School districts would have to share local school construction and maintenance money with charter schools, according to an amendment filed by an influential state senator. Sen. Don Gaetz, former Senate president, filed the amendment Tuesday. The amendment would require half of the money raised by an optional local property tax to be split between charter…
House budget writers unveiled an education spending plan Monday that would provide public schools with almost $47 less per student than Gov. Rick Scott proposed, and a key senator said his chamber was also unlikely to meet the governor’s number when a Senate blueprint is released Tuesday. The two developments cast increasing doubt on one…
Worried the late Labor Day this year won’t leave enough time for school districts to finish their Fall curriculum, Florida lawmakers seek to tweak a law so schools can get an early jump on the school year. School districts can open no later than 14 days before Labor Day, but this year, the holiday falls…
In the House Government Operations Subcommittee: HB 583 – Single-Sex Public Facilities by Artiles – AMENDED AND PASSED WITH A COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE (CS) Provides purpose & legislative findings; requires that use of single-sex public facilities be restricted to persons of sex for which facility is designated; prohibits knowingly & willfully entering single-sex public facility designated…
FSBA LEGISLATIVE VIDEO UPDATE #2 Our Video Update for the 2nd 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 2 under “Legislative Session Updates” (located below the pictures on our main page)…
Florida’s new online testing system lost the writing exams of more than 300 Central Florida students who took the test this month. Most of the essays have since been recovered, but about 50 remain missing. The number of still-lost tests represents a tiny fraction of the writing exams taken by more than 104,000 eighth, ninth…
This Video Update features FSBA President Patty Hightower discussing the events and value of the FSBA Day in the Legislature Conference; FSBA Legislative Committee Chair Carol Cook discussing the main House and Senate bills relating to Assessment & Accountability — HB 7069 & SB 616; and FSBA Interim Executive Director Bill Graham discussing bills relating…
Florida lawmakers want to help kids across the state with an age-old quandary: what to wear to school. A House panel on Thursday gave its approval to a plan that would encourage school districts to adopt a standard attire policy for students in grades K-8. The bill includes a cash incentive — $10 per student…
A proposal to eliminate some testing requirements for Florida schoolchildren won the unanimous support of a second House committee on Thursday. The real debate centered around an amendment proposed by Rep. Mia Jones. Jones, D-Jacksonville, proposed holding off on school grades during the transition to new standards and assessments — something superintendents, school board members…
In the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee: HB 143 – American Founders’ Month by Bileca — PASSED Designates September as “American Founders’ Month”; authorizes Governor to annually designate month; requires district school boards to celebrate American Founders by observing American Founders’ Month; provides that instruction may be integrated into existing school curriculum. HB 153 – Literacy Jump Start Pilot…