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…
Several bills of interest will be considered today including, most notably, HJR 1031 relating to term limits for school board members and HB 1279 relating to school district accountability. 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,…
Several bills of interest will be considered today, including bills relating to local tax referenda, out-of-school suspension, computer coding, and retirement. Please click on the link below to access our report on the outcome of the consideration of these, and other, bills. Tomorrow, legislators will take up bills on several key issues including public meetings…
A bill to give Florida school district residents even more say in the selection of textbooks and instructional materials easily passed its first House committee on Wednesday, with just one member opposed. Sponsor Rep. Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican, cast HB 827 as essentially a clarifying measure to his 2017 legislation, which gave residents more opportunities…
There were several bills of interest considered in committee meetings today. These bills address public records and meetings, the McKay Scholarship program, students with disabilities, the Florida Price Level Index, graduation requirements, instructional materials, and impact fees. Please click on the links below for our report on outcome of action on these bills and to…
The Legislature convened the 2018 Legislative Session today with much of the traditional ceremony. In their respective chambers, Senate President Joe Negron and House Speaker Richard Corcoran both offered comments highlighting legislative successes in the 2017 Session and outlining in their priorities for the 2018 Session. In his remarks, President Negron touched on several issues…
The Legislature held a sixth, and final, round of Interim Committee Meetings last week. Please click on the link below for a report on the bills and issues that were considered. Also, the Constitution Revision Commission Committees will meet this week to consider several education related presentations and proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution. Please…
The U.S. Department of Education today released a question-and-answer document supporting the unanimous March 2017 U.S. Supreme Court opinion on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)-related case Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District clarifying the scope of a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Read More
With the 2018 legislative session just weeks away, key failures of the 2017 Legislature continued to frustrate local elected leaders at separate meetings Tuesday in Collier County. Two positive steps the Legislature could take in the next session that starts in January are to immediately repeal — then start over on components of — House…
The Education Department has rescinded 72 policy documents that outline the rights of students with disabilities as part of the Trump administration’s effort to eliminate regulations it deems superfluous. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services wrote in a newsletter Friday that it had “a total of 72 guidance documents that have been rescinded due to…