State lawmakers pass law to give more power back to local school districts

TALLAHASSEE, Fla — This year, senators and representatives in the state’s capitol decided to cut through some of their own red tape — lawmakers made a move to deregulate public schools.

“School districts have too many rules and regulations imposed on them by the state and sometimes it’s a nightmare to implement them," said Dr. Rosalind Osgood, a Florida Senator from Broward County.

Dr. Osgood co-introduced Senate bills 7002 and 7004, also known as "Learn Local" — both have been approved by the governor after passing the Senate and House.

The new laws are designed to cut back on “excessive” public school regulations and, according to the Senate President, “empower parents, teachers and local school districts and preserve strong accountability, transparency and safety measures at neighborhood public schools.”

“I think we’ve been too heavy-handed on the state perspective with our schools," said Osgood.

For example, Dr. Osgood talked about the importance of Title 1 funds. That’s money that goes towards schools where a certain percentage of children receive free or reduced lunch.

Under the new law, the 1% cap of Title 1 funds is removed, which may allow school districts flexibility to provide more resources to more schools.

“If you’re able to use that pot of money to incentivize teachers, then it helps you get the best and strongest teachers in the schools where the children need it the most," she said.

Dr. Osgood said the new law does away with financial reporting requirements.

“Once you do enrollment, your financial position does not change like a business from month-to-month. So relaxing some of that reporting where you still have the accountability but it’s not taking the staff time and the hours to do that.”

The list of changes in this new law is long — but it also says:

• School districts can now set salary schedules for district employees based on their educational experience — the higher the degree, the higher the salary.
• The law strengthens the superintendent's powers with respect to the school board. Now, superintendents are able to “approve” certain operational policies versus only being able to make recommendations in the past.
• It also enhances the ability of the school board to plan for and manage their facilities.

“A lot of it was operational," said Osgood. "I think the parents will notice it because the individuals working in the school will be able to give more time and attention to the students instead of paperwork and processes that were not needed in a lot of cases.”