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…
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has sent a letter to the state’s school superintendents and school board members, detailing his expectations for school security upgrades. The letter includes a timeline for response by school districts to the fatal shooting on Feb. 14 of 17 students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland,…
Lawmakers sent a message to President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in their bill to fund the federal government: We’re not the biggest fans of your big education ideas. Congress would increase spending at the U.S. Department of Education by $2.6 billion over previously enacted levels in fiscal year 2018, up…
Just days after Gov. Rick Scott signed Florida’s new school safety rules into law, one of the state’s largest charter schools made a big ask of the 13 districts where it operates. “In keeping with the spirit of the Act, we request that a full time School Resource Officer be provided to each of the…
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 spending months discussing more than a hundred possible changes to the Florida Constitution, a state commission on Monday will head into its homestretch and begin the task of narrowing the list of proposed amendments to be placed on the November for voters to decide on. The Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC), appointed once every…
The 2018 Legislative Session adjourned, sine die, on Sunday evening with the passage of the $88.7 billion state budget, budget implementing bill, and a tax relief bill. On the same day, Governor Scott signed Senate President Joe Negron’s priority legislation relating to post-secondary education ( SB 4) and House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s priority legislation relating to…
Florida lawmakers finished the 2018 legislative session Sunday with the approval of a record $88.7 billion state budget that included $170 million in tax cuts. The spending plan includes $400 million in school security measures and immediately earned an F grade from educators for shortchanging the operations budget for public schools. Read More
The legislature has extended the 2018 Session through Sunday, March 11 in order to allow for the 72-hour cooling off period before a final vote can be taken on the budget. The chambers also agreed that they will consider ONLY the Conference Reports budget bills and a tax relief bill – HB 7087 — after…
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…