While it was not nearly as exciting in Tallahassee this week, there was still plenty of news for school leaders and let's start with something good for a change.

FASA helped win a major victory as the language in HB 1319 that would have ended the FRS Health Insurance Subsidy, was removed. That means your health insurance subsidy is safe... for at least another year. But make no mistake about it. It will be on the chopping block again next year, and the year after that, until the political climate in Tallahassee changes.

Graduating from a Florida high school just got a lot tougher because of Senate Bill 4 that Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law on Tuesday. This far-reaching education bill adds more required math and science courses and revises FCAT testing requirements. This bill came close to passing last year, and Juhan Mixon and I have been working to improve it since last session.

I traveled to Miami and with the help of the Dade Association of School Administrators Executive Director Delio Diaz, we connected local Dade

principals directly with key legislators who heard their concerns about the bill's original timeline and costs.

We also brought local school leaders to the Pasco County office of Rep. Will Weatherford, one of the bill's main sponsors in the House. If you compare the original version of SB4 with the one that passed, I believe you'll see that we made significant improvement.

In Tallahassee you must pick your battles because, as the Performance Pay bill proved, not even Jeb Bush wins every fight. It was clear from the start that some version of higher graduation requirements was going to pass this year. It received nearly unanimous support in the Legislature and FASA supported the concept of this legislation.

But the devil is ALWAYS in the details. So that's where we focused our efforts. SB4 will eliminate FCAT for high school math and science and replace it with end-of-course exams. The new law will also add geometry, algebra II, biology, chemistry and physics to the list of required courses. Incoming freshman will have to take geometry to graduate.

As a result of the input from DASA's Delio Diaz, the Miami principals, the Tampa Bay Area Coalition and others, the bill's new requirements will be phased in beginning this fall through the 2014-15 school-year. The improvements to this new law are another example of what can be accomplished when FASA members get involved at the local level by organizing and
supporting their local associations.

Many FASA members have told us they like the idea of end-of-course exams much better than the FCAT, but they also have lots of questions about the details of the state's new test plans. The new law places a sharper focus on more rigorous science and math instruction. FASA believes it's important to make high school more rigorous, but our partner, Dr. Bill Daggett, likes to say that it's relevance that makes rigor possible, and we believe end of course exams will help make math and science more relevant to students.

During our meetings in Miami, Tampa and here in Tallahassee, many school leaders shared their concerns about where they will find teachers prepared to teach the more advanced courses and where they'll find the money to equip the news labs. We used these arguments to effectively lobby against the bill's original start date: which was next year. For specific details on this, and all important legislation, go to the Political Action link on this FASA website at:http://www.fasa.net/Political-Action.cfm

Finally this week, now that higher graduation requirements have been signed into law, how will you meet them? FASA has been working hard to help you prepare. We know the new laws will place much more emphasis on STEM, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math courses in our schools.

We are proud to announce that we've partnered with the Florida Dept. of Education and STEMflorida for our 2010 FASA Summer Leadership Conference at the Buena Vista Palace, in Orlando, July 25-28. Our theme this year is Preparing Students for the 21st Century.

We will feature sessions specifically designed to help you prepare for STEM, and more. There will be DOE Sessions updating you on the details of the new high school graduation requirements and new standards. We will have concurrent sessions divided into elementary, middle, and high school, that will delve deeply into lesson study. 

Past FASA President, Christi Moss, now at FSU's Learning System's Institute, or LSI, will present and LSI's Dr. Laura Lang will lead a meeting of the STEMflorida Education Advisory Group. These sessions will be designed to help you know what good instruction on the new standards looks like.

In addition, we will have participants from business, economic development, workforce, the chamber of commerce, as well as education. And if you just can't come to Orlando this year, please check out the amazing line up of speakers for FASA's first-ever iConference delivered on line directly to your school or desktop.

FASA's  iConference will bring national experts like Michael Fullan, Bill Daggett, Ray McNulty, Victoria Bernhardt, Will Richardson and more right to your desktop, 24/7, at an amazingly low price. Face-to-face or on-line, FASA is working to provide the professional development you need.

For the conference agendas at a glance and more information about both, please go to the Conference link on our website: http://www.fasa.net/Conferences.cfm . And, if you're reading this, you're already there. So take a minute to look around, and if you're not a FASA member, I hope you'll think about becoming one. Because FASA members make it happen!

Have a great day!

Jim Warford 
To send Jim a message, click here.