This issue of the FSBA Session Spotlight provides information and updates on a variety of issues including hurricane preparedness and response, Legislative Interim Committee Meetings, legislative special elections and changes to key legislative committees and subcommittees, state budget development, the ongoing work by the Constitution Revision Commission, and federal issues. [toggle title=”Hurricane Preparedness and Response Resources“]…
DetailsA coalition of nearly all Florida lawmakers is pushing for nearly $27 billion in additional hurricane relief money, underscoring the tremendous financial toll this year’s storms have had. The request covers the gamut, from money for citrus and livestock losses to funds for the Herbert Hoover Dike to the need for schools that could see…
DetailsFamilies from Puerto Rico who were displaced by Hurricane Maria won’t have to worry about having transcripts or immunization records if they enroll their children in Florida’s public schools this month, state education officials announced Friday. But for county school districts taking in the new arrivals, there is no guarantee the state will provide financial…
DetailsCrisis, what crisis? Just a year after dire predictions that the state’s economy was in peril due to rising insurance costs, Florida businesses could see an average 9.3 percent reduction in workers’ compensation premiums in the coming year under a rate filing Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier will consider later this month. If approved, manufacturing businesses…
DetailsAfter Hurricane Irma kept Florida children out of classes for a week of September or longer, school district officials had a math problem to solve. If primary students had to receive at least 720 hours of classroom instruction over the year, and secondary students 900 hours, how much time would they need to make up?…
DetailsA Constitution Revision Commission panel tasked with reviewing proposed amendments to the first article of the Florida Constitution is using a deluge of public proposals to narrow its scope for future meetings. The commission meets every 20 years to propose constitutional changes, which must then receive 60 percent support from voters. The CRC’s Declaration of…
DetailsAs Florida communities prepare to take in Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria, five lawmakers are asking the state’s top education official to grant flexibility to public schools so they can accommodate additional students in the coming months. In a letter to state Education Commissioner Pam Stewart on Monday, the lawmakers formally asked the state…
DetailsFrom schools to shelters, Florida is readying for an influx of people struggling for food, water and power in hurricane-damaged Puerto Rico. Gov. Rick Scott said Florida doesn’t know how many people will make the trip from Puerto Rico. Also, Scott said it is unknown how many will decide to remain permanently in Florida or…
DetailsThe legal war has officially begun over a highly controversial, charter school-friendly education law Republican state lawmakers pushed through last spring. Palm Beach County School Board members filed a lawsuit this week challenging the constitutionality of one part of House Bill 7069. Another, potentially more far-reaching lawsuit with the backing of at least 14 other school…
Details5 Things You Should Know in Education News Click below to read Executive Director Andrea Messina’s top picks for this week’s education news. Read. Learn. Share. Retweet. 1. Think traditional public schools are short on choice? Think again: READ ABOUT IT 2. Innovative school model-NY’s Portfolio School: READ ABOUT IT 3. Understanding the impacts of the “word…
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