Recess policy has been one of the underlying issues of tension during the course of this legislative session. The recess issue has been a foremost concern this session among education advocates, parent groups and other stakeholders. The legislature has to this point stalled on the issue with some conservatives in the claiming a legislative mandate for 20 minutes of daily recess would for some reason do irreparable harm to Florida’s school kids and the principle of separation of powers (which of course doesn’t apply when the legislature wants to force conservative ideological legislation down the throats of ostensibly independent school districts). The Senate has passed a recess bill earlier this month unanimously but the House won’t act on it angering every parent group in the state. Speaker Corcoran’s ideological zeal as far rules and mandates is consistent with the rejection of this legislation. However, Corcoran has chosen to blame his adversary, Governor Rick Scott in a late-night tweet on Friday for the stalled legislation. When the bill’s House sponsor Rep. Plascenia contacted the Governor he was assured Scott was not opposed to the legislation. Read more here from The Miami Herald.
What we are reading: The battle over recess – Corcoran blames Scott in Tweet
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I am surprised that you are taking the bait and focusing on recess. It is true that recess is an important component of a child’s school day and will contribute positively to their academic learning.
However, the Legislature is using this issue, which is a no brainer and can easily be enacted, to create controversy and distract parents from the real damage that they are doing to public education.
The funding for public education is taking a beating in favor of charter schools etc., while the public and media highlight the recess bill. The same goes for testing, another issue of importance that is getting little attention during these waning days of the session, with a budget agreement that hurts children and public schools.
The Legislature is getting away with grossly underfunding public schools while the media and blogs scream about recess.
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