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Thursday, March 17, 2011

SB 736 Update « Tangerine, Florida #awakeFL #legFL

SB 736 Update « Tangerine, Florida

SB 736 Update

The fate of Senate Bill 736, an SB 6 look alike, is up to Governor Scott who is expected to sign it. Republican House legislators voted unanimously this week in support of this “Teacher Quality bill.” This bill is neither for teachers not about quality. According to the Florida Education Association:

SB 736 is yet another multi-billion dollar unfunded mandate that dramatically increases student testing and does nothing to support or reward current teachers at a time when our schools can least afford it.

  • This new legislation requires local school districts to spend millions of dollars to develop new FCAT style tests and evaluation systems, but the Legislature is not providing additional funding to cover the cost.
  • Florida schools are already facing devastating budgets cuts. More cuts will force districts to close schools and cut programs and services. Employees are expected to face salary rollbacks, furloughs, layoffs and cuts in their benefits.Tallahassee shouldn’t impose another