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Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors
Florida Council for the Social Studies

Legislative Update   # 16

April 21, 2007
TO:   All Interested Persons
FR:    Jack Bovee, Legislative Chair, FCSS
RE:    Legislative Update

For additional information on Florida issues go to ONLINE SUNSHINE - http://www.leg.state.fl.us/
For information on how to contact your Florida Senator's Tallahassee office, click here
For information on how to contact your Florida Representative's Tallahassee office, click here

The FCSS Website continues to make progress. This legislative alert is part of our ongoing attempt to provide more current information to members through electronic means. As this represents the FIRST LEGISLATIVE ALERT EMAIL THAT WE HAVE 'BLITZED' ALL FCSS MEMBERS ON THIS YEAR feel free to email Legislative Chair Jack Bovee at boveeja@collier.k12.fl.us with your suggestions, ideas or concerns.

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FCSS/FASSS Lobbyist Bob Bedford met with FASSS members this past Friday in Orlando to update our strategy for the final days of this session. Bob informed us that Sen. Wise and Rep. Pickens will be the Conference Committee Co-chairpersons charged with reconciling any differences. He felt the Education Budget was nearly completed and would be voted on early this week. The House conferees are as follows:

Traviesa (vice-Chair), Altman, Coley, Flores, Legg, McKeel, Mealor,
Proctor, Simmons, Bendross-Mindingall, Heller, Kiar, Long, Richardson,
Vana and Waldman.  The Senate Conferees will be: Bullard, Constantine,
Dockery, Garcia and Siplin.

Bob distributed a list of bills for which he was predicting passage; those that might 'possibly pass' and others which he predicted will be defeated.  Attempts to include "social studies" as part of FCAT are contained in H7151 and S1234 and S1238.  There is still no open opposition to social studies being added to FCAT, something which social studies professionals have lobbied for since the early 1980s.  The earlier S1234 bill, which contained both FCAT language  and would appropriate funds for the establishment of the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship at UCF and UF, appears stalled and may not pass 'as is'.  Bob urges our committee to lobby hard with the Chairs and conferees above to secure passage of specific language to include FCAT in both S1238 and H7151.   We are hence moving our support away from S1234 and toward S1238, which contains several other important measures, the most important of which are the establishment of WORLD CLASS STANDARDS for Florida's curriculum.  Bob urges us to be brief, citing the absolute need for social studies to be a part of FCAT.  Members may also wish to cite the need for the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship to be passed by the legislature in some form this year.  Rationale for both measures has been detailed in earlier legislative reports.  Go to "Online Sunshine" at the link above to download copies of both bills.

Thanks for taking a few minutes to write on behalf of H7151 and S1238.  A sample letter from Ted Banton is a part of that e-mail for you to modify or excerpt.