Thanks to your advocacy, Florida elementary students will continue to enjoy recess! Over 2,000 Alliance for Public Schools advocates emailed the bill sponsor, Sen. Corey Simon, and other legislators demanding recess for students. After this public outcry- Senator Simon deleted the language which would remove the recess requirement from his bill. The bill, SB 7004, amends or removes several regulations the state currently places on public schools.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, “Simon, a Tallahassee Republican, said he had intended only to give schools more flexibility in how they allocate recess minutes, particularly on shortened class days, and not to remove recess. He pulled the section that would have altered the mandate as the bill and its companions (SB 7000, SB 7002) gained bipartisan approval from the Fiscal Policy Committee.
Angela Browning, one of the parents who led the push for recess in 2017, said separately from the meeting that “recess moms” statewide cheered the quick response to their concerns. Simon “has clearly heard us on this issue and we appreciate that authentic daily recess periods will continue for Florida’s elementary school students,” she said.”
In spite of the recess provision, parents and educators applauded the bill which removes many state regulations including drastic changes to the current testing policies. However, former Gov. Jeb Bush and his education foundation have criticized the bill. “Bush wrote a column opposing Simon’s call to stop using state tests to determine whether students get promoted from third grade and graduate from high school. Both are key pieces of the accountability plan that Bush steered into law more than 20 years ago.
Simon said “nothing could be further from the truth” than suggestions the bill sought to lower standards. He said removing the third grade retention requirement would encourage teachers to focus on children’s reading needs earlier. Deleting the graduation test requirements would allow juniors and seniors to take courses other than reading remediation, he said.
“Let’s stop dancing behind the facade that (universities and employers) are looking at these 10th grade tests,” Simon said. The time has come, he argued, to “fix the system.”
These proposals have been the priority of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples. Her priority bills deal with the penalties for class size violations, teacher contracts, and when students can take the General Educational Development.
“School board members and superintendents from across the state applauded the attempt to strip away restrictions that have prevented districts from being innovative as families have been offered a growing number of education options, including charter schools and private school vouchers.
Still a wild card in the debate is the Florida House, where one committee has had preliminary conversations about deregulation but has not released any bills.”
Click here to send a quick thank you to Sen. Simon and committee members for listening to parents and advocates. Tell them you support their efforts to remove harsh penalties tied to state testing. We make it easy to advocate so use our tool to send your message with two clicks.
