Florida Board Of Education Approves Common Core Changes
February 19, 2014
The State Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to go forward with dozens of changes to the Common Core State Standards, a move that seemed unlikely to quell the grass-roots furor over the educational benchmarks.
The approval followed a raucous public hearing that seemed to indicate that passionate opposition to the benchmarks remains despite a concerted effort by Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Department of Education to tamp down conservative anger over the standards.
Education Commissioner Pam Stewart has argued that the changes, which include reinserting creative writing into the standards and explicitly including calculus guidelines, as well as the fact that the state has science and social studies standards that aren’t part of the Common Core, justify renaming the initiative as the “Florida Standards.”
Stewart told reporters after the vote that it made the state’s standards clear.
“The vote that the board took today certainly does lay to rest where we’re headed, the direction we’re going with our standards, and this is the right move,” she said.
But dozens of activists slammed the standards during a lengthy public hearing before the vote, portraying Common Core as a federal plot to take over education and blaming it for a variety of ills. While the benchmarks were spearheaded by a coalition of state officials, they have since been encouraged by the U.S. Department of Education.
“I do not want a watered-down, world-class system; I want a school system that promotes American exceptionalism,” said Chris Quackenbush, a leader of the anti-Common Core movement.
At one point, Quackenbush and board chairman Gary Chartrand clashed over an attempt to stop audience members from clapping during the meeting. For a while, the crowd seemed to go along, waving their hands and at least one American flag instead of applauding.
Stacie Clark, another critic of the standards, said Common Core was already causing health problems in the state because of stress over homework and coursework given to students who are too young.
“There is an emergent psychological pandemic taking place among children in Florida,” she said. “It’s called Common Core, or it used to be until it was rebranded. Our children are suffering from anxiety attacks, vomiting, emotional outbursts, headaches and even self-mutilation.”
Terry Kemple, president of Community Issues Council, a Tampa Bay-area Christian advocacy group, was among those saying there could be consequences for elected officeholders, as opposed to the appointed Board of Education.
“We’re hopeful that the Legislature and the governor realize before it’s too late that there will be a political price to pay if they don’t take decisive action to stop Common Core now,” he said.
A few speakers at the hearing took up for Common Core.
“These Florida Standards will help our state and its students remain competitive in the global economy,” said Morgan McCord of Florida TaxWatch.
The board also seemed to indicate agreement with a set of changes to the school grading system, which Stewart will now take to the Legislature. The initiative is meant to simplify the often-confusing grading process while also setting the stage for a new test that will be used in the 2014-15 school year.
While schools will not face penalties for the grades they receive that year, Stewart said the grades would establish a starting point for future cycles. She dismissed the idea that the state should forget doing the grades altogether for fear that it could shock parents and teachers.
“We’ll still see that, but it will just be a year later, and I’m not sure the benefit by just waiting another year,” she said.
But Florida Education Association President Andy Ford said the changes to the grading were “cosmetic” and wouldn’t fix problems with the system.
“Florida needs a pause in this madness,” he said. “School grades are underpinned by high-stakes testing. Even with the education commissioner’s proposed grading simplification, grades will still be largely based on high stakes testing — a test we don’t even have yet.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Nurse Practitioners Win First Round In Fight For More Power
February 19, 2014
Despite opposition from physician groups, a House select committee Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a proposal that would give additional power to nurse practitioners — including allowing them to provide care without doctor supervision.
House Republican leaders have pushed the proposal, at least in part because they say it would help address a shortage of primary-care physicians in the state. Senate leaders have shown less enthusiasm, but Tuesday’s vote was a milestone for the group of health providers technically known as “advanced registered nurse practitioners,” who have long sought more authority.
“This debate will now be had because of the work we’ve done here,” said Rep. Jose Oliva, a Miami Lakes Republican who is chairman of the House Select Committee on Health Care Workforce Innovation.
Physician groups, such as the influential Florida Medical Association, are lobbying against the proposal. They point to years of additional training that doctors receive to provide care and raise questions about why students would want to take on huge amounts of debt to attend medical school if they could do much of the same work as nurse practitioners.
“We’re trying to solve a problem of access and affordability (of medical care), and I think this bill comes at it from a very wrong direction,” said Rep. Gayle Harrell, a Stuart Republican who was one of the lone dissenters in a 13-2 vote by the select committee.
Advanced registered nurse practitioners have more education and training than registered nurses and contend that they already provide much of the care envisioned in the bill (PCB SCHCWI 14-01). Along with applying to nurse practitioners who provide primary care, the bill would apply to specialists such as nurse anesthetists.
Under current law, nurse practitioners work under the supervision of physicians, receiving approval of what are known as “protocols” that outline care. The bill still would allow nurse practitioners to work under the supervision of physicians, but it also would free them to meet criteria to work independently. Also, they could get authority to prescribe controlled substances.
Rep. Cary Pigman, an Avon Park Republican and physician who is leading the House’s effort on the bill, rejected arguments about issues such as the proposed changes leading people to forgo becoming primary-care physicians.
“I see this as opening more doors,” Pigman said. “I see no doors closing.”
But the bill deals with what are known in Tallahassee as “scope of practice” issues, which physician groups typically watch very closely. Rep. Travis Cummings, R-Orange Park, described those issues as a “contact sport.”
Harrell and Rep. Elaine Schwartz, a Hollywood Democrat who cast the other dissenting vote, said they think the bill goes too far in expanding the nurse practitioners’ scope of practice.
“It is really much too broad for my comfort,” Schwartz said.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Trouble Looms For State Pension Proposal
February 19, 2014
Hopes seemed to evaporate Tuesday that exempting law-enforcement officials and emergency personnel would make changes to the state retirement system an easier sell this year, as a key senator signaled he had deep reservations about the measure.
The Senate Community Affairs Committee voted to introduce the bill (SPB 7046) by a 5-4 margin after Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, joined the panel’s three Democrats in voting against the measure. Latvala was one of a handful of renegade GOP senators who sank a more-sweeping pension overhaul last year.
“I’ve got more convincing to do,” said Senate Community Affairs Chairman Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, who sponsored the bill.
This year’s Senate proposal would close the Florida Retirement System’s traditional pension plan to new employees after July 1, 2015, though those employees already in the system would remain. New hires would be required to choose between a 401(k)-style investment plan and a “cash balance” plan, which in some ways acts like a 401(k) but guarantees a minimum benefit.
Employees would have de facto accounts set up and would be guaranteed a return of at least 2 percent a year on the money in their accounts. If the plan’s investments made more than 2 percent, then three-quarters of the extra money would go to employees.
Law enforcement officers and emergency personnel who qualify for the “special risk” category could still sign up for the traditional pension plan, a concession that appeared to be aimed at winning over at least some of last year’s critics. But Latvala said that some law enforcement employees wouldn’t qualify, and he questioned carving out certain groups.
He also criticized the decision to move forward with the bill before an accounting study on the effect of the changes was complete.
“I really am taken aback by how you would want us to start voting on a bill where — although you may understand, and you may believe in your heart, and I know you believe in your heart that this is the right thing for our future — when we don’t have any numbers, any actuarial study to show us that,” Latvala said.
Simpson said he could not guarantee that the study would be available in time for every committee that considers the measure, but suggested it would be available at least once.
“What I will say is that it would not be appropriate for the Appropriations Committee to hear this bill before we have that study back,” Simpson said.
Supporters say an overhaul is necessary to help preserve the pension plan without bankrupting the state. Lawmakers already set aside $500 million a year to try to cover costs of the “unfunded actuarial liability” in the plan. If the plan were to fail, Simpson said, retirees who rely on the fund could be wiped out.
“I would just say that anyone that’s opposed to these current shifts (is) jeopardizing everyone in this pension plan’s livelihood,” he said.
House leaders still have not spelled out their plan for revamping the retirement plan, long a top priority of Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel. The House is considering either a cash balance system or a proposal that would divide an employee’s retirement between the traditional pension plan and the investment plan.
“There’s a glaring problem with $500 million a year that we’re putting towards the pension fund as opposed to education,” Weatherford said Tuesday. “It’s too soon to say what exactly what it’s going to look like.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Chiefs Beat Rocky Bayou
February 19, 2014
The Northview Chiefs beat Rocky Bayou Monday night in Bratt, 4-2.
The Chiefs (2-0) will be action again Thursday night on the road for district game at Baker before returning home to face the Flomaton Hurricanes on February 24. Both games begin at 6 p.m.
For a bonus photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com and Ramona Preston photos, click to enlarge.
Century To Look To China For Local Jobs
February 18, 2014
In their search for local economic growth, Century is now turning to China for possible jobs.
The Century Town Council has approved spending about $3,650 economic development dollars to send Mayor Freddie McCall, Century Chamber Economic Development Coordinator Cindy Anderson and town consultant Debbie Nickles to the U.S.-China Manufacturing Symposium that will be held in Dothan on March 26-28. Co-organized by SoZo Group and China Chamber of International Commerce, the symposium will bring up to about 400 Chinese businessmen looking to bring businesses to American soil.
The Dothan event is the combination to two events, including the smaller Alabama-China Partnership Symposium that was held a few years ago in Monroeville, Ala. That event paid off for Thomasville, , a town of 4,209 people just over 100 miles northwest of Century, landed a deal with the Golden Dragon copper tubing plant that now employs over 100 people with plans to triple that workforce in the next year. The town was able to recruit the Chinese plant that employees local Thomasville residents without ever traveling to China.
Century was the only small Florida Panhandle community invited to participate, according to Nickles, by Dothan Mayor Mike Schmitz.
“I believe the symposium will provide a unique opportunity for the town,” Nickles said.
Century’s price tag for attending the event includes $2,400 in registration fees, hotel expenses for Nickles and McCall (Anderson’s lodging will be paid the Century Chamber), and $1,253 for ad agency Ideawörks to create and print 500 tri-fold brochures promoting Century.
Former Corrections Officer Charged With Child Sex Abuse
February 18, 2014
A former Santa Rosa Correctional Institution employee has been arrested on multiple child sex abuse charges.
Billy Chad Gibson was charged with 10 counts of capitol sexual battery on a child less than 12 years of age. Investigators with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit said the abuse of a male victim allegedly occurred repeatedly between 2012 and 2013.
Gibson was booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail last Thursday with bond set at $1.5 million. He was fired from his position with the state on Friday.
Two Molino Residents Seriously Injured In I-10 Wreck
February 18, 2014
Two Molino residents were seriously injured in an I-10 wreck Monday afternoon.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 57-year old Eugene J. Beaudry of Molino was eastbound on I-10 about the 16 mile marker when he suffered a medical condition which caused him to run off the road in his 1989 Chevrolet S-10. After twice sideswiping a 2007 Chevrolet pickup driven by 55-year old David Harkleroad of Ft. Walton Beach, Beaudry’s S-10 traveled across both eastbound lanes onto the south shoulder. The pickup then hit a slope of dirt, sending Beaudry’s vehicle airborne where it overturned, coming to final rest on top of a fence.
Beaudry and his passenger, 55-year old Cheryl Lahti of Molino, were both transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in serious condition. Harkleroad and his passenger, 59-year old Joni Laflamme of Ft. Walton Beach, were not injured.
There were no charges filed in connection with the crash, according to the FHP.
Gaetz Would Back Repealing Red Light Cameras
February 18, 2014
Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, are no fans of red-light cameras — that much is clear.
Echoing comments by the speaker, Gaetz said in a televised interview last week that he would support repealing the state’s red-light camera law.
“I voted against red light cameras when they came up the first time,” Gaetz said during an interview on The Florida Channel’s “Florida Face to Face” show. “I’d vote for repeal today. I agree with the speaker.”
Weatherford said during an interview with The News Service of Florida that he would back a repeal, though he acknowledged that is not likely to happen.
Appearing with Gaetz in the television interview, Weatherford said he hopes to add regulations on the use of the cameras by local governments.
“I don’t live under any illusion that we’re going to repeal red-light cameras this year,” Weatherford said. “But we ought to be able to bring some sensible regulations and some sensible policies on how and where they put these red-light cameras.”
Red-light cameras have long been controversial, but opponents are pointing to a new study by the Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability, which they say shows the cameras haven’t reduced accidents and are a way for local governments to bring in revenues. The Florida League of Cities has questioned the fairness of the study.
by The News Service of Florida
Share Your Facebook, Twitter Passwords With Your Employer?
February 18, 2014
Big business brother is balking at a proposal that would ban employers from peeking into workers’ private social-media accounts.
The Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee approved a proposal (SB 198) on Monday that would prohibit most employers from asking a worker or job applicant for his or her username, password or other means to access private social-media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter.
Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, said he sponsored the measure because, under current state law, someone can be denied employment if they refuse to turn over their secret passwords.
“It’s a matter of where we draw the line and I’ve chosen to draw it at you can’t ask for somebody’s password,” said Clemens.
The measure doesn’t prevent an employer from accessing and viewing publicly available information on an employee’s social media account, and an amendment approved Monday exempts business-related accounts from the restrictions.
Similar measures are in place in 16 states, including New Jersey, California, Illinois, Colorado, and Utah.
Clemens said business groups have lobbied fiercely against his plan.
Samantha Padgett, general counsel for the Florida Retail Federation, told the committee the legislature needs to consider if the private messages by employees are conducted on company time or company equipment.
“This is something the employer could be liable for,” Padgett said.
A business also could be liable for the actions of employees if they haven’t done a proper background screening in the hiring process, she said.
“I can’t raise for you a case where this has occurred. I don’t know of one, but it doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibility that an employer could be held for negligent hiring for failing to look into every aspect of the employee they’ve hired,” Padgett said.
The measure also includes a provision that would allow a worker to sue a boss that violated the proposed law, which Padgett threatened would result in more lawsuits against business-owners.
And Associated Industries of Florida lobbyist Brewster Bevis told the committee the proposal is creating “heartburn” for his business members because it could limit internal investigations into any employee’s behavior such as sexual harassment.
But committee Chairwoman Nancy Detert, R-Venice, noted that businesses are already allowed to conduct background checks, pull fingerprints, check credit reports, and do independent Google checks on the individuals being hired. And, Detert argued, businesses already have rules in place for misuse of company equipment.
“We’ve spent a lot of time worried about too much government intervention and cleaning up those rules, now we’ve got too much business in our business as far as I’m concerned,” she said.
“All of our kids and grand kids have been warned that using social media, everything is out there in cyberspace and people can check on it,” she continued. “But if you do your privacy codes right on your Facebook page, that should be like your family dining room table and only for invited guests get to be there, not your employer judging your behavior.”
Clemens’s proposal, which received a 7-2 vote Monday, must still get liked by three more committees before reaching the Senate floor. A House companion (HB 527) has not yet been scheduled for any hearings.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Tax Offices Might Process Gun License Applications
February 18, 2014
Gun owners would be able to apply for concealed weapons licenses at their local tax collector’s offices under a National Rifle Association-backed measure approved unanimously by the Senate Agriculture Committee on Monday.
Florida has more than a million concealed weapons licenses and the number is growing. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has eight regional field offices where gun owners can apply for the permits in person, but demand is so high that the wait at some locales is six months for an appointment.
“It’s a convenience for the citizens of the state of Florida to be able to come into their own county in buildings that their taxes helped pay for. Whether it’s paying their taxes or getting a driver’s license, it’s a courtesy to the taxpayers,” said Indian River County Tax Collector Carole Jean Jordan.
Under the proposal, tax collectors would be able to charge an extra $22 on top of the $70 fee for new applications and an additional $12 for renewals, which cost $60. The county officials already process photos, fingerprints and other things associated with the concealed carry applications. The costs don’t include $42 for background checks, which will still be handled by the agriculture department.
Making it easier for gun owners to get concealed weapons licenses, which require some training, could make Floridians safer, said NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer.
“They become a little more conscious of the responsibility of gun ownership,” Hammer, who estimates that there are 8 million gun owners in Florida, said. “I think it can’t hurt.”
The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services offices in Fort Walton Beach, Jacksonville, Doral, Orlando, Punta Gorda, Tallahassee, Tampa and West Palm Beach are two-hour drives for some gun owners, many of whom prefer to hand over their paperwork in person because of past delays processing the applications by mail.
Clerks at the regional offices can also ensure that applications contain all of the items necessary to be processed, another time-saver. Applications now take about 35 days to process once received by the department, according to spokesman Aaron Keller. Several years ago, the department had a backlog of up to six months to get the applications processed, which by law are required to be completed within 90 days.
Start-up costs for the program would be about $800,000, including 11 new workers, to get the operation up-and-running in 30 counties, according to Keller. The money would come from a trust fund made up of the concealed weapons license fees, which now has a balance of about $26 million. The department would enter into agreements with the tax collectors, who would not be required to participate.
“It’s just kind of a natural thing for us to go into, after doing drivers licenses. We’re a very secure facility. Our clerks are deputized,” Jordan said.
by Dara Kim, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: The Escambia County Tax Collector’s Office in Molino. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.