sine die 2022

Thank you Rep. Dr. Massullo and Senator Simpson!

Senate President Wilton Simpson

Today, the Florida Legislature including our two local delegates Senate President Wilton Simpson and Representative Dr. Ralph Massullo closed the 2022 Florida Legislative Session sine die (which essentially means ‘adjourned indefinitely’).

I want to thank Senator Simpson and Representative Massullo for their service this session. I want to thank them both for their leadership and work on not just behalf of Citrus County but on that of our schools, staff, and most especially our students.

There are a number of successes this session but two I would like to lift up is the removal of state standardized assessments in favor of progress monitoring and the budget appropriations to assist in the establishment of the new Citrus High School Construction pathway.

Representative Dr. Ralph Massullo

For well over a decade, I have worked to encourage and advocate with state leaders to remove and reduce the state-required assessments and their punitive penalties against students and educators. This year with great encouragement and support from Governor DeSantis the Legislature this session did what I might have thought a few years ago wasn’t possible- The Legislature voted to remove state standardized assessments and replace them with a progress monitoring system. The immediate details are in SB 1048 which unanimously passed the Senate and overwhelmingly in the House. There will still be much work ahead but this is a critical beginning point.

As a strong advocate for high school Career and Technical Education (a.k.a. as workforce /vocational education), I have been excited about our new Citrus High School Construction pathway. The program got an extra needed boost in the passing of the Legislative budget with Rep. Massullo’s appropriation bill HB 4965 with support in the Senate by Senator Simpson, that if signed by the Governor will provide Citrus High School Construction Pathway startup funding of $253,500.

There are several other positive improvements for our students, staff, and schools this session, but these were two which I believe will have long-lasting positive impact on our Citrus County students and community.

I am so grateful to Senator Simpson and Rep. Massulllo for their leadership and commitment. God bless them both in their future endeavors for Citrus County and Florida!

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