Senator Manny Diaz, Jr. (R-Hialeah Gardens), Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Senator Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, and Senate President Pro Tempore David Simmons (R-Altamonte Springs) today announced key components of legislation the Senate will consider during the 2019 Legislative Session. Read More
A proposal to let Florida voters decide whether to impose term limits on school board members (HJR 229) cleared another hurdle in the Florida House on Wednesday, but reservations over the details began to emerge. Unlike its first stop, where the measure won unanimous bipartisan backing, the bill hit some speed bumps in the Oversight,…
Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to leverage a tax incentive championed by President Donald Trump to launch a five-fold expansion of charter schools in the state. The DeSantis budget proposed linking the state‘s Schools of Hope program to federal “opportunity zones”created by Trump’s $1.5 billion tax plan. At least 247 Florida communities would be eligible for…
In sad remembrance of the tragic school shooting on February 14, 2018, it seemed fitting that, one year later, the focus of attention during Legislative Interim Committee Meeting Week #5 was school safety. Committees/subcommittees in both the House and Senate received reports and considered legislation designed to improve and refine school safety policies an procedures and Governor DeSantis issued…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday called on the Legislature to create a new state-funded program that would reduce the number of families on a waiting list to receive the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) for lower-income families. Speaking at Calvary City Christian Academy & Preschool, DeSantis proposed establishing an “equal opportunity scholarship” funded in…
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday his proposal for an “equal opportunity scholarship” to supplement the state’s Tax Credit Scholarship program. He said the new scholarship would be equal in size and purpose to the tax credit scholarship program — one of the nation’s largest school choice initiatives — in order to get more needy children…
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