FSBA Session Spotlight – December 9, 2019

The Legislature will hold a sixth, and final, round of Interim Committee Meetings this week to lay more groundwork for the 2020 Legislative Session that will convene on January 14, 2020.  Several committees/subcommittees will consider bills addressing topics of interest including, among others, health and safety, curriculum, personnel issues, and school choice options.  In addition,…

FSBA Session Spotlight — November 15, 2019

The Legislature held a 5th week of Interim Committee Meetings this week.  Several bills and topics of interest were considered, including funding, health and safety, public records, and ethics.  The outcome of the legislative meetings of interest is provided in the first file below.  In addition, updates on several federal issues are provided in the…

Senate workforce bill expands to include all public schools

Aiming to align career education to the needs of employers, state Sen. Travis Hutson proposed legislation to direct job growth grant fund money to certain charter schools that specialized in career-technical graduation pathways.  His bill (SB 130) quickly attracted criticism from observers who wanted to know why only charter schools would benefit from the plan. Read More

FSBA Session Spotlight — November 12, 2019

The Legislature will hold a 5th week of Interim Committee Meetings this week.  Several bills of interest will be under consideration, including bills relating to funding, health and safety, public records, and ethics.  In addition, the State Board of Education will be meeting on Friday in Brunnell, Florida.  The agenda includes review district turnaround option…

FSBA Session Spotlight – October 21, 2019

The Legislature will hold a third round of Interim Committee Meetings this week. Education related Committees and Subcommittees will receive information on educator professional development, health concerns for student athletes, workforce development issues, and teacher compensation.  Committees also will consider a few bills of interest, including bills relating to public records, athletic trainers, homelessness, and…

FSBA Session Spotlight — October 14, 2019

The Legislature will hold a second round of Interim Committee Meetings this week. Education related Committees and Subcommittees will receive overviews on educator professional development, the state system of school improvement, teacher compensation, and the FDOE’s Legislative Budget Request (LBR).  Other Committees will consider a few bills of interest, including bills relating to public records,…

Fifth time in 24 years. Why Florida is changing school standards, again

Florida education commissioner Richard Corcoran didn’t hide his enthusiasm during a “listening session” Thursday in Gainesville, where a crowd showed up to discuss proposed changes to the state’s education standards.  “We’re going to end up with the world’s best standards,” he said. “We’re going to end up with an education that’s going to transform our…

Florida’s Common Core standards: No need for ‘any great change,’ educators tell state

Florida’s Common Core academic standards are demanding but also are helping students make gains while the state’s proposed replacements are weaker, vaguer and represent a “step backwards” for public education, educators told state leaders at a “Florida Standards Listening Tour” event. Read More