TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Three bills in the Florida Legislature would make some major changes to education regulations if passed, including changes to how school districts hire teachers, how student tests affect graduation, how school districts set recess, and more.
The three bills, SPB 7000, SPB 7002 and SPB 7004 passed unanimously in the Senate Education Pre-K-12 Committee on Wednesday.
Recommended Videos
The bills are meant to give school districts more power to make decisions in a variety of areas.
For instance, SPB 7000:
- Gives school districts the ability to issue a temporary teaching certificate
- Creates a 10-year professional certificate for highly effective teachers
- Expands eligibility for the teacher apprenticeship program to anyone enrolled in a college or university
- Allows school districts to give certain teachers multiyear contracts
- Gives school districts flexibility to evaluate some aspects of teacher performance
- Requires voluntary prekindergarten instructors to complete three emergent literacy training courses
SPB 7002:
- Simplifies school board rulemaking
- Lets school districts decide whether to make up days lost
- Provides more flexibility for how school boards use federal funds
- Gives school boards more control over planning schools and other district facilities for local long-term needs
- Allows students to carry things like EpiPens, asthma inhalers and diabetic equipment with written parental approval and a valid prescription, or a doctor’s written authorization
And SPB 7004:
- No longer requires school districts to offer a voluntary pre-K summer program
- Allows parents to determine whether to allow their child to stay in third grade or be promoted to fourth grade using a “good cause exemption”
- Eliminates the requirement that students pass the Algebra I end-of-course test and the grade 10 English Language Arts test to earn a high school diploma
- Gives school districts more time to implement a turnaround program for poor-performing schools
- Gives schools the ability to schedule 100 minutes of required recess over the course of a week, rather than mandating 20 consecutive minutes of recess daily
While many of the provisions in the three bills were praised by school administration officials and superintendents, the recess provision was one that generated criticism, including from Orange County School Board member Angie Gallo, who pushed for the recess mandate years ago.
“All the research and evidence-based material we showed to y’all in 2016 and 2017 said in order for it to really be a benefit, it has to be 20 minutes consecutive, unstructured recess play,” Gallo told the committee. “That’s when the child gets a full benefit to their mental health, they’re able to focus on academics, it gives them an opportunity to learn life skills.”
A spokesman for Foundation for Florida’s Future, an influential education group chaired by former Gov. Jeb Bush, also had concerns about the bill.
“The foundation is committed to the goal of removing unnecessary, duplicative and outdated regulations on Florida’s public schools, but we do not want to see Florida take a step backward,” Nathan Hoffman, spokesman for the group. “Now is not the time for Florida to soften its position on policies that have played key roles in contributing to two decades of educational progress.”
The Florida Education Association, which represents the state’s teachers, issued this statement to News 6:
The bills were favorably reported by the committee, but that is just the first step in the legislative process. They will have to go through the full Florida House and Senate next year to pass, and then be signed into law by Gov. DeSantis.
We’ll keep an eye on the bills and provide updates on ClickOrlando.com.
The next Florida Legislative Session starts Jan. 9, 2024.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: