April 23, 2010
Things change fast in last days of Florida legislative session
The mad dash to the end of the Florida legislative session is on. It seems sometimes as if it's hardly worth reporting ideas, as they change almost as fast as they get posted. Here are a couple of updates that might just stick to the end.
School recognition funds -- The Senate toyed with the idea of defunding the program, which rewards schools for their FCAT results. When the House wouldn't agree, senators gave up the fight and accepted the House proposal to pay out $75 per student.
Class size count -- At the urging of school districts, the House and Senate had agreed to delay the 2010 class by class counts for the class size amendment to February 2011, after voters have their say on whether to keep the rules intact. Apparently, some district leaders started saying they would rather take the fine than meet the rules, which angered some lawmakers. So now they've bumped the count back to the fall and toughened the penalties.
Things remain fluid until the final budget agreement. So no promises these are the final rulings. But for now, at least, they are.
