On the Agenda: Florida Ed Meetings Committee Week #4
The Florida Legislature meets again this week for their fourth Committee Week before the 2022 Session. The rest of the Interim Committee Week Schedule is here.
Here’s what’s on the Calendar for Week 4. Education committees are meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Senate Education committee will start to hear bills.
The meeting to watch (if you can only watch one) will be House PreK-12 Appropriations on Wednesday afternoon… They will be discussing the current status of enrollment and funding of the state’s voucher program. Last session, despite opposition from families of Gardiner recipients, HB 7045 eliminated the Gardiner voucher program and combined it with the Family Empowerment Scholarship voucher. Gardiner was an Education Savings Account which allowed parents of children with special needs to home school or send their children to private schools. Many of last year’s warnings by testifying Gardiner families have come true- families have gone unfunded despite last year’s reassurances that current recipients would not be affected. Will committee members listen to these families this session?
Monday November 1, 2021:
No Scheduled Education Committees.
Tuesday , November 2, 2021:
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM House Education and Employment
Agenda here.
Presentation on the Implementation of New Worlds Reading Initiative (HB 3)
12:30 — 3:00 PM Senate Education
The Senate Education committee will begin hearing bills. Agenda here.
SB 236 by Jones—Children with Developmental Delays
SB 268 by Diaz—Proclamation of “Victims of Communism Day”
SB 270 by Hutson—Funds for Student Transportation
SB 318 by Rouson—Florida Seal of Fine Arts Program
SPB 7004 by Education—OGSR/Technology Systems/State University or a Florida College System Institution
SPB 7006 by Education—OGSR/Campus Emergency Response
Wednesday, November 3, 2021:
9:00 AM House Secondary Education & Career Development Subcommittee
Agenda here.
Presentation by the Department of Education on truancy
Presentation by OPPAGA on transparency requirements relating to curriculum and instruction and school district budgeting and accountability
11:00 am House Early Learning & Elementary Education Subcommittee
Agenda here.
Presentation by OPPAGA on transparency requirements relating to curriculum and instruction and school district budgeting and accountability.
2:00 pm House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee
This is the committee chaired by Brevard Representative, Randy Fine, who, over the summer, openly threatened school boards imposing mask mandates, saying he would “make sure they get hurt next year.” So yeah, House PreK-12 Appropriations will be “interesting” to watch this session.
Agenda here.
Overview of School/Education Choice for K-12 Students
Update and Discussion on Fiscal Year 2021-2022 School Choice Enrollments and Funding for:
• McKay Scholarship Program
• Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program
• Hope Scholarship Program
• Florida Empowerment Scholarship Program
The Senate Education Appropriations subcommittee and the House Post-Secondary Education & Lifelong Learning Subcommittee are not meeting during Committee Week 4.
Remember, last session was particularly rough on public schools. Will the session be any better? Regardless, if we want to save public education in Florida, we need everyone to be paying attention. All meetings are live streamed and archived at thefloridachannel.org. Please follow along with us this legislative season (on Facebook and Twitter), stay informed, help us call out the accountabaloney and defend our community’s public schools.