FSBA Session Spotlight — March 26, 2019

As we near the mid-point of the Session, time is growing short for bills that haven’t been heard in their committees/subcommittees of reference so today we see a flurry of activity to consider bills that have been waiting for first hearings while others are completing work in their committees/subcommittees of reference and soon will be…

FSBA Session Spotlight — March 25, 2019

Before diving into the fourth week of the Legislative Session, please be sure to watch our FSBA Weekly Video Update featuring FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina providing a recap of the main events during the third week of the Session.  To date, there have been few, if any, bills of interest on Monday’s schedule but…

FSBA Friday Five – March 22, 2019

Each week, Executive Director Andrea Messina picks 5 things you should know in education news. Read. Learn. Share. Retweet. Can teachers rise to the challenge of only lecturing for 9 minutes? Opening a day care at this high school increased graduation rates The importance of play Did you know—2019 is the International Year of the…

FSBA Session Spotlight — March 21, 2019

Today’s schedule appears fairly light, but several bills of interest will be considered, including the House Proposed Committee Bill (PCP) relating to school safety as well as bills relating to anti-Semitism, parental rights, public records, government accountability. and construction, Today’s schedule is posted below and is updated throughout the day with the outcome on these…

House, Senate education budgets differ by $600 million

As anticipated, the Florida House unveiled a PreK-12 spending planWednesday that’s more than a half-billion dollars leaner than the version released Tuesday by the Senate.  Both differ from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ request.  After introducing his $21.6 billion proposal, House PreK-12 Appropriations chairman Rep. Chris Latvala made clear he anticipated changes as the session progresses. Read More

FSBA Session Spotlight — March 20, 2019

Today’s schedule called for consideration of the Senate’s school safety bill – SB 7030 – this afternoon in the  Senate Infrastructure & Security Committee but there was not sufficient time for discussion, public testimony, and debate of the bill.  Committee Chair, Tom Lee, apologized and rescheduled consideration of the bill for Tuesday, March 26.  However,…

FSBA Session Spotlight — March 19, 2019

Before diving into this third week of the Legislative Session, please be sure to watch our FSBA Weekly Video Update featuring FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina providing a recap of the main events during the second week of the Session.  The third week of the Legislative Session begins with a particularly busy schedule today that…

Florida House advances Ron DeSantis’ charter school expansion plan

Florida House leadership has unveiled another proposal aimed at enacting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ goal of widely expanding school choice programs.  This time, it would open the door for a broader influx of charter schools into the state’s poorest communities.  A bill from the PreK-12 Innovation subcommittee, filed late Friday, would allow the establishment of “Hope” charter schools in “opportunity…