Gov. Rick Scott’s put his lawmaking pen to work Thursday, signing 20 bills into law, five of which honed in on education in the Sunshine State.
Among the bills signed into law was HB 7029, perhaps the most wide-sweeping education bill passed during this year’s legislative session. The bill, which received generally positive support in both the House and Senate, will have many different effects on Florida’s education system.
One of the key features of the bill allows parents to send their children to any school in the state as long as it has room. The transfer process would require school districts to post which schools have space for transfer students on their website and would let parents cross school district and county lines to have their child attend a different school.
The “transfer anywhere” provision would begin in the 2017-2018 school year.
Sports would also be affected by the new legislation, which will allow private schools to join the Florida High School Athletics Association (FHSAA) on a per-sport basis and make students who transfer immediately eligible for sports.
HB 287 was another bill Scott signed Thursday. That bill aims to give school principals more autonomy in the way they run schools to produce significant improvements in their schools.
Scott signed HB 7053, which revises requirements for early childhood development programs and readiness services. This bill will also require the state Department of Health and health care providers to increase awareness of developmental and early intervention programs.
Scott also signed a bill, HB 7019, which aims to make college and university tuition more affordable for Floridians. The bill would require colleges and universities to inform students of the cost of textbooks before classes begin and would also require universities to adopt policies to make textbooks more affordable.
The Board of Governors and the State Board of Education will also be required to annually study and make recommendations on how the state can make college more affordable.
“This bill gives students the ability to make informed decisions when choosing classes,” said Scott on the legislation. “It also makes higher education transparency and accountability a priority. We have to keep higher education affordable for our students.”
Sen. John Legg, R-Trinity, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said the bill was pivotal to ensure Florida kept college costs down for students.
“College affordability is one of our top priorities, where students can graduate with a quality education without being burdened with heavy debt,” he explained. “It’s important that colleges and universities provide the resources students need to completely understand the costs of classes and materials.”
Scott also signed a bill requiring school districts to provide instruction to homebound or hospitalized students on Thursday.
To see the full list of bills Scott signed Thursday, click here.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
