We are pleased to announce that we have posted links to the recordings of our two Legislative Session Review Webinars – the first webinar focuses on education appropriations and the second focuses on education legislation. You may access our FSBA 2018 Legislative Session Summary and both of these webinars on the FSB website on our 2018 Legislative…
A committee of the powerful Constitution Revision Commission advanced several constitutional amendments that may appear on voters’ ballots in November, including a proposal that would make Miami-Dade’s sheriff an elected position and an ethics measure that would bar former officials from lobbying for six years. In a three-hour meeting, the commission’s Style and Drafting Committee…
Florida voters would see 24 proposals rolled into 12 amendments on the November ballot under a preliminary proposal unanimously adopted by the Style and Drafting Committee of the powerful Constitution Revision Commission on Wednesday. The proposal was prepared by Commissioner Brecht Heuchan, chair of the committee, which has the power to decide which amendments get…
In a series of floor sessions in March, the full Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) trimmed down its original list of proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution from more than 100 to 24 – 5 of which are of primary interest to school boards. The proposals have now been referred to the CRC Style & Drafting…
Florida school district leaders are faced with a school security dilemma. Lawmakers are requiring them to add armed safety officers or “guardians” to every elementary, middle and high school campus, and they set aside $170 million for the task. But that won’t come close to projected costs. The gap — as little as $500,000 in…
Gov. Rick Scott heaped praise on lawmakers for approving what he called “historic” school safety changes only three weeks after the slaughter of 17 people at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. But the fast-tracked measure has hit roadblocks since Scott signed it into law earlier this month. Lawsuits and a swirl of questions about…
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has sent a letter to the state’s school superintendents and school board members, detailing his expectations for school security upgrades. The letter includes a timeline for response by school districts to the fatal shooting on Feb. 14 of 17 students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland,…
Lawmakers sent a message to President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in their bill to fund the federal government: We’re not the biggest fans of your big education ideas. Congress would increase spending at the U.S. Department of Education by $2.6 billion over previously enacted levels in fiscal year 2018, up…
Term limits for school board members — one of the most popular proposals before the Florida Constitution Revision Commission — took a step closer to the November ballot on Wednesday. The measure, which would hold board members to two consecutive terms if approved, won strong support from the commission. It voted 27-6 to advance the…
Just days after Gov. Rick Scott signed Florida’s new school safety rules into law, one of the state’s largest charter schools made a big ask of the 13 districts where it operates. “In keeping with the spirit of the Act, we request that a full time School Resource Officer be provided to each of the…