Florida lawmakers made a big change to the parent trigger bill Thursday, passing it on another party-line vote but only after diluting the initial proposal to give parents more power to improve struggling schools.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education approved an amendment that gives school boards – not the state - the final say on a school turnaround plan.

The original wording in Senate Bill 862 made the state Board of Education the final arbiter if parents and school boards didn’t agree on the best way to improve a school.

Among a list of options is converting the district school into a charter school, a plan that might have more support from parents and the state board than district leaders.

The amendment comes at the request of Education Commissioner Tony Bennett, who asked sponsors of the House and Senate parent empowerment bills to hold elected school board members accountable.

“School boards should not have the ability to push the decision to the state,’’ Bennett wrote in a recent letter. “They owe it to parents to consider what they have to say without being able to avoid the tough decisions.’’

Bennett also suggested the turnaround process was “overly burdensome’’ with formal notices, votes and petitions required to kick-start a plan. He said the school board should have to explain at a public hearing why it didn’t think the parents’ approach was best.

The amendment, introduced by Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, made that a requirement.The final outcome should be determined locally, not in Tallahassee, Simmons said. He also said parents are as culpable as school boards when it comes to so-called failing schools.

Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat and head of the state superintendents association, said he supported the amendment and might be able to support the bill if “we continue to move the way we are now.’’ For now, he joined three other Democrats on the subcommittee in voting against it.

The eight Republican senators present at the meeting voted in favor. The next stop for SB 862 is the Senate Appropriations Committee, which is expected to consider the bill on April 18.

The House version of the parent trigger bill, which passed earlier this month, still gives the Board of Education the final word.

Halfway through this year's Florida legislative session, here's a brief look at the school choice related bills that are still moving. To compare to the bills at the beginning of the session, click here. Things are changing fast. Several bills, for instance, are up for a House vote today.

Career Academies:

CS/CS/SB 1076 by Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz. On Senate floor, on Special Order Calendar
April 4. Creates funding incentives to increase innovation in public school programs to better prepare students for future careers; provides for the development of industry certifications at the middle school level; requires financial literacy to be included in high school graduation requirements; revises the funding for industry certifications earned in high school and at postsecondary institutions; and requires the development of multiple pathways to meet high school graduation requirements.

Charter Schools:

The Senate Education Committee conducted a workshop March 18 to discuss the charter bills that were filed. The committee took input from the workshop and proposed a substitute for SB 1282, related to charter schools, during their next meeting April 1.

CS/SB 1282 by Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland. Committee Substitute favorable by Education Committee on April 1. Includes financial and accountability requirements for charter schools; prohibits a governing board under deteriorating financial condition, financial recovery plan, or corrective action plan from applying for a new charter school; requires a charter agreement to immediately terminate when the charter school closes; requires the use of standard charter and charter renewal contracts; clarifies that members of a charter school board may not be an employee of the charter school; prohibits a charter school that closes from spending more than $35,000 unless the sponsor approves in writing or previously approved.

CS/SB 1390 by Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee. Committee Substitute favorable by Education Committee on April 1. Includes a mechanism through which a school district may establish one innovation school within its district to enhance high academic achievement and accountability in exchange for flexibility and exemptions from specific statutes; exempts facilities leased by the district from ad valorem taxes; and provides that the class size calculation be changed to the school level for district schools or schools of choice.

CS/CS/HB 7009 by Choice and Innovation Subcommittee. On House floor, on 3^rd reading. Provides for increased charter school accountability by prohibiting a charter school, upon termination of the charter, from expending more than $10,000 without prior written permission from the sponsor; requires the DOE to develop a proposed statewide standard charter contract by consulting with school districts and charter schools; and requires that a district board-owned facility that has previously been used for K-12 educational purposes be made available for a charter school’s use, with the charter school responsible for the costs to bring the facility into compliance with the Florida Building Code. (more…)

The Florida parent trigger bill cleared its third committee Friday – again along party lines – and is headed to a vote by the full House.

More than 20 people signed up to speak before the House Education Committee on HB 867, with a nearly even split between supporters and opponents. They and lawmakers echoed the same arguments that have circulated since last year, when a similar bill passed the House but failed the Senate on a 20-20 tie.

“When we let these corporate interests take over the schools” it won’t empower parents, said Rep. Mark Danish, D-Tampa, a teacher and teachers union representative. “It’s going to muzzle parents and prevent them from voicing their concerns.”

“Let’s not make this a partisan discussion. Let’s not be concerned of this boogieman of phantom interests,” said Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Doral, the bill sponsor. Opposition is coming from “the unions and the establishment that are trying to control the debate and trying to control jobs.” (more…)

The Florida parent trigger bill cleared another hurdle in the Legislature on Tuesday, getting a 7-5 party-line committee vote in the face of heavy opposition.

At least 27 people signed up to speak against the bill. Four others signed up in support.

“This legislation is not being called for from parents in Florida,’’ Jeff Wright, director of public policy advocacy for the Florida Education Association, told members of the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee. “The fact is, every credible parent group, including the Florida PTA, the NAACP and LULAC Florida are opposed to this bill.’’

HB 867 would allow parents with children in an F-rated school to petition the school district to consider a turnaround plan that could involve bringing in a charter company. A majority of parents would need to sign the petition.

A similar bill passed the House last year, but was defeated in a down-to-the-wire tie vote in the Senate. A companion to this year’s House bill has yet to move through the Senate, but Tuesday’s hearing suggested rising drama, again. As they did last year, opponents said the bill was a vehicle to privatize public schools.

Determining the direction of a school “should be a collaboration between teachers and parents,” Donald Peace, a 32-year veteran public school teacher from New Port Richey, told lawmakers.

But the bill’s co-sponsor, Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, said parents still don’t have the best seat at the table when it comes to making educational choices for their children - and the parent trigger helps them get it.

“The person who knows what’s best for their child is the parent,’’ he said.

Only one parent, a mother from Quincy, spoke in support of the bill. Representatives from the Foundation for Florida’s Future, Students First and the Florida Chamber of Commerce also voiced their support.

The parent trigger bill is back in the Florida Legislature this year and, judging by the spirited 8-5 party line vote it got in its first committee stop Thursday, perhaps as contentious as ever. But unlike last year, some Florida parents and child advocates not only voiced support, but drove to Tallahassee to tell lawmakers in person.

Former Marion County teacher Karen Francis-Winston trekked 200 miles from Ocala with her daughter to testify in favor of the bill sponsored by Republican Reps. Michael Bileca and Carlos Trujillo.

Pastor Alfred Johnson came from Tampa,where he said he serves a low-income community.

“I don’t understand what’s the matter with empowering parents to make a recommendation,’’ he told the Choice & Innovation Subcommittee. “We’re doing nothing but recognizing they have a voice, a say in the process.’’

House Bill 867, with an identical version filed by Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, allows parents with children in an F-rated school to petition the school district to consider a turnaround plan that could include bringing in a charter school operator. The petition would need signatures from a majority of parents. (more…)