The Legislature will return to work tomorrow — Monday — for the last day of the extended 2017 Legislative Session. The only items that are scheduled to be considered are a bill outlining the state tax cut package (HB 7109) and the Conference Reports on the budget, budget implementing bill, and the related conforming bills. …
Passionate parents, like Kate Asturias of Miami and Angela Browning of Orlando, have been fighting for years to get guaranteed daily recess for their children and the more than 1.2 million other kids in Florida’s public elementary schools. The two moms trekked to Tallahassee on Friday, for the countless time, hoping to see lawmakers finally…
At the insistence of House Speaker Richard Corcoran, numerous major changes to education policy for Florida’s K-12 public schools — from teacher bonuses and daily recess, to testing reforms and expansions for charter schools — were crammed into a single mammoth bill on Friday, with $414 million in spending attached. All of the policies in the…
Budget negotiators met twice today to close out the final differences in the budget. Of particular interest to school boards, a corrected distribution list for state Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) funding was released. This provides $50 million each to Public Schools and Charter Schools for maintenance, repair, and renovations and more than $57 million…
With two days left for lawmakers to enact policy this session, two Republican senators late Wednesday released what’s essentially a brand new bill that salvages myriad stalled education proposals while also preserving one of the Legislature’s top K-12 priorities: reforms addressing excessive standardized testing in Florida public schools. Sens. Anitere Flores of Miami and Kelli…
The chambers were unable to reach agreement on a budget today which means that, at a minimum, the session will be extended beyond Friday’s scheduled date of adjournment. Senate President Negron indicated that the chambers are very close to agreement and they hope to publish a budget by Friday. They may then recess during the…
Tallahassee, FL – Week 8 of Florida’s Legislative Session is coming to an end, and will be heading into a weekend of Budget Conference Committee Meetings. Watch this FSBA Legislative Weekly Update for highlights. Be sure visit the FSBA Session Spotlight Blog and 2017 Legislative Session page for in-depth summaries, resources, and analyses.
It can be maddening to watch the Florida Legislature waste so much time and energy bickering over issues like the sliver of the state budget dedicated to economic development when more fundamental and far-reaching concerns deserve more attention. But legislators, to their credit, are on the verge of taking action on a problem that has…
Tallahassee, FL – Week 7 is in the books. Watch this FSBA Legislative Weekly Update for highlights. Be sure visit the FSBA Session Spotlight Blog and 2017 Legislative Session page for in-depth summaries, resources, and analyses.
A group of Florida parents that has taken its challenge of the state’s third-grade retention laws to the state Supreme Court must convince the justices on narrow venue issues before they can get to the heart of the matter. Read More