With Gov. Rick Scott’s signature, HB 7069 gained a new level of scrutiny for its potential impact on Florida public education. Among many of the state’s school board members and district government relations types, though, the conversation quickly turned to one item that did not appear in the bill — language about ensuring that state…
In a move surprised few and angered many, Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed into law a massive education bill that legislative leaders crafted behind closed doors in the final days of their spring session. He did so at an Orlando Catholic school that serves children with special needs, highlighting the bill’s $30 million…
With a controversial and wide-ranging education bill now on his desk, Gov. Rick Scott faces intense pressure from both sides as he weighs whether to sign or veto the legislation. Rumors have begun floating that Scott will sign HB 7069 later this week, but officially the governor maintains that he hasn’t made a final decision. …
When lawmakers open a special session Wednesday afternoon, they’ll be under a tight, three-day time limit to increase education spending and create a new economic development program for the governor. The deal was inked behind closed doors last week by Gov. Rick Scott, House Speaker Richard Corcoran and Senate President Joe Negron in an effort…
Advocates of traditional public education welcomed Gov. Rick Scott’s demand on Friday that lawmakers redo the K-12 education budget for next year and boost it with $215 million in additional spending. But school superintendents, teachers union leaders and others cautioned that those added dollars won’t be good enough if Scott intends to also sign House…
Tallahassee, FL – After a three day extension, Florida’s Legislative Session has come to an end. Watch this FSBA Legislative Weekly Update for highlights, and be sure visit the FSBA Session Spotlight Blog and 2017 Legislative Session page for in-depth summaries, resources, and analyses. Also, be on the lookout for FSBA’s online and face-to-face Legislative Summary events.
A swift outcry of condemnation came over the weekend from many parents, teachers and school administrators who want the Florida Legislature to reject a $419 million, 278-page K-12 public schools bill — which was decided behind closed doors, which lawmakers cannot change and which they’ll have had only about 72 hours to review when they…
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. …
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…