A talented workforce is Florida’s best economic development tool toward ensuring businesses can successfully compete in the global marketplace. To secure Florida’s future, the Florida Chamber continues building on its long-standing efforts to champion bold education reform policy centered on accountability, measuring successes and failures, rewarding good teachers and providing parents and students with options to achieve education success.
After years of battling the union agenda, the Florida Chamber and its partners in the education community are not only leading the charge to reform Florida’s education system, positive gains are being made. But more must be done.
The Florida Chamber is committed to focusing on ways to use innovation to change our education system and secure Florida’s future by establishing our state as a global leader in education.
Digital Learning
Learning with 21st century technology tools will help prepare Florida students for entry into a high-skill, technology-centered economy. Building on the Florida Chamber’s goal of preparing students for a global marketplace, the legislature passed an important Florida Chamber-backed digital learning priority.
House bill 7063 sponsored by Sen. Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando) and Rep. Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland), students entering K-5 will be allowed to participate in full-time offerings at school district virtual instruction programs, virtual charter schools and Florida Virtual School. The bill removes restrictive barriers and allows part-time digital learning opportunities to students in grades 4-5.
Governor Scott is expected to sign this bill into law.
Tax Credit Scholarship Program
Reducing the tax liability on businesses while simultaneously providing financially disadvantaged students a way out of failing schools is a win-win situation. Despite resistance by unions, school choice options allowing students to learn and thrive remains a Florida Chamber education priority.
The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program encourages voluntary contributions from corporate donors to provide scholarship funding for students seeking a quality education. This year, lawmakers expanded the program to serve more students by increasing the tax credit cap to $229 million per year.
House bill 859 sponsored by Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto (R-Ft. Myers) and Rep. Richard Corcoran (R-New Port Richey), businesses will now have a greater opportunity to invest in Florida’s children and help generate better education outcomes. Governor Scott is expected to sign this bill into law.
Parent Empowerment
No one is more invested in a child’s academic success than a parent, and empowering parents gives them a stronger voice in turning around perpetually failing schools. Despite bipartisan support, unions chose to defend failing schools, silence parents and protect underperforming teachers by defeating this bill.
Bill sponsors Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto (R-Ft. Myers) and Rep. Michael Bileca (R-West Miami) worked tirelessly in support of this Florida Chamber-backed bill and to support an education system where parents – not union bosses – have control over their child’s academic destiny.
Under the measure, parents of children in perpetually failing schools could petition their school district to adopt a federally-approved school turnaround option.
Teacher Employment Options
Providing improved training and staff development options allows teachers to choose their professional development provider and gives them the added support they need to educate Florida students.
Not-for-profit and non-unionized professional teacher associations – voluntary membership organizations – provide teacher training, staff development and a variety of valuable education enhancement services. In a right-to-work state like Florida, these associations provide an alternative to special interest unions.
Professional teacher associations that do not engage in collective bargaining or other union-like activities can now offer these types of services under a recent Public Employees Relation Commission decision. However, it has also opened the door for unions to charge professional teacher associations with unfair labor practices. Sen. Stephen Wise (R-Jacksonville) and Rep. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) sponsored Florida Chamber-backed legislation supporting teachers and advocating professional teacher associations be removed from the employee organization statues.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce is committed to help prepare Florida to compete in the global marketplace where a quality education will be our best economic development tool as we work to secure Florida’s future. The Florida Chamber has spent many years battling the unions to stand up for Florida’s children and reform our education [...]
By PEGGY KEHOE, pkehoe@polkcountydemocrat.com A graduation rate that’s 17 to 18 percent higher than traditional high schools is just one of the pluses that gets members of the Polk Academies District Advisory Council excited about Polk County’s nearly 40 career academies. Some members of the council met with different school board members at lunches at [...]
By Mc Clatchy News Service TALLAHASSEE — A controversial bill that would let parents demand sweeping changes at low-performing schools won the approval of two education committees Tuesday. Under the so-called parent trigger proposal, a majority of parents could petition to have the principal replaced, or even have a charter school operator take over. The [...]
