Florida PTA Legislative Dispatch #1
Posted by admin on February 28, 2010
Florida PTA Legislative Dispatch #1
February 19, 2010
The Florida Legislature will convene for the 2010 Legislative Session on March 2, 2010. The regular nine week session is scheduled to end on April 30, 2010.
Once again, the budget, or lack of it, is expected to dominate the conversation during this session. Education was funded on federal stimulus dollars last year and will continue to be funded by the same source this year. However, as this program sunsets in one year, it is critical that the legislature makes provisions for a permanent and stable funding source for the future needs of education.
The Legislature must find a way to generate new revenues, to fund education and other children’s services. This will be our message throughout session and we hope you will join us not only through your emails and phone calls, but also in person, as we Rally In Tally, on March 25th, to bring this home to our legislators. For more information go to http://www.floridapta.org/legislative.html or contact your County Council.
The revision of the class size amendment to be calculated on school averages rather than actual class size has already passed the education committees in both Houses and is expected to generate vigorous debate. Bills to expand the corporate voucher program have also been filed, further eroding the funds that could be used to fund public education. A bill to replace the FCAT in math and science in high school with end of course exams is also making its way through the legislature.
PTA will also be active in other areas issues such as the safety and protection our youngest children with the passage of a booster seat bill as well as increasing safety for all citizens with a ban on texting while driving. Nutrition, food safety, health and environmental issue swill also be a part of our active advocacy efforts.
A list of the bills we actively working on can be found at: http://www.floridapta.org/Legislative%20Information/FPTA%20Legislative%20Report-Feb%2019.pdf
A longer list of bills in the area of children and education has been posted on our web site at http://www.floridapta.org/Legislative%20Information/2010%20Bills-Feb%2019.pdf .
The lists will be updated at the end of every week reflecting any action that was taken and new bills will be added as they are filed. If there is a PTA position corresponding to the bill, it will be shown under public comments.
For a full text of these bills please go to: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Welcome/index.cfm?CFID=87003130&CFTOKEN=22816812
We will send out alerts as needed through Capwiz. We will also send out weekly updates through Capwiz and email lists. Please respond to the alerts and forward the alerts and updates to your email lists. Your voice is the most important one and we hear this constantly as we meet with policy makers. They want to hear from you. If you have any questions, please email us at ino@pta.org.
Thank you for your advocacy efforts.
