Florida school districts file formal challenge to constitutionality of HB 7069

Just to get it on the record here, thirteen Florida school boards including Pinellas County filed suit Monday in Leon County court, challenging the constitutionality of several provisions within the law created by HB 7069. The lawsuit comes as no surprise.  Speculation ran rampant that such a legal battle would emerge from almost the moment after the…

FSBA Session Spotlight — October 16, 2017

The Legislature held the first round of Interim Committee Meetings last week in preparation of the upcoming 2018 Legislative Session.  Please click on the file below to access our report on the bills and presentations that were considered.  In addition, please click on the other files listed below for a few quick updates on items of interest.…

Some want to change Florida education — by amending the state Constitution

One Floridian wants the Bible and prayer in the state’s public schools. Another seeks to prevent state funds from going to any institution that promotes religion.   One resident calls for all school district superintendents to be appointed, while another says they should all be elected. A third would do away with the job altogether.  These…

Lawmakers eye student financial literacy requirement

Florida lawmakers will again consider a proposal that would require high-school students to pass a financial-literacy course before graduation.  The Senate Education Committee this week unanimously passed a financial literacy bill (SB 88) spearheaded by committee Chair Dorothy Hukill, a Port Orange Republican.  Republican state Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen of Fort Myers, filed a House version…

Florida House leadership announces plan for new student scholarship

A bill that won’t likely be filed for another 30 days rose to the top of the Florida House’s education priorities Wednesday, as Speaker Richard Corcoran and the chairmen and vice chairmen of all education committees gathered to announce the “Hope Scholarship.”  Modeled after the corporate tax credit scholarship, which allows donors to contribute to…

Florida was ill-prepared for a major hurricane, audit warned

Long before Florida entered the deadliest hurricane season in a decade, auditors at the state’s Division of Emergency Management sent out a warning: the state was ill-prepared for a major disaster.  A 23-page annual audit completed in December 2016 by the agency’s inspector general detailed a lengthy list of deficiencies needed to prepare and respond…

Hundreds of Florida schools to get added flexibility from some state rules

Aiming to reward the state’s top performing schools with fewer mandates, the Florida Legislature added a section into HB 7069 last spring creating the “Schools of Excellence” designation.  This week, 640 schools from 44 counties, including Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando, will learn that they landed in that new category.  Three lab schools also will…

FSBA Session Spotlight — October 9-13, 2017

This issue of the FSBA Session Spotlight provides information and updates on a variety of issues including hurricane preparedness and response, Legislative Interim Committee Meetings,  legislative special elections and changes to key legislative committees and subcommittees, state budget development, the ongoing work by the Constitution Revision Commission, and federal issues. [toggle title=”Hurricane Preparedness and Response Resources“]…

Florida lawmakers seek $27 billion for hurricane recovery

A coalition of nearly all Florida lawmakers is pushing for nearly $27 billion in additional hurricane relief money, underscoring the tremendous financial toll this year’s storms have had.  The request covers the gamut, from money for citrus and livestock losses to funds for the Herbert Hoover Dike to the need for schools that could see…