TODAY’S HAPPENINGS [For those who are new to this process, a brief explanation of what is meant by 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Reading may be helpful in understanding how bills are handled in each chamber. In order for any legislation to be passed and enacted into law, the bill must be “Read” three times –…
TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the Senate Education Committee: SB 138 – Meetings of District School Boards by Ring – PASSED Requiring district school boards to convene at least one regular meeting during the evening hours each quarter during the school year and to establish written criteria for convening such a meeting; providing that a district school…
TAX CREDIT SCHOLARSHIP LEGISLATION Last Thursday afternoon, Senator Bill Galvano withdrew his bill – SB 1620 – that would have significantly expanded the Tax Credit Scholarship Program in terms of both student eligibility and overall cost. This move makes it extremely unlikely that the legislation will pass this year. Senator Galvano’s decision to withdraw the…
[Editor’s Note: staff was unable to send out a Daily Update in a timely manner yesterday so this issue of the Update covers events for both Wednesday and Thursday.] Ladies and Gentlemen: WEDNESDAY’S HAPPENINGS In the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee: Subcommittee Chair Galvano released his budget proposal. As we reported earlier, House Education Appropriations Chair…
TODAY’S HAPPENINGS Commissioner Pam Stewart announced a new test has been selected to replace the FCAT 2.0 exams beginning with the 2014-15 school year. The new assessments will be provided by the not-for-profit American Institutes for Research (AIR). FSBA is in the process of reviewing the materials that were released today and will provide and…
March 10, 2014 STATE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT House Speaker Weatherford released a DRAFT budget development timeline that calls for the House Appropriations bill and related Implementing and Conforming bills to be released by Friday, March 21 – these bills will then be considered by the full House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, March 26. This means that next…
Thursday, March 6, 2014 TODAY’S HAPPENINGS In the Senate Environmental Preservation & Conservation Committee: SB 622 – Paper Recycling by Clemens — PASSED The bill requires each district school board to develop a paper recycling program to be implemented within each classroom of the school district; requires money received for the recycling of paper or…
Wednesday, March 5, 2014 FSBA DAY IN THE LEGISLATURE CONFERENCE We hope you are planning to attend our Day in the Legislature Conference scheduled for March 19-20, 2014 in Tallahassee. Information, including a link to online registration, is available on the FSBA website at www.fsba.org – please click on “Event Schedule” in the drop down menu…
Tuesday, March 4, 2014 WEBSITES TO ADD TO YOUR FAVORITES Each day’s Daily Update, each week’s issue of Boarder-line, each week’s Video Update (featuring Dr. Wayne Blanton), and our Legislative Advocacy Toolkit are all posted at: https://fsba.org/services/government-relations/state-government-relations/information-center Access live streaming coverage of most legislative committee meetings, action on the Floor of the House and Senate,…
Monday, March 3, 2014 Today, we resume our FSBA Daily Updates on activities each day during the 2014 Legislative Session. These updates are sent to school board members, superintendents, and district staff members as well as hundreds of state and local government officials, parent and citizen advocates, and others who have asked to be included…