Florida took steps Monday to set up the nation’s first ever private school voucher program for bullied students under a sweeping education bill that the state’s Legislature passed and sent to Gov. Rick Scott.The vote came the same day that legislators also sent to Scott a significant revamp of Florida’s universities and colleges that includes…
Because the Senate held a rare Saturday floor session, this issue of the Session Spotlight provides our report on bills that were considered on both Friday and Saturday. On Friday, both chambers postponed consideration of their respective public safety bills but legislators did consider several other bills of interest, including bills relating to local tax…
The Florida state Senate will hold an extraordinary Saturday session to try to forge a compromise on a school safety plan. Both the state House and the Senate delayed taking up the proposal Friday as they work toward a March 9 deadline to pass new safety laws in the wake of a high school massacre…
The Florida Senate advanced HB 7055 on Friday, but it wasn’t the same education package that had passed through a committee earlier in the week. A major amendment filed the evening before it went to the floor for a vote was the result of negotiations with House members, said sponsor Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples. Those negotiations…
Today, was a fairly light day of committee meetings and floor sessions. The Senate Public Safety bills were expected to be debated on the Senate floor, but that debate has been postponed until tomorrow. Meanwhile, other bills of interest that were considered, including bills relating to local government ethics, impact fees, and early learning, Please…
Today, both chambers were engaged in floor sessions to move bills forward through the legislative process. The Senate did not consider any education related bills, but the House considered several, including bills relating to local government ethics, impact fees, and early learning, Please click on the first link below for our report on the outcome…
Today marked the last day of regularly scheduled committee meetings during this Session. Although committee meetings may still be called, if needed, the bulk of each of the remaining days of the Session will be devoted to floor sessions where bills will be heard on 2nd and 3rd Reading and will be swapped in Messages…
Facing anguished relatives and classmates of shooting victims, a panel of Florida legislators took the unprecedented step Tuesday of creating a new statewide program to put armed teachers in classrooms — over the vocal opposition of Parkland residents. Voting along party lines, the House Appropriations Committee approved training teachers to carry guns in class under…
As we enter the 8th week of the Legislative Session, please take a few minutes to review our Legislative Weekly video featuring Andrea Messina providing a recap of events last week and a status report on key bills and issues to be addressed in the final weeks of the Session including legislation to address student…
As we enter the 8th week of the Legislative Session, several very important issues are pending including, most notably, legislation to address student safety and school security. As we alerted you last week, Governor Scott, the Senate, and the House have all recommended legislation on student safety and school security. We have posted information on…