A Florida Senate proposal would re-examine several issues from a contentious education law passed last year.
SB 1434, which received bipartisan backing from the Education Appropriations Subcommittee, would allow more district-run public schools to qualify for grants under the new Schools of Hope Program.
It saw more revisions today that could help set the stage for negotiations with the House, which has advanced a new, wide-ranging education bill. A delete-everything amendment by Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples and sponsor of the bill, eliminated a few contentious provisions, including one criticized by some charter school representatives because it restricted their real estate arrangements. Among other things, it would require charters to ensure their buildings returned to public ownership if the school ever closed.Sen. Gary Farmer, D-Fort Lauderdale, successfully restored that provision in an amendment.
“We just have to be good stewards with the money,” he said. “This amendment is intended to make sure that everything is above-board.”
Farmer also added a provision that would increase school districts’ ability to fund district-wide programs with federal Title I funding. Last year, House bill 7069 shifted control of that funding down to the school level.
Another change by Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, might get a favorable reception in the House. Right now, almost every school a district builds has to be equipped to serve as a potential hurricane shelter. Lee, a homebuilder, argued that mandate drives up school construction costs by as much as 25 percent.
Lee proposed an amendment that would ease that requirement, as long as local emergency management officials determine their community already has enough shelters — the vast majority of which are public-school facilities.
Similar language also appears in HB 7055, a wide-ranging and contentious bill the House approved last week. That legislation has not been taken up by the Senate.
Multiple school district representatives, including Connie Milito of Hillsborough County, testified the change would save them money without compromising their ability to shelter students.
“Sometimes they have obligations that don’t make a whole lot of sense for them to comply with,” Lee said.
