Another school choice bill looks to be in trouble in the Florida Legislature. Lynn Hatter reports the Senate Education Committee has watered down a proposal that would have established a statewide contract for charter schools.
A bill aimed at making sure more kids don’t die from abuse or neglect under the care of the state’s foster care system is now advancing in the House. As Sascha Cordner reports, the latest plan to revamp the Florida Department of Children and Families builds on a recent investigative series by the Miami Herald.
As the Florida House prepares to begin budget negotiations, two lawmakers have banded together to talk up the need for more money to combat homelessness in that budget. As Stan Jastrzebski reports, it’s the continuation of an effort that appeared to pass last year, only to meet with the governor’s veto pen.
A visit to the doctor can help a sick child feel better. And if that child is insured, then it can help the parent feel better, too. But in Florida, children who were born outside of the United States and live here lawfully must wait until they’ve been in the country for five years to qualify for a type of subsidized health insurance. As Julia Duba from member station WLRN in Miami reports, a bill that would drop this waiting period got its first hearing in a Florida Senate committee today.
A bill moving through the Florida house would create a new website keeping track of treatment-resistant bacterial infections. As Jessica Palombo reports, the bill aims to fight such infections by fostering new research into so-called superbugs.