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TALLAHASSEE — Public and private colleges and universities could soon be protected from coronavirus-related lawsuits under a wide-ranging higher education bill that also includes tuition breaks for “non-traditional” students. The House on Wednesday night voted 102-11 to give final approval to the bill (HB 1261), which had passed the Senate earlier and now will go to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Under the proposal, colleges and universities would be shielded from lawsuits related to decisions to close campuses and force students to learn online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The push for legal pro...

1 month ago Share Lawmakers agreed on spending more than $6.6 billion of the stimulus money headed to Florida from the American Rescue Plan, which President Joe Biden signed last month. by: Jim Saunders The News Service of Florida House and Senate leaders on April 26 finished nailing down details of a roughly $100 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, after agreeing that first responders statewide should get $1,000 bonuses for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawmakers also agreed to pump an additional $80 million in state and federal money into a program...

TALLAHASSEE — A measure that would have provided a public-records exemption for information about people applying to lead Florida colleges and universities died Tuesday in the Senate, as it failed to draw the required support of two-thirds of senators. The Senate voted 25-14 to support the bill, falling one vote short of the 26 needed to reach a legally required two-thirds threshold for passing public-records exemptions. All Senate Republicans backed the measure and picked up the vote of Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-North Miami Beach, while 14 Democrats opposed the bill. Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jack...

The proposal also would increase the maximum income eligibility to receive vouchers to 375% of the federal poverty level, meaning a family of four making almost $100,000 a year would qualify. Senate sponsor Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, suggested during floor debate Monday that school closures and other effects of the COVID-19 pandemic increased an appetite for educational options in the state. “The question we have here is a philosophical choice: Do we trust our families to make the right decisions for their student?” Diaz said. “COVID has exposed this even further, because parents have ...

/ “We’re trying to focus on things that were one-time, infrastructure builds,” said Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Kelli Stargel (right), a Lakeland Republican who negotiated final details with House Appropriations Chairman Jay Trumbull (left), R-Panama City. Because of a legally required 72-hour “cooling off” period, the budget is required to be finalized and printed Tuesday for the annual legislative session to end on time Friday. House and Senate leaders Monday night finished nailing down details of a roughly $100 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, after agreeing tha...