FSBA Session Spotlight — April 10, 2019

Today’s agenda includes both Senate committee meetings and House and Senate floor sessions. Bills of interest under consideration today include bills relating to term limits for school board members, parental rights, school choice, local referenda, career education, public records, and government accountability. Today’s schedule is posted below and will be updated to show the outcome on…

Stoneman Douglas commission reviews how school districts are doing at keeping kids safe

embers of the state commission investigating the Parkland school shooting on Tuesday debated the pros and cons of rating school districts on how well they are implementing policies to keep children safe.  The discussion was part of the commission’s first hearing in more than three months, which began with reports of progress in making schools…

FSBA Session Spotlight — April 9, 2019

Before diving into the sixth week of the Legislative Session, please be sure to watch our FSBA Weekly Video Update featuring FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina providing a recap of the main events during the fourth week of the Session.  Today’s agenda includes consideration of the omnibus school choice bill — HB 7095 – in the…

FSBA Session Spotlight — April 3, 2019

Today’s agenda includes consideration of several bills of interest including bills relating to health and mental health, curriculum, early learning, hurricane recovery, school choice, and government accountability. Today’s schedule is posted below and will be updated to show the outcome as soon as possible (please forgive any delays in our reporting this week while we…

When it comes to school safety, the question is: Where are all the school counselors?

In the old days, a guidance counselor would work mostly in high schools, helping students set up their class schedules and decide what they’ll do after graduation.  But today’s school counselors have broader responsibilities, including being trained to recognize mental health issues in students before a crisis occurs.  The counselors play an integral role, but…

FSBA Session Spotlight — April 1, 2019

We look forward to working with school board members who will be in Tallahassee this week for the FSBA Annual Day in the Legislature. To assist you in making the most of your time in Tallahassee, we urge attendees to carefully review our “Know B4 UGo” information and the materials in the “Preparation Activities and…

FSBA Session Spotlight — March 27, 2019

Today, the House and Senate Appropriations committees will take up their proposed budgets, implementing bills, and conforming bills and will consider any amendments to them. We have prepared a side-by-side comparison of the education funding portions of the House and Senate appropriations bills as they stand today before consideration by the Appropriations Committee meetings. Please…

Should parents be able to ‘opt out’ their children from having an armed teacher?

A bill that would allow classroom teachers to carry guns passed yet another committee Tuesday in the Florida Senate along party lines, leaving it with just one more committee in each chamber before it reaches the floor.  But amidst the emotional debate surrounding the bill, a new idea emerged that caught the attention of a prominent…

FSBA Session Spotlight — March 26, 2019

As we near the mid-point of the Session, time is growing short for bills that haven’t been heard in their committees/subcommittees of reference so today we see a flurry of activity to consider bills that have been waiting for first hearings while others are completing work in their committees/subcommittees of reference and soon will be…

FSBA Session Spotlight — March 25, 2019

Before diving into the fourth week of the Legislative Session, please be sure to watch our FSBA Weekly Video Update featuring FSBA Executive Director Andrea Messina providing a recap of the main events during the third week of the Session.  To date, there have been few, if any, bills of interest on Monday’s schedule but…