Dear Friends,
We sincerely hope that all of you made it safely through Hurricane Idalia. As we near the end of hurricane season, we have officially made it to the beginning of committee meetings, which started on October 9th. As a reminder, The committees that I have been assigned to are Agriculture, Appropriations, Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice, Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, Children, Families, and Elder Affairs, Community Affairs, Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security, and Rules.
To better prepare for the upcoming legislative session, the Lake County Legislative Delegation held their annual legislative delegation meeting on August 22nd. This annual public meeting is an opportunity for citizens, elected officials, cities and local governments, and other civic organizations to address the delegation before the start of the next legislative session. This meeting was inspiring and fruitful. It is always encouraging to see the community come together to express their ideas and to take an active part in their government. Since Senate District 13 covers all of Lake County and West Orange County, we will also be attending the Orange County Legislative Delegation meeting on November 29th for further insight into the concerns and needs of our constituents.
On another note, we have begun the implementation of one of the many important pieces of legislation that was passed during the 2023 Legislative Session – House Bill 1: Education. In a show of good faith, incorporating recommendations from the Florida Association of District School Superintendents, led by former Senator Bill Montford, this bill took the first step towards reducing onerous and excessive regulations on public schools with several immediate revisions to Florida’s Education Code. For example, the bill reduces hurdles to a 5-year temporary teacher certificate for anyone with a bachelor’s degree and for those with three years of effective or highly effective service. The bill repeals the requirement that a student take one online course in order to graduate from high school, which is not currently required in private schools. The bill also offers districts flexibility in facility costs for new construction, and offers student transportation flexibility to improve efficiency, while maintaining student safety. To reduce additional regulation on public schools, the next step in implementing HB 1 is for the State Board of Education to review the entirety of the Florida Early Learning-20 Education Code for potential repeals and revisions to be considered during the 2024 Legislative Session. HB 1 requires the Board to consider input from teachers, superintendents, administrators, school boards, public and private postsecondary institutions, home educators, and other entities, and that process is ongoing.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. We hope that it will encourage you to attend your local legislative delegation meeting as well as shed some light on an important legislative priority that the Florida Legislature will continue to focus on during the next session.
Onward and Upward,
