More top educators in Florida would have a crack at an annual state bonus in the 2017-18 school year, under initial legislative proposals to expand a controversial, 2-year-old teacher incentive program. While there’s more room for compromise this year, House and Senate plans, unveiled this week, likely won’t appease all critics . . . Read More
We have concluded the first week of the 60-day Legislative Session and, already, there has been quite a bit of activity on bills of interest to school board members. You may wish to review the earlier issues of the FSBA Session Spotlight for this week for details, but as a quicker summary, please be sure…
Tallahassee, FL – In our Week 1 update, FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina covers leadership priorities, bills and topics to watch during the 2017 Legislative Session that kicked off this week.
CLICK HERE to read this week’s FSBA Friday Five – 5 Things You Should Know in education news.
This was a relatively light day for committee meetings and floor sessions – detailed in the “Today’s Happenings” link below – so this is a good time for you to review the events of this week and let us know of any concerns or questions you may have about bills considered this week. In particular, we…
The Senate on Thursday voted 50-49 to block the accountability rules for the Every Student Succeeds Act created by the Obama administration. Without the rules, the requirements for accountability and state plans will be found in the language of ESSA itself. Read More
A bill that would eliminate the majority of high school end of course exams, allow schools to give the remaining statewide tests in a paper-and-pencil format and seeks to take student test scores out of the grading equation for teachers and schools has begun to make the rounds in Florida’s capital. Read More
A $162 million plan to improve state funding for student financial aid opportunities and make Florida’s public colleges and universities more competitive passed the state Senate on Thursday with near-unanimous support — marking early success for one of Senate President Joe Negron’s top priorities. Read More
At mid-day today, FSBA participated in a press conference announcing bi-partisan support for SB 964 relating to assessment and accountability. The bill is sponsored by Senator Bill Montford and co-sponsored by Senators Tom Lee, Debbie Mayfield, Rene Garcia, Linda Stewart, and Audrey Gibson. The legislation infuses common sense into our assessment and accountability system without…
A complicated and controversial measure to change how Florida’s 4,300 public schools get taxpayer money for construction and maintenance projects is limping through the Florida Senate, advancing even as lawmakers agree it needs a lot more work before it might become law. Senators behind the measure (SB 376) envision the final bill would have two…