On the day after the Parkland school shooting, children across Florida were brought to hospitals by police or other authorities to undergo emergency mental health exams — an unusually high number that kept climbing in the days that followed. On Feb. 27, about two weeks after the Valentine’s Day massacre, 195 children across Florida were…
Florida school district leaders are faced with a school security dilemma. Lawmakers are requiring them to add armed safety officers or “guardians” to every elementary, middle and high school campus, and they set aside $170 million for the task. But that won’t come close to projected costs. The gap — as little as $500,000 in…
Gov. Rick Scott heaped praise on lawmakers for approving what he called “historic” school safety changes only three weeks after the slaughter of 17 people at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. But the fast-tracked measure has hit roadblocks since Scott signed it into law earlier this month. Lawsuits and a swirl of questions about…
Today, Secretary DeVos released the application for state educational agencies (SEAs) to apply for initial funding under the Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations (Restart) program. The release follows DeVos’ recent announcement of $2.7 billion in federal assistance to help K-12 school districts and schools as well as institutions of higher education in their recovery…
After extensive discussions with the families of victims, Gov. Rick Scott signed new gun restrictions Friday in response to last month’s massacre that took 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Scott, a Republican who has long enjoyed the political support of the National Rifle Association, approved a three-day waiting period for…
Tallahassee, FL – Watch this edition of the FSBA Legislative Weekly Update to hear details as Florida’s Legislature approaches Sine Die.
This afternoon, legislative leaders announced that an agreement has been reached on the $87 billion state budget. Because this is a day later than would be necessary to adjourn on Friday, it is expected that the Session will be extended and the budget will be subject to a final vote on Sunday or Monday. As…
The chairman of the Senate education committee wants to change the main federal education law to allow schools to hire more counselors, make infrastructure improvements, and fund violence-prevention programs. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., announced Tuesday that he would introduce the School Safety and Mental Health Service Improvement Act at some point this week. Among other…
As we begin the last scheduled week of the 2018 Session, please take a few minutes to view our Legislative Weekly video featuring Andrea Messina providing a recap of recent legislative events and focusing on the key bills and issues that remain to be resolved. One of those key bills – HB 7055 — was…
Florida took steps Monday to set up the nation’s first ever private school voucher program for bullied students under a sweeping education bill that the state’s Legislature passed and sent to Gov. Rick Scott.The vote came the same day that legislators also sent to Scott a significant revamp of Florida’s universities and colleges that includes…