Word from Tallahassee is that the controversial, lightning rod Senate Bill 6 has passed the full senate via a 21-17 vote, with all Democrats and four Republicans voting against the bill . Inside sources feel that there is about a 90% chance that this bill will also pass in the House.
The next step in the process is that SB6 will be attached to a companion house bill (that may or may not be similar in language to SB 6) and a "strike-all" motion will be made, essentially removing all language from the House Bill, and adding the the language from SB6 onto that House Bill's number. At that point SB 6 will be a House Bill and will be considered by the full House of Representatives.
The vote on this bill by the full house could come as early as next week, due to the fast track this legislation appears to be on and also because the representatives will not be in session for the full five days next week.
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4 comments:
So I have a friend who is telling me that this SB6 Bill is a direct result of the health care reform bill that recently passed? I am not extremely politically savvy, so I don't know whether this is true or not. Can you help me out in understanding?
Evie, I believe your friend is confusing two separate things. The Health care bill includes provisions that basically amount to a complete government takeover of the student loan program. SB6 I would argue is a direct result of a failed stimulus program by the Federal Govt. which gave life to the President's "Race To The Top" program. Both are complete disasters in my opinion, but are completely separate.
Update: The administration has just announced its round one Race to the Top winners, and only two states – drum roll please – Tennessee and Delaware, made the cut. The stated purpose of $4.35 billion RttT program is to increase teacher quality, improve failing schools, enhance the quality of state assessments, and build data systems to measure student growth.
"What distinguished the winners from other states? Florida, for example, had a strong application and was widely expected to top the list of RttT candidates. The WSJ reports on at least one factor:
The administration appeared to put a very high value on applications that had won wide support from unions and school boards within their states. Florida’s bid, for instance, received the support of just 8% of its unions."
Yes, well, I have to say that Florida may want to take some notes from those other states. There is no way you are going to get teacher approval for a plan that ties teacher salary/tenure to FCAT scores...
Thanks for the clarification. I knew about the student loan thing, but she said that SB6 would help to fund health care. I think she is misinformed...
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