FSBA Session Spotlight – December 9, 2019

The Legislature will hold a sixth, and final, round of Interim Committee Meetings this week to lay more groundwork for the 2020 Legislative Session that will convene on January 14, 2020.  Several committees/subcommittees will consider bills addressing topics of interest including, among others, health and safety, curriculum, personnel issues, and school choice options.  In addition,…

Manny Diaz bill floats lowering governor’s proposed starting teacher salary

Sen. Manny Diaz, a Hialeah Republican, is putting forward his “starting point” pitch on Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ proposal to raise teacher salaries in the state.  But that bill may also divert from the Governor’s goals, detailed in his October announcement, by potentially requiring DeSantis to back off his proposed salary floor. Read More

FSBA Session Spotlight — November 15, 2019

The Legislature held a 5th week of Interim Committee Meetings this week.  Several bills and topics of interest were considered, including funding, health and safety, public records, and ethics.  The outcome of the legislative meetings of interest is provided in the first file below.  In addition, updates on several federal issues are provided in the…

Ron DeSantis seeks tier-based Best and Brightest replacement

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday a plan to replace the Best and Brightest bonus program to reward teachers and principals with tier-based systems.  DeSantis, joined by Department of Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran in Vero Beach, called for $300 million in teacher and principal bonuses in the Florida Classroom Teacher and Florida School Principal Bonus programs. Read More

Senate workforce bill expands to include all public schools

Aiming to align career education to the needs of employers, state Sen. Travis Hutson proposed legislation to direct job growth grant fund money to certain charter schools that specialized in career-technical graduation pathways.  His bill (SB 130) quickly attracted criticism from observers who wanted to know why only charter schools would benefit from the plan. Read More

FSBA Session Spotlight — November 12, 2019

The Legislature will hold a 5th week of Interim Committee Meetings this week.  Several bills of interest will be under consideration, including bills relating to funding, health and safety, public records, and ethics.  In addition, the State Board of Education will be meeting on Friday in Brunnell, Florida.  The agenda includes review district turnaround option…

Bill again filed to require ‘supermajority’ to raise local taxes

A bill is back in the Florida House for 2020 that would require a supermajority vote for a local tax referendum.  HJR 477 would, if passed, allow a referendum to let voters decide whether to require a two-thirds majority for any municipality or subsidiary form of government to raise taxes. Read More

Florida pre-k issues leave lawmakers with long to-do list

On a recent day at Celebration Baptist Kinderschool, the 4-year-olds gathered with their legs crisscrossed on their multicolored carpet to listen to a book about bats.  “What’s that big word we learned?” the teacher asked, referencing a previous lesson about owls.  “Nocturnal!” the toddlers shouted back. Read More