Gov. Scott pitches $87.4 billion election-year budget for Florida

Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday called for a record-high state budget of $87.4 billion for next year, an election year that offers him one last chance to recast spending priorities before leaving office.  It is by far the largest budget Scott has proposed since the Republican governor took office seven years ago, and it’s a…

Tampa Bay Area Schools Open Doors To Puerto Rican Students

More than 5,000 students from Puerto Rico have enrolled in Florida public schools since Hurricane Maria.  In the seven weeks since the storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, the majority of schools in Puerto Rico still don’t have electricity or running water.  While most students have settled in Central and South Florida, school…

FSBA Session Spotlight — November 13, 2017

The Legislature held a third round of Interim Committee Meetings last week and will hold a fourth round this week. Please click on the links below to access this week’s schedule and our report on last week’s education-related meetings, bills, and presentations that were considered.  In addition, we have provided a link to our latest…

Bullying scholarship added to House’s education plan

Rep. Joe Abruzzo, D-Boynton Beach, leaned into the microphone then stopped in mid-sentence and pushed away from the table.  Rep. Bryon Donalds, R-Naples, had smoothly declined to answer Abruzzo’s question of whether the Naples businessman would like to give private school vouchers to all public school students.  Donalds said that was a topic for another discussion.…

House plans hearing on state scholarship programs

The Florida House plans to hold a hearing to explore how the state sends nearly $1 billion for scholarships to mostly unregulated private schools, the subject of the Orlando Sentinel’s recent “Schools Without Rules” series.“The goal of the House has always been a world class education for every child,” said Fred Piccolo, spokesman for House…

Bill mandating financial-literacy class for students advances

A years-long battle in the Legislature to pass a bill requiring high school students take a course teaching them how to manage money is back again.  Sen. Dorothy Hukill‘s bill, though, had a small victory on Wednesday.  SB 88 advanced the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on pre-K-12 Education, leaving one more committee stop before it can…

Hope Scholarship plan draws debate

Florida House members began moving forward Wednesday with a controversial proposal that would allow public-school students to receive voucher-like scholarships to attend private schools if they have been bullied, harassed or subject to violence.  The bill (HB 1), approved by the House Pre-K-12 Innovation Subcommittee, is a priority of House Speaker Richard Corcoran, a major…

FSBA Session Spotlight — November 6, 2017

The Legislature will hold a third round of Interim Committee Meetings this week. Please click on the file below to access the schedule and more information on the education-related meetings, bills, and presentations that will be considered.  In addition, please click on the links below for our updates on the Constitution Revision Commission Committee meetings that…