With three weeks remaining in the Legislative Session, the chambers are rapidly moving bills into position for passage. In addition to the passage of individual bills, it is expected that legislators will create at least one “train” of education bills – combining all or part of several bills into one omnibus bill. In general, to…
DetailsAdministrators at some of Florida’s largest school districts — including Miami-Dade County — are speaking out in opposition to House Republicans’ $200 million “schools of hope” plan that would pit new, specialized charter schools against the districts’ perpetually failing traditional public schools. Miami-Dade County Public Schools is “actively lobbying against” HB 5105, a spokeswoman said,…
DetailsFlorida lawmakers this week set into motion a budget process that will result in several highly consequential policy reforms affecting public education to become law this year in one form or another. But if years of precedent are any indication, what exactly those final laws might be will now be determined through deal-making and negotiations…
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During most of the last week or so, we have tried to keep you updated on progress on the budget. As you know, both chambers have passed their versions of the budget and related bills, but significant differences remain that have not been resolved. The next step in the budget development process is for each…
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As we reported yesterday, the Senate amended and/or passed their version of the budget, budget implementing bill, and budget conforming bills and sent them to the House for consideration. Since each of these Senate bills differ from their House companion bills, the Senate requested that the House pass the bill as passed by the Senate…
DetailsTallahassee, FL – As Week 6 of the Florida Legislative Session wraps up for the holiday weekend, watch this FSBA Legislative Weekly Update for highlights. Be sure visit the FSBA Session Spotlight Blog and 2017 Legislative Session page for in-depth summaries, resources, and analyses.
As expected, both chambers reviewed their respective budgets – SB 2500 and HB 5001 — and related budget implementing bills and budget conforming bills. Most of these bills were either approved without amendment or the amendments did not directly pertain to PreK-12 education. However, two significant amendments were approved in the Senate to SB 376…
DetailsThirty-seven Floridians, almost all of them unknown to the public, will be among the state’s most potentially powerful people over the next 18 months. They serve on the Constitution Revision Commission. Their impact could last far longer than that of many people who hold elective office. Read More
DetailsAs Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet approved the sale Tuesday of up to $233 million in education construction bonds, the question remains whether lawmakers will follow through on a second year of borrowing to fund building projects in the public-school, state-college and university systems. Read More
DetailsFor many parents with disabled children in public school systems, the lure of the private school voucher is strong. Vouchers for special needs students have been endorsed by the Trump administration, and they are often heavily promoted by state education departments and by private schools, which rely on them for tuition dollars. So for families…
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