Florida School Boards Association
The Legislature will have slightly more cash than last year to build next year’s budget. But debate this year between the two chambers will remain over ways to cover critical costs, pass a tax cut plan and prevent future revenue shortfalls. Read More
Tallahassee, FL – In the FSBA Week 2 update, Executive Director Andrea Messina covers hot topics and issues moving through the legislative process.
Mass shootings in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale have brought conversations about gun rights and restrictions front and center this legislative session. Republican state Senator Greg Steube of Sarasota has proposed 10 bills to expand gun rights. The easiest way to sum up that legislation: Take away as many barriers as you can to bringing concealed…
The superintendent of Florida’s largest school district says he has “grave concern” about state lawmakers’ proposed reforms in how charter schools get taxpayer funding for maintenance and construction projects. Read More
Efforts by the Legislature to make explicitly clear the rights students and teachers have to express their religious beliefs in Florida public schools is ready for a floor vote in the Senate, while earning high praise in an initial House hearing. Read More
The House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee voted Tuesday narrowly against requiring workers to pay their own attorney fees in disputes over benefits. The tally went 8-7 against an amendment by Republican Jay Fant to scrap most of a proposed committee bill addressing escalating workers’ compensation premiums. Read More
Back at the end of January, Gov. Rick Scott made teachers a top priority in his budget recommendations to the Legislature for next year. But his proposals aren’t getting much traction, now that lawmakers are delving into the nitty-gritty of their own ideas. Read More
More than 3,000 students in Lake and Osceola counties want to transfer to new schools in August, taking advantage of a Florida law that allows them to attend any public school that has room. Read More
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Monday released a new application for states to use in developing their accountability plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act. And, as you might expect, it is shorter and includes fewer requirements than an earlier application released by the Obama administration in November. The biggest difference seems to be…
It has been more than three years since a School Board meeting in Volusia County was canceled after a heated dispute over what some considered to be pro-Islam content in a history textbook raised safety concerns about potential violence. Read More