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Jewish school security, vouchers, hurricane help on Florida special session agenda

Special legislative session starts Monday

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – State lawmakers returning to the capital Monday for a special legislative session will take up a series of bills related to Israel, security at Jewish schools, damage caused by Hurricane Idalia, and school vouchers.

The bills were posted on the Florida House and Senate websites Thursday.

If passed, one of the bills would appropriate $10 million to a grant program for security improvement at nonprofits that are at high risk for violent attacks or hate crimes. The grants, which are currently available to houses of worship and community centers, could be expanded to museums and schools.

The proposed bill would also set aside $25 million that could be used at Jewish preschools and day schools for hiring security guards and installing security infrastructure such as surveillance cameras and shatterproof windows.

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The Florida House and Senate have each proposed resolutions expressing the State of Florida’s support of Israel and condemning attacks by Hamas.

Another bill would expand the list of “scrutinized companies” tied to Iran that are prohibited from doing business with the state.

Earlier this year, Florida lawmakers expanded the availability of school vouchers to help families afford private school education by eliminating income requirements for state scholarships.

However, current state law limits the number of state-funded Family Empowerment Scholarships intended for students with special needs to about 41,000.

A new bill would eliminate the cap on those particular scholarships and allow the Florida Department of Education to decide how many to issue based on available funding.

Under a disaster relief bill, Floridians primarily located in the Big Bend area of the state impacted by Hurricane Idalia in September could receive various forms of assistance.

That same bill would also provide an additional $176 million in funding for the state’s “My Safe Florida Home” program that awards grants to homeowners for wind mitigation improvements.

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