Florida’s 650 charter schools and 3,600 traditional public schools would each get a pot of $75 million in state funds next year to spend on construction and maintenance projects, under a budget agreement the House and Senate appropriations chairmen announced Sunday afternoon. The figure — about the same as what Republican Gov. Rick Scott had asked for — is $25 million more…
TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the Senate Session: Bills on 3rd Reading: HB 793 – Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program by O’Toole — READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE SENATE; PASSED THE LEGISLATURE Providing that the initial award period and the renewal period for students who are unable to accept an initial award immediately after completion of high…
TALLAHASSEE — Lawmakers have agreed on a $400 million tax-cut package that is a shadow of the $1 billion in reductions sought by Gov. Rick Scott. The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday unanimously advanced a key portion of the plan (HB 7099), which is centered on a $290 million cut in local property taxes for…
BUDGET UPDATE This evening the House and Senate Appropriations Committee chairs – Representative Corcoran and Senator Lee – sat down for the first time to formally work through some of the budget differences that had been “bumped” up to them for resolution. This evening’s meeting focused on health care, agriculture, and natural resources issues. The chairs stated…
TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the Senate Session: Bills on 3rd Reading: HB 719 – Education Personnel by Spano – READ 3RD TIME; PASSED THE SENATE; PASSED THE LEGISLATURE Authorizing certain information to be used for educator certification discipline and review; authorizing certain employees or agents of the Department of Education to have access to certain reports and records; authorizing rather…
The top administrator of Florida’s largest school district — and the fourth largest school district in the country — remains opposed to a legislative proposal that would let high school students count computer coding as a foreign language. Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalhosaid again Tuesday that lawmakers should not equate the two, and he said he fears…
HIGHLAND CITY — The Polk County School Board wants to ease into its search for a new superintendent and invite more community input than during the last one. Board members discussed the search at their retreat Monday at the district’s Jim Miles Center. They began sketching out the timeline for a national search process that…
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.- A push to let Florida’s public schools use alternative tests is moving ahead in the Florida Senate. A Senate panel voted Tuesday for a bill that would give school districts the option of switching from the Florida Standards Assessment to tests such as the SAT and ACT. The bill (SB 1360) now moves…
TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the Senate Appropriations Committee: SB 766 – Ad Valorem Taxation by Flores – AMENDED; PASSED WITH A COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE (CS) Requiring a property appraiser to notify the Department of Revenue if the recertified just value of an assessment roll is less than the initial just value of an assessment roll by a specified amount;…
Ladies and Gentlemen: FSBA WEEKLY VIDEO UPDATE FSBA Video Update #7 has been posted on the FSBA website at www.fsba.org – you may access the video by clicking on the link to 2016 Legislative Session Updates (located in the right hand menu on our main page) or by using this direct link: https://fsba.org/2016-legislative-weekly-video-update-7/. This Video Update features FSBA Executive…