Manny Diaz revives classroom spending bill for 2020 Session

Legislature 15 ps 060817
The move follows a similar proposal from Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Sen. Manny Diaz has reintroduced legislation that would require 80 percent of the money received through Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) to be spent on classrooms and teachers.

The legislation (SB 360) is a repeat of a measure filed during the 2019 Legislative Session. That bill did not pass a single committee, and no House member filed a companion measure.

The bill amends the section of Florida law regulating the minimum requirement for the FEFP. That section already contains provisions requiring districts receiving FEFP money to have 180 teaching days and maintain rules on the hiring, firing and promotion of personnel, along with other regulations.

The measure from Diaz would add a provision, spelling out how to spend that FEFP money.

The money must be used “for classroom spending purposes, which include salaries and bonuses for classroom teachers; supplies and materials for classroom teachers; student materials, technology for use by students, and tutoring for students; salaries for additional classroom teachers and aides; and classroom-based supplemental instruction activities.”

The move follows a proposal from Gov. Ron DeSantis during his 2018 campaign against Andrew Gillum. DeSantis floated a classroom spending plan requiring “80 percent of K-12 dollars to be spent directly in the classroom.”

The proposal continued, “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.”

Yet Diaz, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, failed to get much traction during the 2019 Session. He appeared to acknowledge the difficulties in the bill the last time it was filed.

“This is clearly a bill that is going to need a lot more work,” Diaz said, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

“This is a starting point and a tip of the hat to Governor’s desire (to get to 80 percent).”

That “work” would likely address the other expenses incurred by school districts that are not included in this proposal. It’s unclear whether the remaining 20 percent of FEFP money would be sufficient to cover those other costs, such as salaries of non-teacher staff and other expenses.

Ryan Nicol

Ryan Nicol covers news out of South Florida for Florida Politics. Ryan is a native Floridian who attended undergrad at Nova Southeastern University before moving on to law school at Florida State. After graduating with a law degree he moved into the news industry, working in TV News as a writer and producer, along with some freelance writing work. If you'd like to contact him, send an email to [email protected].



#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, Anne Geggis, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Gray Rohrer, Jesse Scheckner, Christine Sexton, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704




Sign up for Sunburn


Categories