Constitutional panel ready to take issues across state

After considering more than 100 proposals in committees, the Florida Constitution Revision Commission is ready to move into its next phase, starting with a public hearing today in Fort Lauderdale.The scheduled six-hour hearing, which starts at 1 p.m. at Nova Southeastern University, is the first of five public hearings that will be held across the…

FSBA Session Spotlight — February 5, 2018

Today is the beginning of the 5th week – and the half-way mark — of the Legislative Session.  Please be sure to watch our Legislative Weekly video featuring FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina providing a recap of bills considered last week and a preview of some of the issues coming up.  There were no legislative…

FSBA Session Spotlight — February 1, 2018

Although there were only a few legislative and Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) Committee meetings today, several topics of interest were considered, including a new proposed House bill and a CRC proposal that both addressed government ethics and integrity. Please click on the link below for our report on the outcome of consideration of these issues…

FSBA Session Spotlight — January 31, 2017

Work on the state budget took center stage today and the House and Senate Appropriations Committees reviewed their respective budget proposals and related bills. The House made only a few changes to their main budget bill – none of which impacted Pre-K-12 Education Funding – but adopted a lengthy substitute bill for their main education…

House GOP loads issues into education bill

In a replay of last year, the House on Wednesday attached a major education policy bill to the state budget, spurring a debate on controversial issues such as a voucher-like program for students who are bullied and an effort to weaken teachers’ unions. The House Appropriations Committee voted 20-8 for the 198-page budget “conforming” bill…

FSBA Session Spotlight — January 30, 2018

Legislative committees considered several bills of interest today, including, most notably, bills relating school board member term limits and school district accountability. Please click on the link below for our report on the outcome of the consideration of these bills and others that were considered today.  Tomorrow, the Appropriations Committees in both chambers will be…

FSBA Session Spotlight — January 29, 2018

Legislative committees considered several bills of interest today, including bills relating to student safety and health, juvenile justice, public meetings, school funding, early learning, and curriculum. Please click on the link below for our report on the outcome for these bills and others.  Tomorrow, legislators will consider several more bills of interest, most notably, bills…

FSBA Session Spotlight — January 26, 2018

The Constitution Revision Commission Education Committee met this afternoon to consider several important education-related proposals to amend the Florida Constitution, including, among others, proposals relating to public and charter school authorizers, school choice programs, and the prohibition against using public revenues in aid of religious entities. You may wish to review our Discussion and Key…

Florida constitution committee keeps alive an education surprise

Proposals to ask voters in November to expand vouchers and school choice were given a predicted green light Friday as a key committee of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission moved forward in what is a top priority of Florida’s Republican leaders.  The biggest school choice victory of the day was the unanimous vote of the…

FSBA Session Spotlight — January 25, 2018

Several bills of interest were considered today including a significant Proposed Committee Bill (PCB) by the House Education Committee that addresses private school accountability, school choice programs, district flexibility, and a new reading scholarship program. Other bills of interest address early learning, students with disabilities, public meetings and records, and labor organizations.  Please click on…