SB 736 – Education Personnel Goes to Governor

Today, Wednesday, March 16th, 2011,  The Florida House joined the Florida Senate in passing SB 736, a measure changing teacher pay based on performance and assessments like the FCAT  instead of relying on seniority and school administrative evaluations, on Wednesday after a lengthy debate. With the bill now having passed both chambers of the Legislature, it now goes to Gov. Rick Scott who has already indicated that he will sign it into law.  It will be the first bill the Legislature sends to Scott since he took office.

SB736 is this year’s version of SB 6, which last year passed both the House and the Senate but was vetoed by Gov. Charlie Crist.  SB736 intent is to mirror Florida’s plan for a $700 million federal Race to the Top education grant that includes a move to merit pay but is still being worked on by public school stakeholders.

I believe this bill will have far reaching effects on education and I have many concerns of its impact on our public schools students and our schools as a whole.  This Bill potentially puts even more emphasis on FCAT scores and that is not something I feel is in the best interest of our students success.

While many of us have been concerned about SB736 many more bills effecting educational are still going on this legislative session and it is important that we stay involved and informed on the bills and issues.

Comments Off on SB 736 – Education Personnel Goes to Governor
Filed under: News & Updates