With less than two weeks before the end of the 2018 Legislative Session, the pot of money lawmakers must work with in order to craft a state budget is shrinking rapidly. At work are two factors: one is a revised estimate for state tax and revenue collections, the second is the estimated cost of the…
Gov. Rick Scott on Friday offered a $500 million proposal to address school safety, gun laws and mental-health issues after the mass shooting this month that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County. The proposal, in part, calls for at least one school resource officer to be stationed in every…
Legislators took up several bills of interest today including bills relating to retirement, curriculum and graduation requirements, and government accountability and ethics. Please click on the link below for our report on the outcome of consideration of these and other bills today. There are no committee meetings or bills of interest scheduled on Friday. However,…
The main highlight today was a rally of an estimated 5,000 students, teachers, parents, school district personnel, legislators, and other citizens seeking to express their concerns and recommendations for legislative action in the wake of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week. Concerns about student safety and school security have also influenced…
A proposal to add a standalone high school financial literacy class to Florida’s course offerings moved through the House Education Committee on Wednesday, falling short of what some members — not to mention some banking lobbyists and the state Senate — were hoping for. Unlike the Senate, which would make the course a graduation requirement, HB 323 would…
The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School got a real-life lesson in the perils of high expectations Wednesday as they met with state legislators to discuss their promise of stricter gun laws and left disappointed that the progress that appeared likely would only be incremental. Read More
Today, Governor Scott convened several workshops – an education workshop, a mental health and child welfare workshop, and a law enforcement workshop — that met throughout the day to examine the elements to improve student safety and school security. FSBA was well represented in these discussions by Dr. Terry Nichols, Jackson County School Board Chair,…
A flurry of meetings took place in Florida’s capital on Tuesday in response to last week’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, with dozens of leaders in education, law enforcement, and mental health pouring into the city to participate in a trio of workshops organized by Gov. Rick Scott. Some of those same…
Today, we begin the 7th week of the Legislative Session with only a few more weeks remaining before the scheduled adjournment on March 9. As we start the week, please be sure to watch our Legislative Weekly video which features FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina offering heartfelt comments on the horrible tragedy at Marjory Stoneman…
Florida has received another extension to update its federal education accountability plan. Commissioner Pam Stewart was to have submitted revisions today, which already was a continuation from the original Jan. 4 deadline. But Stewart contacted the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday to request another, as the state grapples with the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High…