A giant K-12 education package bill had its first public presentation on Thursday in the House Education Committee, where it passed despite light criticism from Democrats who requested more time to review its many provisions. The bill, which was posted online Tuesday night on the committee’s page, addresses a myriad of issues such as accountability of…
Several bills of interest were considered today including a significant Proposed Committee Bill (PCB) by the House Education Committee that addresses private school accountability, school choice programs, district flexibility, and a new reading scholarship program. Other bills of interest address early learning, students with disabilities, public meetings and records, and labor organizations. Please click on…
Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran made one thing perfectly clear after the passage of the omnibus education bill HB 7069 in the spring: You ain’t seen nothing yet. “We will continue to have zero tolerance for a system that determines a child’s destiny based on demographics,” Corcoran intoned in his session opening remarks in January. Exactly…
Today, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee chairs released their budget proposals for their specific budget areas. The initial proposal submitted by Senate PreK-12 Education Appropriations Subcommittee chair Kathleen Passidomo provides more than $21.1 billion in FEFP funding — an increase of more than $535.2 million or 2.60%. This increase is due, in part, by maintaining the…
Today, the House Appropriations Subcommittee chairs released their budget proposals for their specific budget areas. The initial proposal submitted by House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee chair Manny Diaz provides more than $21 billion in FEFP funding — an increase of more than $506.8 million or 2.46%. This increase is due, in part, by allowing the Required…
As we begin the third week of the 2018 Legislative Session, we encourage you to view our Legislative Weekly video that features Andrea Messina providing a recap of the major bills and meetings last week. Today, legislators took up several bills of interest today including bills relating to the Hope Scholarship Program, educational enhancements, school…
This will be a busy week with several bills of interest under consideration throughout the week, release of budget proposals from the chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Tuesday and Wednesday, and meetings of the Constitution Revision Commission Committees scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Please click on the link below for the…
The Constitution Revision Commission Education Committee met this afternoon to consider several important education-related proposals to amend the Florida Constitution, including, among others, proposals relating to school board member salaries, charter school authorizers, and the prohibition against using public revenues in aid of religious entities. As a result of a new procedure for managing the…
Several bills of interest will be considered today including, among others, visitation of schools by legislators, the McKay Scholarship Program, and tax referenda. Please click on the link below to access our report on the outcome of the consideration of these bill and others that were considered today. Tomorrow, there are no legislative committee meetings…
The Florida Board of Education unanimously approved a rule on Wednesday opening the door for private nonprofits to apply to receive millions in state funding to operate charter schools near low-performing public schools, called “Schools of Hope.” The rule establishes a process for a nonprofit group to become an operator of the charter schools. Read More Read the…