Danny McAuliffe
Florida Senate Education Chair Manny Diaz Jr., a Hialeah Republican, filed a bill Wednesday that would require a minimum percentage of certain funds be spent on classrooms and teachers.
The proposal, first reported by The News Service of Florida, aligns with one of Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ education priorities expressed on the campaign trail in 2018.
The measure (SB 1434) creates a clause that would direct to teachers and classrooms 80 percent of the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) dollars received by each district.
The bill lists teacher salaries and bonuses, supplies, technology, and tutoring as would-be line items for the dedicated FEFP money.
The DeSantis campaign last September unveiled an education proposal that included a similar 80 percent floor.
“This will ensure no taxpayer money is wasted on bureaucracy and bloat and will put more money where it matters most: with students and teachers,” read DeSantis’ education proposal.
Team DeSantis in the same proposal had promised a full audit of the Department of Education “to identify funding that can be put back into the classroom.”
The proposal also called for school board transparency initiatives and noted DeSantis’ support for school board term limits.
