After visits to Parkland left them horrified at the ease with which a gunman could kill 17 people in six minutes, Florida legislators in both the House and Senate are doing something they have resisted for years: drafting legislation to limit access to semi-automatic rifles. “We owe it to victims of families on what I…
Tallahassee, FL – Watch this edition of the FSBA Legislative Weekly Update to hear details on Week 6 of Florida’s Legislative Session.
Florida has received another extension to update its federal education accountability plan. Commissioner Pam Stewart was to have submitted revisions today, which already was a continuation from the original Jan. 4 deadline. But Stewart contacted the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday to request another, as the state grapples with the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High…
In the aftermath of the Parkland school shooting, Florida lawmakers vowed to push harder on an issue they acknowledged they had failed: mental health in schools. Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, filed a mental health pilot program in schools early this year, which sets aside $40 million to connect students to community…
As we all struggle to cope with and respond to the tragic events at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School yesterday, Senate leaders have stepped up their plans to pursue funding for expanded mental health services and to “harden” schools for better security. In a press conference this afternoon, Senate President Negron outlined these plans and,…
As the country grapples with the aftermath of a high school mass shooting in Broward County, Senate President Joe Negron said Thursday the upper chamber will be focused on boosting funding for mental health and campus security — not gun control. Read More
Our hearts go out to those touched by today’s terrifying and heartbreaking shooting at one of our public high schools. We are so grateful to the heroes – law enforcement and other first responders, school personnel, and so many others — who stepped up to protect and comfort our students in this tragic situation. Please…
While House Democrats continued to blast Republican efforts to recast Florida education policy, Democrats in the Senate found common ground with the opposite party Wednesday on some similar issues. GOP leaders on the Senate PreK-12 Appropriations Committee accepted several Democrat amendments to chairwoman Kathleen Passidomo’s priority bill, SB 1434, which aims to refine and revise some…
Today, several bills of interest were considered, including bills relating to computer science instruction, students with disabilities, and elections – please click on the first link below for our report on the outcome of the consideration of these bills. Tomorrow, legislators will consider bills relating to education funding, ethics, educational enhancements, juvenile justice, and other topics –…
Now that we have started the 6th week of the Legislative Session, please be sure to watch our Legislative Weekly video featuring FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina providing some highlights of our Day in the Legislature conference and a recap of the progress on the budget and bills that were considered last week. Today, there…