FSBA Legislative Update Week of March 2-6, 2026 | Session Week 8 Bills That Have Passed Both Chambers (Enrolled/Going to Governor) HB 0453 / SB 0556 — High School Diploma Requirement. Marching band (2 years) can satisfy both PE and performing arts credits. Students with disabilities may use Special Olympics participation to meet the PE requirement.…
FSBA Legislative Update Week of February 23-27, 2026 | Session Week 7 The Legislature did not meet for budget conferencing last weekend. As of Friday evening, only three bills have passed both chambers all the way through. Passed Full House (now awaiting Senate companions to pass, if they exist): HB 1071 (Education Omnibus – Trabulsy)…
FSBA Legislative Update Week of February 16-20, 2026 | Session Week 6 School Board Governance & Transparency HB 1073 (School Districts – Koster) enhances school board members’ access to district documents, increases transparency of meeting records and budgets, and prohibits mandatory nondisclosure agreements. This one passed the House floor. Passed 96-10. Its Senate companion, SB…
FSBA Legislative Update Week of February 9-13, 2026 | Session Week 5 The Senate has released their proposed General Appropriations Act. You can find all 490 pages here. Dr. McDougal and I will begin going over the proposals this weekend and by next week, have a full budget report sent out to you. On Monday,…
FSBA Legislative Update Week of Febuary 2-6, 2026 | Session Week 4 We’re about halfway through the scheduled legislative session. How are you feeling? The most consequential developments from this week center on school board transparency and governance, school district property inventories, education omnibus legislation, public employee labor relations, and teacher compensation. Bill-related news Here are just…
FSBA Legislative Update Week of January 26-30, 2026 | Session Week 3 HB 1071 (Education) by Rep. Trabulsy – This sweeping omnibus bill advanced through Pre-K-12 Budget Subcommittee (12-3) after extensive debate. If you attended Day in the Legislature then you heard Dr. Kim McDougal and I break down some of the more detailed provisions.…
FSBA Legislative Update Week of January 19-23, 2026 | Session Week 2 Reminder: Committee meetings and floor sessions are recorded and available via the Florida Channel. Please go to https://thefloridachannel.org/videos/ to find past meetings, sessions, and press coverage of the legislative session. Legislative activity picked up considerably during the second week of the 2026 session,…
FSBA Legislative Update Week of January 12-16, 2026 | Session Week 1 Reminder: Committee meetings and floor sessions are recorded and available via the Florida Channel. Please go to https://thefloridachannel.org/videos/ to find past meetings, sessions, and press coverage of the legislative session. As you might imagine, there are hundreds of bills that FSBA is monitoring…
This week showed significant legislative momentum with several major bills advancing toward floor consideration. Board members should closely monitor HB 0145/Suits Against the Government (McFarland), which has been placed on the House calendar for second reading after passing through committees—this bill would substantially increase statutory liability limits for tort claims against school districts and other governmental…
This week showed significant legislative activity with several key education and property tax bills advancing. Board members should closely monitor HB 0127/Required Instruction in Cursive Writing (Overdorf), which has now moved to the Education & Employment Committee after passing its first subcommittee, mandating cursive writing instruction and proficiency demonstrations by specified grades. Notably, SB 0156/Criminal Offenses…