HB 7029: Inside the Most Talked About Education Legislation in Florida for 2016

legislation that is built on multiple pieces of other related bills at the end of session is called  a "Train"

Everyone connected to education has something to say about HB 7029, the massive, omnibus education legislation that passed the House and Senate on the last day of this year's legislative session.  There are a lot of member priorities tucked into the law, as many bills that may not have passed on their own were added to the bill late in the game. That's how the sausage comes out of the hopper, that is how many bills end up becoming laws.

Of course I am very pleased with the membership association language that was included--this was absolutely necessary and long overdue.  Conservative school board members should not be forced to join high-priced,  taxpayer-funded membership associations that spend this money unwisely on needless litigation against the Governor and the Legislature.  We should have always enjoyed, as individually elected constitutional offices, choice in advocacy.   And now we do!

But many other aspects of the bill are equally appealing to reform-minded officials like me, such as the expansion of school choice opportunities that empowers students and families, school board member campus visits and inspections of schools language, classroom teacher transfer language that empowers parents, immediate athletic eligibility for students of military families that transfer into a Florida public schools, construction spending caps that force economy and efficiency for capital spending projects, and much, much more.

Of course, there are liberals and other guardians of the status-quo that think Governor Scott should veto HB 7029.  They don't like the way it was passed.  Thankfully,  most observers do not believe this bill will be vetoed.

Ironic how liberals that benefit tremendously from massive, pork-laden omnibus spending packages rammed through Congress in DC decry the method in which HB 7029 was passed through the Florida Legislature.  Yes, these liberals and other status quo guardians have NO PROBLEM with Harry Reid and his minions utilizing dirty tricks and opaque Senate rules to ram-rod  OBAMACARE through the Congress in secrecy with no open testimony or public scrutiny and without A SINGLE REPUBLICAN VOTE.  Yes, DC politics, when liberals drive the train and benefit from the process, is completely acceptable.  Yet a large bill that PASSED in Florida with large margins by Republicans and many Democratic supporters---HB 7029-- is somehow "unacceptable."

As Spock from Star Trek might comment on this rank hypocrisy  "Fascinating."

But I digress...

Our district's legislative affairs representative, Mixon and Associates, put together a very nice recap of all the items contained in HB 7029, which I will post below.  Long read, but lots of good information.

HB 7029: School Choice
Please note that the summary below is not in the order in which these elements are contained in the bill, rather they are grouped together by topic in order to aid in the dissemination of information to the staff responsible for implementation. Additionally, unless otherwise noted in this summary, the elements of the bill will take effect on July 1, 2016.
Membership Associations – bill lines 348-368
 Mandates that dues paid to a membership association which are paid with public funds must be assessed for each elected or appointed public officer and may be paid to a membership association.
 Requires that if a public officer elects not to join the membership association, the dues assessed to that public officer may not be paid to the membership association.
School Board Member Duties – bill lines 369-378
 Authorizes school board members to visit schools.
Educational Choice – bill lines 418-612, 1770-1806
 Authorizes parents to seek any public educational choice options for their children throughout the state.
 States that in addition to other choice programs, options for students also includes CAPE digital tools, CAPE industry certifications and collegiate high school programs.

Status Quo "Takes it on the Chin" In Tallahassee Yesterday!

I was proud as a duly elected constitutional officer, school board member, and immediate past-president of the Florida Coalition of School Board Members to be able to speak yesterday at the Florida Senate Community Affairs Committee in Tallahassee.

This committee was considering numerous bills, but one was of particular interest to me.  SB 1426 is the membership bill that will allow school board members, individually, the ability to "opt-out" of paying high priced, taxpayer funded "association" fees.  The discussion of this bill begins at minute 9:00 of this video.   The committee moved the bill favorably after several speakers spoke in support of the bill.  One member of the gallery, the newly appointed executive director of the FSBA, attempted to explain the reasons behind the school board association joining forces with unions ans special interest groups to sue the state.  Ahe was grilled by the committee over this lawsuit attempting to kill tax credit scholarships.  It was a great day in Tallahassee.  The Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Buzz Blog covered the meeting.  from the Miami Herald:

"The bill also makes it optional for members to join associations that receive tax dollars -- giving school boards, for instance, the option to opt out of the FSBA. That provision, in particular, is pleasing to the Florida Coalition of School Board Members, a separate group from the school boards association that was formed last year and whose members embrace conservative principles.  Coalition President Jeff Bergosh, an Escambia County school board member, said some school board members' voices are "shut out" when the FSBA acts on behalf of the majority of its members.  "There’s a great number of school board members whose voices get quashed every year," Bergosh told senators. "I don’t want my