This information will be followed by additional information with more detail about some of the other education bills that were passed, however, I wanted each member to have specific knowledge about the bills we were following most closely.  This will also be posted at the legislative page.

Thanks go to members and their community boosters and other arts supporters who continually raised these issues with their senators throughout this session.  That our grass-roots turned out throughout the session made it possible to achieve amendments on bad bills that mitigated the worst outcomes. 

SB 1914 and HB 7045

These were the bills containing the addition of “or practical arts” onto the fine arts credit for high school graduation.  Ultimately the language relating to this issue was passed by both the House and Senate on SB 1908 within the last 24 hours of the legislative session.  The language which was approved is –

“One credit in fine or performing arts, which may include speech and debate, or a practical arts course that incorporates artistic content and techniques of creativity, interpretation, and imagination.  Eligible practical arts courses shall be identified through the Course Code Directory.”

Without the limiting language related to “practical arts” more than 1000 vocational education courses would have become eligible to qualify for the fine arts credit. The intent of the added language is for arts related courses in the vocational section of the course code directory to be able to qualify for the arts credit. 

Positive efforts for the fine arts position were provided by Senator Evelyn Lynn (Clay, Marion, Putnam, Volusia) and Senator Ted Deutch (parts of Broward, Palm Beach).  The most significant effort in opposition to the fine arts position on this issue was from Senator Gaetz (Bay, Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton).

SB 1908 also provides for

• review and revision of the Sunshine State Standards which will become known as the “Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.’ 
• Designations on high school diplomas
• Florida Ready to Work Credentials
• End of course testing
• Schedules for administration of statewide assessments to be set by August 1 of each year; beginning with the 2010-2011 school year statewide assessment in writing not to be scheduled prior to March 1 and statewide assessment of any other subject not to be schedule prior to the week of April 15; end-of-course assessment to be given within the last two weeks of the course. 
• Restrictions on preparation for FCAT relating to practice tests or other test preparation activities
• Designation of schools grades to include high school graduation rate, advance placement courses, IB courses, dual enrollment courses, and advance international certificate of education courses; and achievement of industry certification in a career and professional academy.
• The Florida Lead Teachers Program

 PE Bill – SB 610

The Governor’s physical education bill passed the House on the last day of session and having passed the Senate previously will be sent to the Governor for his signature. 

We were successful in modifying the original bill which mandated daily PE for students in grade 6-8.  The text of the bill can be found at the link below, but here are the significant points:

• PE in elementary schools must be delivered in 30 consecutive minutes segments.
• Students are required to take one class period per day for one semester of each year in grades 6-8 beginning in the 2009-2010 school year. 
• The PE requirement shall be waived for a student who meets the following criteria:
• The student is enrolled in a remedial course
• The student’s parent requests in writing to enroll the student in another course
• The student is participating in physical activities outside the school day equivalent to the mandated requirement
• Each school district must notify the student’s parent of the option related to this requirement BEFORE scheduling the student to participate in PE.

Teachers will want to be certain that each of the options and requirements are presented to students and students’ parents in advance of scheduling, just as the statute requires.

Positive efforts for the fine arts position which resulted in the original bill being rewritten were provided by Senator Don Gaetz (Bay, Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton), although it should be noted there were additional motivations besides the arts community on this issue. 

Link to SB 610

State Song Bill

A compromise was reached about the state song which allowed the bill to be passed unanimously by the Senate and which was voted favorably by the House.  While FMEA’s participation in this was limited to that of technical assistance by soliciting song entries and culling them, the outcome of the legislation seems to be very reasonable. 

S’wanee River (Old Folks at Home) remains the state song, but the lyrics have been updated to become those approved by the Stephen Foster Memorial Foundation.  The Sawgrass Song, by Jan Hinton – FMEA member from Pompano Beach – was designated the state anthem. 

The state song bills were sponsored by Senator Tony Hill (parts of Duval, Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns, Volusia) and Representative Ed Homan (Temple Terrace). 

Senate Bill 1914 by Senator Gaetz passed the Senate this afternoon.  This is the bill which added “or practical arts” onto the fine arts credit required for high school graduation.

An amendment sponsored by Senator Evelyn Lynn was adopted which changed that language.  The new language now reads:

“One credit in fine or performing arts, and speech and debate, or a practical arts course that incorporates artistic content and techniques of creativity, interpretation, and imagination.  Eligible practical arts courses shall be identified through the Course Code Directory.”

The bill was referred back to the House as HB 7045 and must be approved by that chamber (without any change) for the bill to become law.

At present, no further action is requested of members. 

SB 1914 was temporarily postponed on Friday's Senate session and again on Monday's session.  The bill remains on the Senate calendar and may come up during Tuesday's session.

Please continue to call state senators throughout the day (Tuesday, April 29).  We can only surmise there is no agreement about this bill among key senators.  As you may remember, SB 1914 is the bill which contains the language adding “or practical arts” onto the fine arts credit for high school graduation.

Senator Evelyn Lynn (parts of Clay, Marion, Putnam, and Volusia counties) is sponsoring an amendment which may be helpful.  The message for calls to senators is “Please support Senator Lynn’s amendment on SB 1914.” 

Thank you for your continued action as we follow this bill through each step of the legislative process!

Senate bill 1914 will be taken up by the full Senate on Friday, April 25, during their 10 am – 1 pm session.  This is the bill that adds “or practical arts” to the high school fine arts graduation requirement.  SB 1914 is similar to House Bill 7045, but 7045 does not contain the reference to practical arts.

ACTION NEEDED!

Given that there are a number of legislative actions that are possible, our message to senators needs to be simple:

Reference SB 1914 and say, “Keep the fine arts credit as it is!  Do not allow practical arts to be added to this credit.”

At this point, phone calls will be most effective means of communication to your senator.  If you have already made a preliminary call, that’s ok.  Since the bill is going to the Senate floor – another call is appropriate.  Scroll down for how to find the phone number for your senator – or links to your senator.  If phone are set to voice mail – leave the message above.  Should a voice mailbox be full – then email would be appropriate.  (Please remember not to use school district emails for this purpose.)

You should be aware that the proponents of this action (Florida Association of Career and Technical Education) are hard at work with phone calls and emails attempting to persuade legislators of the need to add “or practical arts” to the fine arts credit.  It’s uncomfortable to be opposing fellow educators, but the proposed language leaves us little choice. 

This is a crucial issue for all fine arts educators (music, visual art, theatre, dance).  Please turnout calls from booster organizations, community supporters, parents, and fine arts supporters.  The volume of calls that a senator receives from their own constituents for our position will matter! 

Talking points:

1. This is not a benign action!  Administrators would be able to fulfill graduation requirements for their students without offering fine arts courses.

2. All students need fine arts courses which provide an opportunity to learn how to utilize their creative and imaginative skills.  This is being demanded by the business community.

3. Substituting the hundreds of practical arts courses does not provide the creative and innovative skill development taught in the fine arts.  The career and technical education courses focus primarily on learning skills applicable to specific fields (auto mechanics, nursing/medical, accounting, business, agricultural science, etc).  In those few courses that address the arts – such as architectural drawing, graphic design, etc – those courses focus more on the technical skills and programming than the creative process.