: HB 1083 – Employment of Individuals With Disabilities by Rooney — PASSED Provides legislative findings & purpose; requires specified state agencies & organizations to develop & implement interagency cooperative agreement for certain purposes. In the Senate Community Affairs Committee: SB 1372 – Government Accountability by D.…
“It is not the critic who counts … the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena … who strives valiantly…” Theodore Roosevelt It takes considerable initiative for citizens to respectfully yet boldly confront lawmakers. It takes courageous leadership for legislators to admit and correct costly blunders. But that’s what happened last…
TALLAHASSEE — Four years after championing a law that inadvertently made sexting an unenforceable crime in Florida, a state senator is pushing to close that loophole. The Legislature in 2011 set out to update out-of-date statutes to address minors who send nude photos to other minors. “Unfortunately it was not written in the proper posture,”…
FSBA LEGISLATIVE VIDEO UPDATE #4 Our Video Update for the 4th week of the 2015 Legislative Session has been posted on the FSBA website at www.fsba.org – you may access the video by clicking on the link to 2015 Legislative Session Video Update 4 under “Legislative Session Updates” (located below the pictures on our main page) or by using…
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. Florida legislators on Friday endorsed a line of changes for the state’s public schools, including easing class size penalties for school districts and encouraging students to start wearing uniforms. The Florida House passed several education bills, including one that would let privately-run but publicly-funded charter schools tap into local property taxes to pay…
A movement by parents to boycott or “opt out” of the new state assessments is small but growing, organizers say, especially on Florida’s First Coast. About 3,000 people have joined “opt out” groups around the state, said Sandy Stenoff, a parent who founded Opt Out Orlando, the oldest of the groups with 2,962 members. It…
NSBA’s Council of Urban Boards of Education Announces 2015-2016 Leadership March 26, 2015 Alexandria, Va. (March 26, 2015) – The National School Boards Association’s (NSBA) Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) elected leaders and new members to its Steering Committee as part of NSBA’s 75th Annual Conference in Nashville, Tenn. Van Henri White of…
This Video Update features FSBA Interim Executive Director Bill Graham providing an overview of the main charter school bills — HB 7037 and SB 1552 – particularly with regard to the use of local district millage revenue for charter capital outlay funding. In addition, the video provides an update on the Senate and House budgets – SB…
TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the House Education Committee: EDC2 – Extracurricular Activities by Education – AMENDED AND SUBMITTED AS A COMMITTEE BILL Provides that special event fees, sanctioning fees, and gate receipts annually collected by FHSAA must reflect its actual cost; repeals provisions requiring FHSAA to have a board of directors, representative assembly, committees on appeals,…
After lengthy, sometimes confusing debate Wednesday over Florida’s testing and its consequences, the state Senate Appropriations Committee adopted a proposal that would change the rules relating to third-grade retention. Reports quickly emerged that the state where likely presidential candidate Jeb Bush launched third-grade retentions based on reading test performance was about to suspend the practice.…