A $162 million plan to improve state funding for student financial aid opportunities and make Florida’s public colleges and universities more competitive passed the state Senate on Thursday with near-unanimous support — marking early success for one of Senate President Joe Negron’s top priorities. Read More
At mid-day today, FSBA participated in a press conference announcing bi-partisan support for SB 964 relating to assessment and accountability. The bill is sponsored by Senator Bill Montford and co-sponsored by Senators Tom Lee, Debbie Mayfield, Rene Garcia, Linda Stewart, and Audrey Gibson. The legislation infuses common sense into our assessment and accountability system without…
A complicated and controversial measure to change how Florida’s 4,300 public schools get taxpayer money for construction and maintenance projects is limping through the Florida Senate, advancing even as lawmakers agree it needs a lot more work before it might become law. Senators behind the measure (SB 376) envision the final bill would have two…
Florida should inject “common sense” into its school testing system by scrapping some required state exams and providing “stressed out” teachers and students the relief they need, a bipartisan group of state senators said today. Read More
The School Board of Broward County became the first district in South Florida to pass a resolution that makes school grounds and education-related activities, such as sports tournaments or even prom, safe zones for immigrant students and their families. Read More
At the end of a 2-hour meeting dominated by discussion on charter school funding and mandatory recess, Senate PreK-12 Appropriations chairman David Simmons introduced one page of proposed cuts to public education. The $46.3 million list is “simply a starting point for our budget discussions,” which will occur over the next two weeks, Simmons told…
Nearly 9,000 young people were arrested last year in Florida instead of being issued a civil citation and released, even though they qualified for the lesser punishment. About half of all the juvenile offenders who qualified for civil citations statewide did not receive them, according to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, and the use…
The 2017 Legislative Session opened today with much of the usual fanfare and speeches by Governor Scott, Senate President Joe Negron, and House Speaker Richard Corcoran. The day began with the Senate Session in which Senate President Joe Negron offered opening comments that highlighted several of the priorities that the Senate will pursue during the…
The Trump administration and congressional Republicans are in the midst of trying to figure out whether to tweak, or toss the Obama administration’s biggest domestic achievement, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—or Obamacare Read More
A three-judge panel has overturned Leon County judge Karen Gievers’ ruling that the Hernando County school district improperly retained some third-grade students who refused to take the Florida Standards Assessment language arts test. Read More