Today, Governor Ron DeSantis filed a petition with the Florida Supreme Court to impanel a statewide grand jury to examine and review school safety measures throughout the state, as well as the responses of public entities to laws designed to protect schools such as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. Read More
A bill that would allow Florida’s teachers to carry guns in schools passed its first committee along party lines Tuesday, setting up what could be one of the most heated debates of the 2019 legislative session. Senate Bill 7030 expands the “Guardian” program created by last year’s post-Parkland bill, by which school staff can volunteer…
Governor DeSantis released his 2019-2020 state budget recommendations on Friday, February 1. As a result, most of this week’s Legislative Interim Committee Meetings provided presentations on funding and policies outlined in in governor’s budget. In addition to presentations and discussion of budget issues, legislative committees/subcommittees considered several bills of interest including, among others, bills relating to…
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a wide-range of teacher pay proposals that include an increase of $422 million in rewards for teachers and a higher percentage of black teachers who would received the rewards. Read More
Citing the importance of eliminating the “incumbency advantage” and the need to generate fresh ideas, members of the Florida House PreK-12 Quality subcommittee unanimously backed a resolution (HJR 229) Wednesday to ask voters to approve term limits for school board members. Read More
Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing a boost in per-student spending, an overhaul in how the state rewards teachers, improvements to the state’s aging transportation network and more money to save the Everglades in a record budget proposal announced Friday. DeSantis’ $91.3 billion proposed budget, dubbed “Bold Vision for a Brighter Future”, is the largest ever…
Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to create new state curriculum standards that would eliminate “the vestiges of Common Core,” he announced in Cape Coral on Thursday. “We stuck with Common Core then we re-branded it … it’s all the same. It all needs to be looked at, it all needs to be scrutinized,” DeSantis said during…
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday that he is challenging Florida to go from No. 24 to No. 1 in the nation for its workforce and technical training programs by 2030, and issued an executive order he said would be the first step to achieving that goal. “We have too many folks who are not prepared…
With a state commission saying classroom teachers should be allowed to be armed “guardians,” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday backed the possibility of more school employees being able to carry guns — while also calling for other steps to avoid mass shootings. DeSantis told reporters that his upcoming budget proposal will include money for school security…
Florida could teach alternatives to evolution and man-made climate change if a new bill passes the state legislature. State Senator Dennis Baxley, a Republican from Ocala, filed Senate Bill 330, which adds a provision to state science standards requiring schools to teach controversial theories in a factual, objective and balanced manner. Read More