Education spending: Senate Republicans are proposing to boost Florida's K-12 education spending by $1.1 billion, an increase of $350 per student, for a total of $22.2 billion. That's 5 percent higher than last year's spending, and $500 million more than Gov. Ron DeSantis has asked for. Among the items in the bill, which cleared the Senate Education Appropriations Committee: $233 million for bonuses for teachers and principals, $68 million for districts to hire security officers for all schools, $50 million in school hardening grants, $2 million for Jewish day school security, $46 million for struggling schools, $31 million for youth mental health issues and $14.2 million for schools that lost enrollment because of Hurricane Michael. The House has yet to release its education budget proposal. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. Florida Politics. WFSU.
Scholarship bill: A Senate subcommittee approves the session's big education bill, S.B. 7070, which would create a state scholarship to eliminate the list of more than 13,000 students waiting to be approved for for Florida Tax Credit Scholarships (FTC). The Family Empowerment Scholarship would be funded through tax dollars and allow about 15,000 low-income students to attend private schools. The House Education has already passed its version of the bill, which would make the new scholarship available for about 28,000 students and also sets a higher income limit for eligibility. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the FTC. redefinED. Florida Politics. News Service of Florida. Associated Press. (more…)
Education bill moving: The sweeping education bill that would, among other things, eliminate the waiting list for Florida Tax Credit Scholarships, is approved by the Senate Education Committee on a 5-3 party-line vote. S.B. 7070 would create the Family Empowerment Scholarship program with money from the Florida Education Finance Program, though at least one prominent Republican says taking the money from general revenue funds could pose a problem. The bill also would restructure the Best and Brightest Teacher and Principal Scholarship program for educator bonuses, the teacher certification process, and provide money for social services at public schools. About 13,000 students are on the FTC waiting list. Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog, helps administer the tax credit scholarship program. redefinED. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. Orlando Sentinel. Tampa Bay Times. Politico Florida. Florida Politics. WFSU. WFTS. WPTV.
Best & Brightest bonuses: More than 11,000 Florida teachers will receive bonuses of $7,200 through the state's Best and Brightest program, according to the Florida Department of Education. Those 11,286 teachers were rated as "highly effective" in their evaluations and posted ACT or SAT scores in the top 20 percent when they applied for college. About 81,000 other "highly effective" teachers will get $1,200 bonuses, 67,600 "effective" teachers will get $700 and 557 principals will get bonuses worth $4,000 or $5,000. Florida is spending $233 million on the bonuses, which will be paid by April 1. The Legislature is considering several proposals, including S.B. 7070, that would rework the bonuses program and eliminate the test score requirement. Orlando Sentinel. (more…)
Legislative preview: Gov. Ron DeSantis, his fellow Republicans in the Senate and House and the new, more conservative Florida Supreme Court seem poised to overhaul public education by expanding school choice, changing the way schools are funded, adding a new scholarship program and more, beginning Tuesday when the 60-day legislative session begins. Some see it as a continuation of the transformation former Gov. Jeb Bush started 20 years ago, while critics call it a dismantling of the state's public school system. Tampa Bay Times. The Senate will take up the proposed educational landmark bill, S.B. 7070, on Wednesday. Politico Florida. Other education items on the Legislature's agenda are the expansion of school choice, arming teachers, accountability for charter and private schools and security in schools. Associated Press. News Service of Florida. Sun Sentinel. GateHouse. redefinED. WFSU. Tallahassee Democrat.
Testing in other languages: Bills are filed in the Senate and House that would allow Florida students still learning English to take state assessment tests in their native languages. Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami, and Rep. Cindy Polo, also a Democrat from Miami, introduced companion bills SB 1590 and HB 1213. “I think it’s ridiculous that a place like Florida, where we have so many students in this circumstance (learning English), they’re not allowed to take their tests at least in Spanish or Creole, in their native language,” says Taddeo. Florida has resisted offering tests in languages other than English, ignoring federal guidelines urging states to "make every effort" to do so. Gradebook. (more…)
