In Florida, teachers are bad and guns are good.

One day the Florida house of Representatives says porn is a danger, the next they want to require postings of In God We Trust in all of our schools. Sandwiched in between is absolutely nothing on gun violence and attacks on the teaching profession as they try and strip away collective bargaining from large swathes of teachers. Up is down and black is white in the Florida House of Representatives. Friends we have to do better.

  The Florida House of Representatives was in session on Tuesday considering several issues. These included a motion to debate a bill banning the sale of assault weapons in the aftermath of the mass shooting that killed 17 people last week at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and a resolution declaring pornography a public health risk.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/02/21/florida-house-refuses-to-debate-guns-but-declares-porn-dangerous/?utm_term=.ac5ac4db4c43

 With the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High shooting still looming large, its students in the Capitol to lobby for gun controls, the Florida House overwhelmingly passed a measure Wednesday its sponsor said aimed at bringing "light" to the schools.

The bill (HB 839) would require all public schools to post the state motto, "In God We Trust," in a "conspicuous place."

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/2018/02/21/florida-house-approves-bill-to-post-in-god-we-trust-in-all-public-schools/

House Republicans on Tuesday decisively blocked a move by Democrats to debate a ban on assault weapons in Florida, six days after a massacre that took 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

The bill (HB 219), which would ban the sale and possession of semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines like the kind used by Nikolas Cruz, has been mired in a House subcommittee for months and has not been heard.

Amid rising tensions at the Capitol, Democrats used a highly unusual procedure to try to move the proposal directly to the House floor for a debate and vote.

Republicans voted it down, 71-36. Several survivors of the high school massacre, watching from the visitors’ gallery, were overcome with emotion, and the action set off a firestorm of controversy on social media.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article201186164.html

Florida House lawmakers approved a nearly 200-page omnibus education bill Thursday with a few lines tucked inside that attacks teachers unions.

The Republican-led House passed the bill 66-43 and linked it to $21 billion public-school portion of the approved $87.2 billion budget to the passage of the omnibus education bill. 

HB 7055 is a long read, but it's worth your time. Highlights from the bill include: 

- A union-busting measure that would decertify teachers’ unions and force them to disband if membership falls below 50 percent of the employees they represent. This proposal solely targets teachers union. HB 25, a similar measure proposed by state Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, requires a similar decertification of all unions except unions representing police, firefighters and correctional officers (usually GOP-friendly organizations dominated by men). If it sounds pretty biased, it's because it is – Plakon even admitted as such when he talked to Scott Maxwell at the Orlando Sentinel. The Florida Education Association points to a report from the Center for American Progress that found Wisconsin teachers saw their salaries fall by about $11,000 after the state restricted collective-bargaining rights. 

https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2018/02/09/florida-house-passes-major-education-bill-including-union-busting-measure-for-teachers

The republicans in Tallahassee do not represent main street not even the God fearing and Gun loving members. They represent a small far right base that isn't interested in solutions or compromise, just getting their way.

Jacksonville's rep Jay Fant uses the Parkland dead to gin up votes.

Jay Fant is part of the Duval Delegation representing district 15, south Duval and downtown.  A rabid anti public education advocate he has tried to use the tragedy in Parkland to push a pro gun agenda.



Um, hmmm, um, wha? Um, what?

This guy represents Jacksonville and its hard to imagine anybody being more tone deaf than this.

This isn't about being pro gun or being pro reasonable restrictions. This is about Fant not understand that the reason we have lost so much is partly because of a combination of Florida's shoddy treatment of pubic education, starving it of resources and some of the most lax gun laws in the nation where a nineteen year old can buy a weapon of mass destruction but he can't buy a beer.

Has he learned nothing? If he really cared about them he would want to make some changed.

I can only imagine this tweet was designed to inflame his base and gin up votes, it's however  a shame he used 14 dead children as props to do so.

Fant is running for attorney general and I cant wait not to vote for him.

Less than a week after three educators laid down their lives, Florida's assault on education continues, updated

Today the senate appropriations committee voted to include a teacher union busting measure joining their compatriots in the house. The measure would decertify any union with less than fifty percent membership except for police, fire and prison guard unions, that is unions that are mostly male and vote mostly republican. This attack on teachers less than two weeks after three educators gave their lives is more shameful evidence of the republican agenda to dismantle and privatize public education.

My republican friends is this what yo voted for when you voted R?


We can add Parkland and so many other schools to the list.

Tallahassee's assault on the teaching profession continued as the Florida senate took up a bill designed to knee cap collective bargaining for teachers and this less than a week after three staff members laid down their lives to protect their children.

From the Tampa Times

This year, the Senate is more openly challenging some of the House education positions, recrafting HB 7055 to fit its own policy vision.

In advance of the panel meeting, Education chairwoman Sen. Dorothy Hukill has submitted a strike-all amendment that's nearly half the length of the House version.

Her bill would keep some of the underlying priorities that the House has advanced — particularly the Hope Scholarship for students who have been bullied, strengthened oversight of private schools receiving tax credit scholarships and, surprisingly, teacher union decertification if membership drops below 50 percent of eligibility. (The union issue has not had traction in the Senate to this point.)

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/2018/02/19/florida-senate-doubles-down-on-hb-7055-with-its-own-version/

The senate is supposed to be made up in the adults in the room but I fear they are going to let us down.

For a state with a teacher shortage, where teachers are already chronically under paid, and where teachers give up so much and in some instances their lives, the republicans in Tallahassee are certainly doing all they can to kneecap the profession.

These wholesale attacks on teachers can't be what my republican neighbors voted for.

Parkland survivors being attacked by right wing media

I have to say after writing about education for over ten years I thought I had seen it all including the depths the right wold go to sell their agenda, sadly I was wrong.

Survivors of the Parkland massacre whose only sin as far i can tell was speaking out have been attacked by the right wing media in a conspiracy theory that has been pushed by Donald Trump Junior himself.

From the Business Insider:  

• Some on the far right are going after a survivor of last week's school shooting in Parkland, Florida, who has recently made multiple appearances on TV-news outlets.
• The student, David Hogg, whose father is a retired FBI agent, has been critical of President Donald Trump and other politicians for their response to the shooting.
• Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., liked a pair of tweets questioning the student's motive for speaking out about the shooting.

---

Some of President Donald Trump's most fervent supporters have started going after a survivor of last week's shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, who has since made a series of appearances on TV-news outlets.

That student, David Hogg, has been featured on CNN and CBS following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 people dead and more than a dozen others injured.

Hogg, a student journalist who says he interviewed classmates during the shooting, has since become one of the most prominent student voices, calling for stricter gun-control measures and characterizing the response of politicians — and specifically Trump — as "disgusting."

http://www.businessinsider.com/parkland-florida-shooting-survivor-david-hogg-fbi-2018-2

I had somebody on my Facebook page post a meme saying since he (a survivor) was on the news last summer in a different city it was proof that he was a 'crisis actor" hired to take advantage of tragedies, needless to say they aren't on my Facebook feed any more. 

Sadly this is all to indicative of the right. they don't need facts or evidence, they scoff at data and are willing to exaggerate and lie to make their often self serving and harmful to the public points.

Can the right get any lower?

For shame.

I am all for arming teachers... the right way!

Ed Sec Betsy DeVos says schools have the option to arm teachers

Schools also have the option of providing printer paper, ink and toilet paper but because of a lack of resources many often choose not to.

This comes just days after the Trump administration announced plans to dramatically change the student loan process which will undoubtedly hurt current and former teachers.

From Forbes,

The budget maintains three principal student loan reforms from last year: reforming the income-driven repayment system, eliminating loan forgiveness for borrowers in public-service jobs, and eliminating subsidized student loans. Though estimates vary, these changes are likely to save several billion dollars per year.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/prestoncooper2/2018/02/13/president-trumps-proposed-higher-education-budget-round-2/#2245244759b9

Now they want teachers to carry guns as well?

From the Hill during a congressional hearing,

She was also asked about the idea of having teachers who are properly trained and know how to use weapons.

"I think this is an important issue for all states to grapple with and to tackle," she said during the interview. "They clearly have the opportunity and the option to do that. And there is, there are differences in how states approach this."

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/374033-devos-congress-needs-to-hold-hearings-regarding-school-shootings

How different states approach this? Well she might be talking about bears because If you remember last year DeVos said some schools should have armed personnel because of bears.

From the Guardian, 

DeVos, a billionaire and Republican mega-donor, made the comments in response to a question from Chris Murphy, a senator from Connecticut who has led a push for stricter gun laws. Murphy, a Democrat, asked DeVos if she believed guns “have any place in or around schools?”

“I think that’s best left for locales and states to decide,” DeVos responded.

When pressed for a more definitive answer, Trump’s pick for education secretary cited a school in Wyoming surrounded by fences to protect children from grizzly bears.

“I think probably there, I would imagine that there’s probably a gun in the school to protect from potential grizzlies,” DeVos said.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/18/betsy-devos-guns-schools-grizzly-bears

Um this woman being in charge seems more like a Monty Python sketch than reality. It's hard to imagine there is a less qualified person out there.

Luckily some politicians are pushing back.

From the Hill,

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday rebutted Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's suggestion to arm teachers in order to prevent future school shootings. 

DeVos said in an interview Thursday that states could consider training and arming teachers as a way to stop school shootings. She made the comment while discussing a shooting at a high school in Florida on Wednesday that left 17 people dead. 

Asked on ABC's "This Week" about his thoughts on DeVos's statement, Murphy said there is no evidence to support arming people for self-defense against gunmen.

"There's zero evidence, empirical or anecdotal, that more guns leads to less gun crime," Murphy said in an interview on ABC's "This Week," following a Wednesday floor speech berating the Senate for inaction on gun control. "In fact, if you have a gun in your house, you are more likely to be shot by that gun than you are to use it on a perpetrator."  

Host Martha Raddatz pointed out that the armed guard on the high school campus never got the chance to respond to the teen gunman. 

"It's a wonderful story for the gun lobby to tell that if you just load up schools with weapons you'll be safer," Murphy continued. "All of the evidence suggests that homes and communities that have more weapons have more gun crimes, not less." 

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/374155-murphy-responds-to-devos-on-arming-teachers-to-prevent-gun-violence

Teachers as a group are under paid, over worked and stressed out as more and more of the job including continued employment has less and less to do with teaching. Now DeVos and others are suggesting Teachers be cops and carry guns too. 

Many teachers don't have safe places to put their purses or phones, let alone a gun. Imagine if that one kid every teacher has in their class came across the gun, or worse wanted to get it? 

Bottom line, arming teachers and expecting them to act as soldiers or the police is a bad idea and would undoubtedly lead to more tragedy and carnage.

Becki Couch addresses the Parkland tragedy

I have grown to be a real fan of Mrs Couch a tireless education advocate. The board, the school system and the city is going to miss her when her term is up in November.

We have a mutual Facebook friend and she addressed the Parkland school tragedy, responding to a meme that in one point encouraged teachers to be armed and in another part, pointing out that most schools can barely afford printer ink.

Via Facebook: 

Why would we expect teachers to now be police and security? 

Why would we expect teachers to be armed without the same vests we provide police officers who are armed? 

Why would we think this is the solution before we have tried to provide adequate funding so our children can attend safe and secure schools? 

Teachers should be given the freedom to teach! I have taken my concealed weapons class and if I were in the classroom I can assure you I would not be prepared to endure what these hero’s at Marjory Stoneman endured. 

It is time our legislators quit paying lip service to parents and take action. I have been to Tallahassee every year for seven years pleading with our legislators for adequate funding so we can meet the safety to life needs of our schools. 

The legislature has kept Safe School funding allocation the same for the last seven years. In FL there has been an influx of 300,000 students and cost of living had increased during this same time. 

Districts ability to increase capital millage has decreased from 2 mils to 1.5 mils taking away millions in funding. PECO (telephone tax) funding has been redirected to charters. I still asked for help. And you know what I got instead for our students? 

We were told we needed to share the little funding we had with unfettered growth of charter schools. This year alone we will lose $3.8 million more to the required sharing of capital. 

ENOUGH! It is time we stand up and demand our legislature and governor stop paying lip service and show they care through their actions. 

It is time they provide mental health funding and Safe School funding so we can prevent these tragedies. 

It is time we redirect the voucher and test obsessed legislators to listen to these heart breaking stories and do something to show they love our kids as much as they love their “Choice” political talking points. 

We MUST do better!

Florida shows its bias towards charter schools again.

Just a reminder, districts are also now required to share their operating budgets with charters too, sensing millions more.

Should Florida private schools that take public money be required to have teachers with degrees?

Not certified mind you like every public school teacher has to be, but just have a degree in general.

It is absolutely bat sh*t crazy but that is a debate being had in the Florida Legislature right now but welcome to the Sunshine State.

Private schools that take vouchers don't have to have recognized curriculum, certificated teachers or heck teachers with degrees, can teach pseudo-science like creationism and most don't even have to report how they use the money. Florida's voucher program growing at 20 percent a year has siphoned billions out of public school coffers and nobody knows how or what they are doing. You may hate public schools but do you hate them that much that you think above is acceptable?

From the Tampa Times:

After reading an Orlando Sentinel series on the issue, Florida lawmakers came to the conclusion that they needed to stiffen oversight laws affecting private schools that accept state tax-credit scholarships.

They looked at a variety of areas, ranging from school inspections to owner financial status. In drafting his legislation on the subject, Sen. David Simmons also looked at teacher credentials.

He proposed that private school teachers be degreed, differing from the House version. Since then, Simmons said, he has run into pushback.

"There are those who believe there should be certification" for all teachers, Simmons told the PreK-12 Education Committee on Thursday. "There are those on the other end who believe there should be only disclosure [of teacher qualifications] to the parents."

In his effort to get something passed, Simmons has worked to find a compromise. On Thursday, he presented an amendment that he deemed a significant step, but added remains a work in progress.

As currently written, SB 1756 would require a school to report its teachers' qualifications and also to employ teachers who hold a bachelor's degree or higher from a "regionally or nationally accredited college or university in the United States or from a recognized college or university in another country."

That's not certification, he noted, and it takes into account people who have gotten training in many types of environments. He added that the language would apply to teachers hired after July 1, 2018, and who are assigned to grades two or higher.

That way, he said, current teachers at the schools would be "grandfathered, or grandmothered" into the past rules and not lose their positions.

http://www.tbo.com/blogs/gradebook/2018/02/08/should-florida-private-schools-that-take-state-vouchers-have-degreed-teachers/

Public schools have been regulated like people hunt seals.

I also find it ironic that the state has jacked up the cost of certification and made it harder while apparently private school teachers just have to be able to write their names so they can sign their checks.

I probably wouldn't care if a billion dollars a year weren't sent to these unregulated schools, but it seems to me that f the public is paying for them there should be some minimal standards. 

This can't be what people have in mine.

Local politicians vote to completely defund Florida's public education system

I am not making that up. I am not being hyperbolic. I am however outraged and you should be too.

The Florida house of representatives voted to tie passing House Bill 7055 a 200 page train bill which among other things siphons more money away from public education and kneecaps collective bargaining, to funding public education and several Jacksonville representatives thought that was a good idea. 

Jay Fant, Clay Yarbourough, Cory Byrd, Jason Fischer who hates public education like he was marred by a bear and left for dead and inexplicably democrat Kimberly Daniels.

Jacksonville can we talk here. Is it your desire to destroy public education? I ask because when you repeatedly vote for people like above that is what you are doing.

It's past time we sent people to Tallahassee who will support our schools, our children deserve it 

To read more, click the link:  http://fundeducationnow.org/fl-house-heroes-zeroes-budget-vote-hb-7055-bully-train/