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Tomorrow, the Senate Rules Committee will debate a divisive bill that would allow a single member of the public to ban books in school libraries or entire districts, usurping the rights of students and their parents. It is urgent that committee members hear from you now. Tell them to protect students' rights.

This week, legislators will continue to hear bills that would eliminate vital mental health programs for students, increase state testing, and expand access to Bright Futures. It is so important to tell our elected officials what we want for children, teachers, and public schools.

Read the update below and visit the Advocacy Dashboard to quickly take action for students. We make it easy to contact your legislators via email and/or social media. Together, we can advocate for policies that invest in children and support their future.

2022 Legislative Session Important Issues

Demand less state testing for students

Before session began, state leaders and the governor promised an end to the FSA and a reduction in state testing overall. The testing bills moving through the Florida Senate and House actually add more testing throughout the year. The House Education and Employment Committee will debate this bill this week.

Now is our opportunity to advocate to end the excessive amount of time children spend testing not learning.

TAKE ACTION

Protect students from political attacks

Bills moving through the House and Senate would slash $200 million from public school budgets in some of the state's largest school districts representing over a million students. This so called "Putting Parents First" proposal is political retaliation against districts with school boards that implemented mask requirements during extreme COVID outbreaks. Now is not the time to cut resources from children who have been so impacted by the pandemic.

Parents put their children first and don't want their education short changed for political games. Contact lawmakers today.

TAKE ACTION

URGENT: Speak up for students' rights

Bills moving through the House and Senate require media specialists at each school to list all library materials for the public to view. In spite of recent political rhetoric, this would actually undermine parental and student rights by allowing one individual who may not even have children in public schools or live in the community to issue a challenge that could deprive all students access to books. Why should one person get to dictate what another parent's child can't read?

Tell politicians to avoid the slippery slope of censorship and focus instead on providing students the resources they need to recover from impacts caused by the pandemic.

TAKE ACTION

Children's mental health programs at risk

The House debated legislation that eliminates vital, mental health programs and accurate, high-quality teaching for our children. The Senate Rules Committee will hear the bill soon. Children have suffered tremendous impacts from disruptions caused by the pandemic. They need these important programs now more than ever.

We must demand that schools have the resources to meet every child’s needs with social-emotional programs and a high-quality curriculum to create a better future for us all.

Speak up for Bright Futures

A proposal to change requirements for Bright Futures scholarships is up for a vote by the full House but has stalled in the Senate Appropriations Committee. This would expand access to scholarships for students who need or want to have valuable, paid work experience instead of volunteer service in order to qualify.

Tell your representative and the Senate Appropriations Committee to expand access to scholarships for deserving students.