Staying up-to-date on the latest in education news is easier than ever.
Week of December 16th
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2025 Legislation Watch
HB 581 - International Baccalaureate Bonus Funding
Expands eligibility for International Baccalaureate bonus funding by including students with equivalent scores as determined by the Department of Education.
HB 573 - Disqualification from Educator Certification and Employment
Amends Florida statute to allow individuals with certain past criminal offenses to be eligible for educator certification and employment under specific circumstances.
SB 670 - Instructional Personnel and School Administrator Salaries
Increases the minimum base salary for full-time classroom teachers in Florida to $65,000, and mandates adjustments to salary structures for instructional personnel and school administrators.
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DeSantis would cut taxes on guns, spend millions combatting immigration
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking lawmakers to spend $510 million to combat illegal immigration and create a six-week sales tax holiday on gun and ammunition purchases as part of his proposed state budget for the next fiscal year.
In his recommended $115.6 billion budget, DeSantis would spend nearly $590 million to continue a popular home-hardening program and resume back-to-school and disaster preparedness sales tax holidays.
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Republican Senator says immigrant students won’t be blocked from public schools in Florida
Step Up For Students, the nonprofit organization that administers 98% of the state’s scholarships, says that opened applications for the 2025-26 school started at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, and by the end of the weekend, it set new records with more than 120,000 students applying.
“That’s the most demand Florida’s scholarship programs have ever seen in their first two days after opening applications,” said Travis Pillow, a director with Step Up for Students.
New statistics show nearly 63,400 students (51,861 renewal and 11,533 new) applied for scholarships that help pay private school tuition. Families can use any leftover money for tutoring, curriculum, or other supplemental learning.
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Florida Senate committee advances bill that would ban governments, schools from flying Pride flags
A Republican-backed proposal to ban local governments and schools from displaying “politically partisan” flags, as well as Pride flags, advanced through a Florida Senate committee Tuesday, ahead of the official start of Florida’s 2025 legislative session next month.
The proposed legislation (SB 100) is a repeat bill that has been filed for consideration by state lawmakers for the last two years in a row, and has failed to pass. According to Republican Florida Sen. Randy Fine, the bill sponsor, the intent of the bill is to keep “political message” flags out of government buildings.
