President Passidomo Promises Serious Headway

Today, at 3:45 PM, the Senate Education PreK-12 committee will hold a workshop on “Recommendations to Reduce Regulations on Public Schools” as required by HB1. You can watch on thefloridachannel.org.

In an 11/3/23 memo to the Senate, President Kathleen Passidomo called the deregulation process “a personal priority,” explained the process the Senate has undertaken this summer and addressed her view of the next steps. Read her memo here.

Over the summer, professional staff from the Senate Education Pre-K–12 and the Appropriations Committee on Education, led by Senior Policy Advisor on Education, Kathy Mizereck, undertook their own review of Florida Early Learning-20 Education Code and prepared a robust list of options for further discussion. In addition to meeting with these stakeholders (including the Florida Association of District School Superintendents – FADSS, the Florid School Boards Association – FSBA, the Florida Education Association – FEA, and others), staff reviewed the more than 4,000 suggestions submitted online via the Department of Education’s public portal.

In other words, they did the work the Florida State Board of Education (FLBOE) was supposed to do but delegated to Florida’s Education Commissioner, Manny Diaz Jr., instead (at his request). [Read more about that here.]

The Senate recommendations were then divided into three categories and three senators were chosen to take the lead on each particular section.

• SPB 7000 – Deregulation of Public Schools/Instructional, Administrative, and Support Personnel, will be carried by Senator Alexis Calatayud.
• SPB 7002 – Deregulation of Public Schools/School District Finance and Budgets, Facilities, and Administration and Oversight, will be carried by Senator Travis Hutson.
• SPB 7004 – Deregulation of Public Schools/Assessment and Accountability, Instruction, and Education Choice, will be carried by Education PreK-12 Chair and sponsor of HB1, Senator Corey Simon.

These bills will be heard next week, Wednesday, November 15th at 2pm. Final drafts of the proposed bills will be made available at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.

In her memo, Passidomo asked the senators to use the following questions as their guide:

• Do private schools have to comply with this requirement? If not, then what is the rationale for imposing that requirement on public schools?
• Will removing or changing this requirement negatively impact student safety or school security? If so, maintain the requirement.
• Can the same level of accountability be effectively maintained at the local level? If state oversight is no longer necessary, ensure the same or a greater level of transparency and accountability is required locally.

Passidomo promised the Senate will make “serious headway” this year and encourages her senators to “get involved.” She says her goal “is not to rubber stamp a perfunctory interim project.” (I believe she’s looking at you, FLBOE!) She explained her justification here:

“For decades now we have rejected the idea that neighborhoods and zip codes alone should govern how and where a child is educated. We created and implemented rigorous standards across every aspect of the public school system as a way to make certain every child has access to a great education, regardless of where they live. As part of that effort, every year, more and more regulations are put on our school districts, which leads to more paperwork, and more tasks in an already packed school day and school year. Telling districts what to do and how to do it was supposed to ensure quality and demand accountability, but it can also stifle innovation.

As we move forward, I want to make certain we do not lose one inch of the accountability measures this Legislature has instituted over the last thirty years, which ensure every child has access to a high quality education. However, I think we also need to recognize with HB 1, our role is changing. Parents are more involved than ever before. Parents are the ultimate arbiter of performance. Parents will hold neighborhood schools, charter schools, and private schools accountable with their voices and their feet. State regulation, metrics and measurements provide information to help parents make the best decisions for their children. Additionally, local voters, the same voters who elect us, have the right and the responsibility to pay attention to local elections and hold officials accountable for the performance of neighborhood schools.

-President Kathleen Passidomo 11/3/23

https://www.flsenate.gov/PublishedContent/Offices/2022-2024/President/Documents/11_3_23_MEMO_Learn_Local__Cutting_Red_Tape_and_Supporting_Neighborhood_Public_Schools1.pdf

Public education advocates and stakeholders must be involved as well!

Watch today’s meeting (look for it here).

Contact your own Senator (find them here) and let them know the impacts these suggestions will have on your schools and students.

If parents can hold private schools and private school teachers accountable “with their voices and their feet,” why must our public school children endure a high stakes testing regimen to hold our own schools and teachers accountable?

The conversation is beginning. Join in.