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2024 Legislative Update with picture of Florida state capitol

The 2024 Florida Legislative Session begins Tuesday, January 9th. For the next 60 days, the Florida House and Senate will debate many policies that will impact students and their schools.

It is so important to tell our elected officials what we want for our children, educators, and public schools.

Due to your amazing advocacy during the lead up to session, the Senate removed a proposal that would have eliminated children's right to daily recess. We are so thankful to Senator Simon for listening to our concerns and making the necessary changes!  

Read the update below and visit the Advocacy Dashboard to take action for students. We make it easy to identify and contact your legislators via email and/or social media. Together, we can advocate for policies that invest in children and families and support our future.

 

Support positive changes for children

Senate President Passidomo has prioritized a set of bills aimed at the "deregulation" of public schools- including the removal of mandatory 3rd grade retention and changes to graduation requirements. The bills are poised to pass in the Senate. However, the House seems reticent to adopt the bills.

Advocates will need to put pressure on their Representatives to pass these positive changes for students, educators, and schools.

Promote child well-being and attendance

Efforts to address chronic absenteeism provide a rare opportunity for bi-partisanship this session. Chronic absenteeism rates- when a student misses at least 10% of school- have continued to climb since the pandemic. When children are absent, they risk dropping out and miss social services like school breakfast and lunch programs.

Advocates must seize the opportunity to work with both sides of the aisle for policies that address the root causes of absenteeism including mental health concerns.

Demand investment in students

The Florida Legislature must pass a balanced budget during its 60 day session with education funding playing a large role in that process. The governor’s proposed budget includes “increases for teacher pay”. But, it’s now up to the Legislature to determine the details of how much funding to allocate and to which priorities.

Advocates should expect proposals that drain more tax money to fund private school vouchers and be ready to advocate for an investment in public schools.

 
 

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