Steward Council Meeting April 19, 2012

Quick Overview 1853 bills introduced 280 passed Started session with a 2 B $ deficit Closed with a $70 billion budget- Passed House and 32-8 Senate – closes six prisons – eliminates another 4,400 jobs (nearly 4 percent of the state’s work force) – Includes $120M in tax breaks to corporations and sales tax holiday in August – $830M reduction in unemployment comp – Rejected $438M in federal Medicaid funds – Higher Ed 300 M cut to higher ed but created new Polytech University in Lakeland (Budget chair JD Alexander priority) – An increase in the virtual education funding to $5,200 per FTE from $4800 – Nothing to fix deficit

Education Funding Shell Game Governor Scott and the Legislature cut education funding in by 6% from the previous year, even after campaigning on “Holding Education Harmless” This year, Governor Scott and the Legislature received much press on the Billion dollars in education increases. That increase is roughly 2.5%, leaving education funding well short of the pre-Scott era. $6, per student in , pre-Rick Scott $ per student in , Rick Scott “holding education harmless” $6, per student in , Rick Scott and Legislature dedicated effort to improve education funding $ is the per student loss this year (after the “increase”) from where we were prior to Rick Scott and this Legislature being elected.

2012 Legislative Priorities 1.FUNDING FOR EDUCATION 2.SB Class Size 4.Collective Bargaining 5.Retirement 6.Redistricting

WINS and LOSSES

Charter School Funding SB 1852/HB 903 Failed Would have allowed for expansion of charter schools at the expense of traditional public schools. Would have given high performing charter schools additional flexibility in expansion, while removing oversight. Required sharing funding of the 1.5 local millage. Allowed charters to increase enrollment and grade levels.

SB 1698/ HB 1115 Employee Organizations Failed The measure wasn’t needed. Present sovereign immunity laws (particularly in section , Florida Statutes) keep a teacher who is accused of negligent action from being made a defendant in a lawsuit seeking redress. It was a means to push out teachers union by misleading teachers into thinking they should not join a union.

YOU DID IT!!!! Parent Empowerment- SB 1718/HB1191 Parent Trigger Died on Senate Floor These bills would have let private education enterprises market and lobby parents to place their child in a charter school or virtual education, despite the fact that these enterprises have a weak education track record compared to most public schools. These bills would have removed local control and expand the Department of Education’s authority. This bill adds another accountability requirement for schools and districts with no additional resources. These bills are yet another means to siphon off funds for public schools.

Retirement SB 1334/HB 525 Failed Would have restored some of the benefits for Florida First Responders, but the bill pitted public safety workers against all other public service employees by “robbing Peter to pay Paul”. Public employees would have had to work 11 years before getting their retirement benefit- risking all their investment if they left public service.

Parent Involvement Grades SB 944/HB543 Failed The required checklist would have set up an evaluation of parent involvement that has the potential of “grading parents.” Would have added another accountability document to teachers without resources giving the DOE more authority.

Corporate Tax SB 962/HB 859 Passed Nearly doubles the amount of tax dollars that companies are currently allowed to redirect from public to private schools. Increases public tax dollars going to Florida’s least accountable voucher program, increasing the cap from $140 to $250 million

Privatization SB 2038 and 2036/HB 7033 Died on Senate Floor Had the bill passed, not only would it have compromised public safety, it would have cost Florida thousands of jobs handing over billions in tax dollars to political donors. Far worse, the bill aimed to privatize many governmental services and agencies.

School Accountability CS/SB 1522 Passed The changes in the bill would align Florida’s differentiated accountability system with the state’s school grading system; conform to provisions included in the federal waiver and remove duplication from the school grading system

Redistricting The Senate approved its second-chance redistricting map by a wide margin leaving lawmakers and would-be candidates waiting to see if the Florida Supreme Court will sign off on the change. The Supreme Court has already signed off on House and Congressional Maps.

SB 2100 (2011) Retirement Lawsuit Florida Supreme Court has voted to accept jurisdiction in the appeal of the pension decision. Oral argument before the court is scheduled for 9 am on September 5.