Tallahassee, FL – With Florida’s 2018 Legislative Session kicking off next week, Executive Director Andrea Messina provides members with an overview of what’s to come. Be sure visit the FSBA Session Spotlight Blog and 2018 Legislative Session page for in-depth summaries, resources, and analyses.
The dispute could not be more stark. Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Senate have pushed to allow local tax collections to rise with the increasing value of property, as a way to grow education funding. Just leaving the tax rate alone looks to generate about a half-billion dollars more for local coffers. House leadership…
Congress faces a jam-packed to-do list this month with deadlines looming on difficult issues — including how to fund the government and avoid a shutdown, stabilizing the nation’s health insurance program for poor children, and whether to shield young undocumented immigrants from deportation. Read More
More than 1.1 million Florida voters won’t have a representative in one of the legislative chambers when the 2018 session begins next month. Resignations and a recent death have created six open seats, with most expected to remain vacant through the 60-day session because of scheduling requirements for special elections. Read More
The sweeping $1.5 trillion tax overhaul President Donald Trump signed into law last week will likely impact many areas of American life, including education. Experts are still analyzing what the GOP tax plan means for each state, but it could affect everything from how parents pay for private schools to the amount of money available…
Education has long been a top priority for Florida lawmakers and in 2017 education once again made a splash in a variety of headlines throughout the year. Here’s a look back at the year’s top education stories in Florida: Read More
Step Up for Students is not well known outside the school choice world, but for parents and private school administrators the nonprofit is so synonymous with the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship that they often refer to it as the “Step Up scholarship.” Read More
Florida’s plan to change its education accountability and testing system as little as possible, despite changes to federal rules, ran into a roadblock this week. The U.S. Department of Education told the state that it can’t simply adopt rules that run counter to the Every Student Succeeds Act, particularly without seeking waivers. That includes the way it…
Aiming to jump start the a controversial new charter school system for the fall, the Florida Department of Education has unveiled proposed rules for potential Schools of Hope operators to follow. The recommended rule, which is slated for Jan. 17 State Board of Education consideration, closely adheres to criteria from the legislation enacting the program to…
The Constitution Revision Commission Committees met this week to consider several of the education related proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution that have been filed. Please click on the link below to access our report on the education related proposals that were considered this week and information on upcoming meetings of CRC Committee and public hearings…