Drew Wilson
The House Education Appropriations Subcommittee voted for a committee bill Thursday that would codify K-12 and university performance funding programs into state law.
Miami Republican Rep. Erik Fresen, who chairs the committee, said HB 7043 would “provide Florida students with the best education possible, from grade school to postsecondary school.”
“By passing this bill, we will be able to attract and retain the highest quality teachers to our classrooms, make sure our colleges and universities are equipping students for success in the workforce, and create more world class universities by providing additional support to our emerging pre-eminent schools,” Fresen said.
Chief among the bill’s numerous reforms is the continuation of the controversial Best and Brightest Teacher Scholarship Program, which gives bonuses of up to $10,000 to highly rated teachers who got high ACT or SAT score. The requirement has been criticized for disqualifying otherwise competent teachers for test scores they made as teenagers.
The bill would also add the “emerging pre-eminent state research university” designation for schools that meet at least half of the state pre-eminence standards and would have the State Board of Education draft performance-based metrics for the Florida College System that include retention, program completion and graduation rates, post-graduation employment rates and salaries.
The committee voted 9-4 in favor of the bill, with the no-votes coming from the Democrats on the panel.
