Committee on Legislature
The Legislative committee has the very important job of advocating for Florida school librarians and our profession at the state and national level. Each year, the committee works with our lobbyist, Vern Pickup-Crawford, while the legislature is in session in Tallahassee. FAME members attend Legislative Days in the spring to meet with Senate members and Representatives to state our platform and concerns. The Legislative Committee develops the legislative platform of the association; directs and coordinates legislative efforts initiated and/or supported by the association; and makes recommendations related to legislation to the Executive Board as the need arises.
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3/12/19Florida
A busy bill day as many got their first hearing of the session. Here is a rundown of a number of those affecting public schools:
Last, for the first time in years, the Democratic Caucus has developed its own version of a 2019-2020 state budget for comparison with that released last month by Governor Desantis. It is attached for your information. Both chambers will independently develop their own budget plans, the starting subcommittee level we should see by the end of next week. Federal More on the administration's budget from yesterday: proposed for elimination are Title II professional training funds, elimination of Title IV programs and elimination of the 21st Century grants. These cuts were also recommended in the past two budget years. Education Week today produced an easy-to-follow graphic which I've linked here for your information. Meanwhile, school district legal counsel and others should note the release from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that the department has opined that the restrictions in ESEA against the use of federal dollars for private religious schools are unconstitutional and, therefore, the department will not be enforcing any violation. The decision is largely based on last year's Supreme Court decision involving playground equipment given a Lutheran Church in Missouri. The court stated the ruling did not address program dollars. The US-Ed announcement is here.
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Resources:
Official website for Florida Governor, Rick Scott
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Click the icon to send a tweet to Governor Scott
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The official site of the Florida Legislature
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View live streaming broadcasts of Florida legislative sessions
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ALA's advocacy and legislative page
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ESSA:
On December 10, 2015, President Barak Obama signed into law the new education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). For the first time in over fifty years, school librarians and school library programs are specifically included in this law. This bipartisan measure reauthorizes the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students.
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"With this bill, we reaffirm that fundamentally American ideal—that every child, regardless of race, income, background, the zip code where they live, deserves the chance to make of their lives what they will." — President Barack Obama |
Resources:
ESSA resources from ALA and AASL
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ESSA articles from Knowledge Quest, AASL's journal publication
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Excellent article on the bottom line for school libraries
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Documents:
These are recommended initial next steps from ALA Washington Office, and a letter our President, Lucretia Miller, drafted and sent to all school superintendents in Florida.
These are recommended initial next steps from ALA Washington Office, and a letter our President, Lucretia Miller, drafted and sent to all school superintendents in Florida.
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