Author: Susan

Bills that I would support

Worker protections

* ​Develop prevention programs to eliminate bullying and human trafficking

* Establish a minimum wage so that a 40 hour work week will bring a person above the poverty level

* Require overtime pay for anyone working more than 40 hours per week

* Require that government shutdowns do NOT cause any non-elected government worker to miss a paycheck

* Develop the potential of  our working population.  Eliminate the guest worker visa that prevents workers from fully participating in the free market ability to change jobs.  More information at this LINK

Education

* Affirm that religious instruction belongs in the home and in the religious institutions not in public or private schools funded by state or federal government

* Make it a priority to meet the demands of ARTICLE IX SECTION 1 of Florida’s Constitution. Details can be found at this LINK

* ​Develop prevention programs to eliminate the school to prison pipeline

* ​Develop prevention programs to eliminate bullying

* The state will fully fund social workers, mental health counselors and tutors for every neighborhood school.  Make sure there is adequate social workers available for the student and the student’s family.   Students outside the neighborhood should not be more than 50% of the student population.  IF a magnet program has a waiting list sufficient to support a similar magnet program, then the second magnet program will be offered at another neighborhood school.

* Make the neighborhood school buildings and grounds beautiful so that the community will be proud to have them in their community.  Funding for the neighborhood schools will be provided by the state.  All will be maintained to similar high standards.

* Teachers at charter schools will be part of the state system.  Their compensation will be similar to the benefits and the pay of the teachers at the neighborhood and magnet schools.  The state will pay the teachers’ compensation package.   The buildings and other requirements of charter schools must be funded by philanthropists, i.e the state will ONLY pay the teachers’ compensation package.   Charter school enrollment must consist of  at least 25% student enrollment of students qualifying for free lunch.

 Make our state beautiful for tourists and citizens

* Beautify the buildings and grounds of all public buildings including neighborhood schools and libraries for the use by the citizens.

* Provide for parks.  Green spaces provide vital health services as well as environmental services; they are equigenic, reducing socioeconomic health inequalities, facilitating activity and promoting better mental health and well-being. The integration of biophilic design may provide a cost-effective public health intervention, which promotes the evident positive links between green spaces and mental health. More information at this LINK

* Ban fracking and offshore drilling

* Finance purchase of Florida Forever lands and enact protections from development

* Protect Florida’s springs, aquifers and the Everglades from over development and pollution

* Require infrastructure vulnerability assessments and fund flood mitigation projects

* Require post disaster rebuilding to take sea level rise estimates into account

* Public access to the beach must include 10 feet wide walking area, be clearly marked and available at least every mile.

Reduce the murder rate in our state

* Require universal background checks and waiting periods​ for the purchase of all guns​

* Ban ​the possession outside the home of  high capacity magazines and bump stocks. This ban will make the sale and transport of such items illegal in the state of Florida. The items will be confiscated and destroyed and a fine of at least $1,000 for the breaking of this law.

*In keeping with the “well regulated” part of the 2nd amendment, anyone with a concealed carry or hunting license must take a gun safety class and pass a quiz EVERY year.  Sales tax will be charged and collected for the class and the sales tax will be dedicated to fund state owned and operated mental health (including addiction treatment) outpatient clinics.

* Repeal “Stand Your Ground” to discourage people from killing people.  ​The 2017 ​bill that shift​ed the burden of proof from the defense to the prosecution​ is especially troubling​. ​ We need that 2017 bill repealed since under that law defendants who claim to have killed out of fear for their lives needn’t provide supporting evidence that their perceptions of threat were reasonable.  LINK for more information

Prison reform

* Facilitate re-entry programs with job training, job placement and assimilation help​ More information at this LINK

* ​End the money bail system that criminalizes poverty

* Legalize cannabis for 21 and older adults.  Require that any sale of cannabis include labeling information for toxicity.   Sales tax will be collected for the sale of cannabis and alcohol and the funds will be dedicated to fund state owned and operated mental health (including addiction treatment) outpatient clinics.

* Destigmatize mental health check ups.

Treat all citizens with respect and dignity

* Ban conversion therapy for children.  Respect that not all kids fall in the average range in the bell curve for extroversion, sexual orientation, sexual identity, etc.

* Support reproductive freedoms, the right to choose and prescription contraceptive coverage

* End taxpayer funding for anti-abortion fake clinics (repeal SB0444/HB0041)

* Ensure access to family planning clinics.

Encourage citizens to make informed voting choices

* Implement Automatic Voter Registration (AVR)

*Require all candidates to participate in at least one televised debate prior to the election in order to appear on that ballot.  Allow each candidate to fact check the claims made during the debate by the other candidates and make that information (as well as the candidate’s response) available on line at least two days  prior to the start of early voting.

*Early voting must always last a full 14 days and made available at all public libraries and state colleges.

*Eliminate closed primaries. IF only two people are running for a position then they will only run in the general election and not the primary.  The two candidates receiving the most votes in the primary will run in the general election.  All general elections must have two candidates.  To achieve that, fees are eliminated for the second candidate if no one has applied by a specified deadline.  The political party (of the two major parties) not already on the ballot for that position will get to choose that second candidate.

 

HB 855, SB 330 , SB 770 and SB 584

Why is DeSantis dropping common core?  What’s next?  What kind of feedback is he looking for in the survey?

Link to survey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FLstandardsreview

Quote from February 18th post on http://www.flascience.org/:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis caused quite a stir when he announced he was directing Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to review the state’s academic standards and suggest revisions by January 1, 2020.

I am worried about what appears to be a trend to use taxpayer money to teach other people’s religion.  Religion should be taught at home and in the religious institutions.  The teaching of religious dogma should NOT be funded with taxpayer monies.

Taxpayer money should be used to make the neighborhood schools GREAT.  We need to fund tutors and social workers and making the neighborhood schools beautiful.

State Senator Travis Hutson (R-St. Johns) introduced a bill  (  SB 770 ) , if passed, would dramatically change traditional four-year graduation requirements for high school students by doing away with the requirement to pass some  math and science courses.  Please oppose the bill.   More options for work force training are needed but not by sacrificing science and math literacy.   A basic science foundation is needed to be a good citizen.  We understand that some kids are quicker to grasp math and science concepts.  Let’s find room in the budget for tutors for those kids that need extra help.  More information can be found at this link: http://www.flascience.org/?p=3441

Hopefully it is self-evident why this is a particularly troublesome part of House Bill 855 :

After exhausting all local policy remedies and  appealing to the State Board of Education, a parent or resident  may sue in circuit court for an injunction to remove such  materials and may recover reasonable attorney fees and costs.

More about HB 855 can be found at http://www.flascience.org/?p=3435

It is worrisome that Florida Citizens Alliance wrote Senate Bill 330  since they have a reputation for wanting the teaching of myths and wild guesses taught in science class.  The use of the term “controversial issues” concerns me.   We want scientific theories and the scientific method taught in science class.  New discoveries are being made constantly.  Will a scientific theory be controversial just because someone doesn’t want to accept the overwhelming evidence?   More about SB 330 at http://www.flascience.org/?p=3431 and https://uniteusdonotdivideus.com/2019/02/04/please-tell-your-rep-to-vote-no-on-sb-330-that-was-introduced-in-the-florida-senate-in-2019/ .

Please oppose any bill that uses the term “controversial issues”  because it appears that it is an attempt to teach wild guesses and myths in science class.  Science is about evidence and scientific theories.  Our goal should be to adapt a set of research-based, up-to-date K–12 science standards.  Quote from https://www.nextgenscience.org/ :

Next Gen Science has developed  standards that give local educators the flexibility to design classroom learning experiences that stimulate students’ interests in science and prepares them for college, careers, and citizenship. Science—and therefore science education—is central to the lives of all Americans. A high-quality science education means that students will develop an in-depth understanding of content and develop key skills—communication, collaboration, inquiry, problem solving, and flexibility—that will serve them throughout their educational and professional lives.

Please support SB 584 as proposed by Senator Cruz.  It aims to reduce the financial abuses by for-profit entities using taxpayer monies for charter schools.  Link to bill:  http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2019/00584 The voters spoke loud and clear when they voted yes on Amendment 12. And the charter/voucher area is one area where we (the voters) are worried about corruption.

Please tell your rep to vote NO on SB 330 that was introduced in the Florida Senate in 2019

I wonder what founding values Baxley means in this bill he proposed.  Quote from SB 330:

shall strictly adhere to the founding values and principles of the United States in accordance with s. 1003.42

Women and slaves couldn’t vote when the country was founded.  Surely Baxley doesn’t mean those values, does he?   What exactly does he mean?

Also why does Baxley want to put it into law that Keynesian and Hayekian economic theories must be taught? Focusing on two theories (close to 100 years old) is misleading. A lot has happened in economic theory since then.  Certainly there is a lot bad in SB 330 (2019) BUT if Senator Baxley wants to promote the teaching of financial literacy, then he should introduce a separate bill specific to that and make this the wording:

Financial literacy instruction must be an integral part of instruction throughout the entire economics course and include economic theories that have reliably predicted observed outcomes

The debate about whether the government should use its fiscal powers (spending, taxing and borrowing) in whatever manner best enables it to maintain full employment and price stability is a good one.  The debate about the harm of deficits is also a good one.  IF we want well informed voters, then please give them a good background.  Link to a great article about economic theories being debated today

Screen shot of the whole paragraph of the bill pertaining to financial literacy.  The green part is the new part being proposed by Senator Baxley:

sb 330

Here is the link to the SB 330 (2019):

https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2019/330/BillText/__/HTML

And here is the link to the s. 1003.42 mentioned above:

https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2018/1003.42

Also what does he mean by controversial? Perhaps it sounds innocuous until you realize that the people that are proposing the bill think evolution and global warming are controversial. And the balanced manner means that they want creationism taught in science class along with evolution. Quote from SB 330 (2019):

(b) Science standards must establish specific curricular content for, at a minimum, the nature of science, earth and space science, physical science, and life science. Controversial theories and concepts shall be taught in a factual, objective, and balanced manner.

Quote from this article at this LINK:

A new bill in the Florida Legislature could affect how science and other subjects are taught; well-established scientific concepts like evolution and human-caused climate change might have to be ‘balanced’ with ideas that haven’t withstood scientific scrutiny.  …  One critic of the bill, Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando), is a newly-elected  state representative in House District 47.

Quote from this article at this LINK

Bill 330 by Senator Baxley from Ocala adds controversial science and economic theories to the curriculum.

Quote from this article at this LINK

Cease embracing debunked theories in the name of balance. We need smart people going forward. Florida doesn’t need more things like SB 330.

Florida’s Constitution-high quality system of free public schools

Florida’s Constitution at this LINK

Article IX
SECTION 1. Public education.—
(a) The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders. Adequate provision shall be made by law for a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education and for the establishment, maintenance, and operation of institutions of higher learning and other public education programs that the needs of the people may require. To assure that children attending public schools obtain a high quality education, the legislature shall make adequate provision to ensure that, by the beginning of the 2010 school year, there are a sufficient number of classrooms so that …..

Quote from November 2018 news article at this LINK :

The Florida Supreme Court  heard arguments in a case that maintains the state is failing to provide a “high quality” public education to all students, as demanded in the state constitution.  …..  The case centers on an amendment to the state constitution added by Florida voters in 1998. That section calls education a “paramount duty” of the state and requires a “high quality system of uniform free public schools.” At issue is whether that clause provides a measurable standard by which courts could judge educational success.

How does one define high quality system of uniform free public schools?

This REPORT seems to have some great ideas.  Here is an excerpt from the report:

This includes teaching novices how to support the development of these skills, attitudes, and habits in their students and how to develop them in themselves—including stress management, the ability to be calm and mindful in the face of stress, and how to be self-aware and able to problem solve, collaborate, and marshal resilience.

To support the use of research and to further refine the evidence base across diverse contexts requires new ways of working for both researchers and practitioners. Achieving this paradigm shift will require the support of funders, including the federal government; research universities, working with school districts and community programs; and the broader research and education community.

A focus on refining the evidence base also requires a commitment from schools and youth development organizations to use data and evidence to maintain strategic partnerships and to learn from each other. One feature of strong school-community collaborations is their ability to partner to share data that can be used to measure and strengthen student performance and to better understand how to support improved learning environments that develop the whole child.

Are schools in poorer neighborhoods equal to public schools in richer neighborhoods? If not, what is the solution?

Quote from article at this LINK

We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place. …   Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs…are deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

I want to watch this case. I hope they win. A few quotes from article at this LINK

A class-action lawsuit, which is being filed in federal court in Rhode Island Wednesday evening and was provided in advance to The Atlantic, argues that baked into the Constitution is an implicit guarantee of high-quality education—in fact, that the constitutional system could not function were this not the case.

 

What are our goals regarding immigration laws?

I would support these bills if I was a legislator:

* ​Develop prevention programs to eliminate bullying and human trafficking

* Establish a minimum wage so that a 40 hour work week will bring a person above the poverty level

* Require overtime pay for anyone working more than 40 hours per week

* Require that government shutdowns do NOT cause any non-elected government worker to miss a paycheck

* Develop the potential of  our working population.  Eliminate the guest worker visa that prevents workers from fully participating in the free market ability to change jobs.  More information at this LINK

Continue reading “What are our goals regarding immigration laws?” →

What does “promote the general welfare” mean?

Here is the preamble to our Constitution:

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Quoting Warren and Brandeis from this LINK:

Later, there came a recognition of man’s spiritual nature, of his feelings and his intellect. Gradually the scope of these legal rights broadened  …..the right to enjoy life, — the right to be let alone; the right to liberty secures the exercise of extensive civil privileges  ….

Quote from this LINK

In United States v. Butler,  Justice Roberts wrote for the Court: “Since the foundation of the Nation sharp differences of opinion have persisted as to the true interpretation of the phrase.   ….   Hamilton  maintained the clause confers a power …..  the power of Congress to authorize expenditure of public moneys for public purposes is not limited by the direct grants of legislative power found in the  Constitution.” Appropriations for subsidies and for an ever-increasing variety of “internal improvements” constructed by the Federal Government, had their beginnings in the administrations of Washington and Jefferson.

In United States v. Gettysburg Electric Ry., the Court invoked “the great power of taxation to be exercised for the common defence and general welfare” to sustain the right of the Federal Government to acquire land within a state for use as a national park.

I don’t understand why Congress can’t pass a law making female genital mutilation illegal. What do you think?  Quote from the New York Times article at this LINK :

“As laudable as the prohibition of a particular type of abuse of girls may be,” the judge wrote, prosecutors failed to show that the federal government had the authority to bring the charges, and he noted that regulating practices like this is essentially a state responsibility.  ….. Judge Bernard Friedman of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ruled that Congress did not have the authority to pass the law  ….  Shelby Quast said her group, Equality Now, is urging federal prosecutors to appeal the decision. “We are confident that Congress had the authority to pass this FGM law,” she said.

Are the charter schools reporting on their techniques that they hypothesize are working?

Any chance you could help me decipher this?  The enrollment dropped from 330 to 296 from the 2014-2015 to the 2015-2016 school year for this charter school (see links below).  How can I tell where those students went?  Did they move out of the district?  Did they go back to the neighborhood school?  If they transferred, did the money stay with the charter school?

This is just one example.  I know it would be anecdotal BUT what was the cause of the school performance grade increasing from a D to a B?  Was it merely kicking out the poor performing students or is the school using techniques that the neighborhood school could adopt?

 
http://doeweb-prd.doe.state.fl.us/eds/nclbspar/year1617/nclb1617.cfm?dist_schl=16_1131
That above link says that this school had 296 students as of October and rec’d a
2016-17 School Performance Grade: B  

http://doeweb-prd.doe.state.fl.us/eds/nclbspar/year1516/nclb1516.cfm?dist_schl=16_1131#ayp
That above link says that this school had 296 students as of October and rec’d a
2015-16 School Performance Grade: B
http://doeweb-prd.doe.state.fl.us/eds/nclbspar/year1415/nclb1415.cfm?dist_schl=16_1131
That above link says that the same school had 330 as of that October and rec’d a
2014-15 School Performance Grade: D
Originally I thought the idea of charter schools was to experiment with various teaching techniques.  IF a innovative technique proved valuable, then could it be incorporated into the neighborhood schools?  Are the charter schools reporting on their techniques that they hypothesize are working?  IS the technique merely to kick out the poor performing kids?

Do Charter Schools have value to the school district?

https://www.jacksonville.com/opinion/20180930/guest-column-wayman-academy-proves-value-of-charter-schools  
I am bothered that the guest columnist (see link above) doesn’t offer substantiation for the claims. Excerpts from above link which is a guest column by Simaran Bakshi — principal of Wayman Academy of the Arts:

[Where is the link to substantiate this claim?]  A comprehensive report from the Florida Department of Education found that charters produce better outcomes for students and are more successful at narrowing achievement gaps for minority students.

[Why didn’t she stay in the school system and help all the neighborhood schools?]After turning around a failing district-run elementary school, I moved to Wayman Academy. At a public charter school, I have more power to improve outcomes for families and engage teachers.

[What strict system does she mean? ] I am proud that we have a strict system that holds charter schools accountable for their performance and finances.

The guest column by Simaran was in response to this article:
https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20180917/report-questions-charter-school-system-proposes-changes
Quotes  from that Sept 17 2018 article:

A government watchdog group called Florida’s growing system of privately-run public charter schools wasteful and said it sometimes gives rise to self-dealing and profiteering.

“Some public officials who decide education policy and their families are profiting personally from ownership and employment with the charter school industry, creating the appearance of a conflict of interest,” the study says. “Lax regulation of charter schools has created opportunities for financial mismanagement and criminal corruption. … Inasmuch as charter schools can be an inefficient and wasteful option for ‘school choice,’ the legislature should evaluate the appropriate amount of funding the state can afford to offer in educational choices to parents and students.”

Why is this? What is the attraction? Would the money be better spent by improving the neighborhood school? Another quote from article:

Statewide about 10 percent, or about 296,000 students of Florida’s 2.8 million children, attend 650 charter schools.

When for-profit charters close, the public money spent on lease payments and building improvements is lost, because the school district doesn’t own their buildings, the study said.  Florida charter schools received $346 million in capital outlay funds alone in 2016-17, surpassing what traditional schools received some years, the study said. That doesn’t include the hundreds of millions more charter schools receive for operations and management.

Since its start in 1998, the charter school industry has spent more than $13 million to influence state education policy in Florida through contributions to political campaigns, the study said. Since 2007, the industry spent another $8 million on legislative lobbying.

Link to another article about the Integrity Florida report:
http://lwveducation.com/integrity-florida-nails-the-for-profit-charter-industry/

A quote from this article https://www.jacksonville.com/nationworld/20181114/former-duval-charter-school-operator-gets-20-years-for-fraud :

May’s company, Newpoint Education Partners, operated charter schools in Escambia, Bay, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. In Duval, that includes San Jose Academy and San Jose Preparatory High on Sunbeam Road.  Marcus May was sentenced to pay a $5 million fine for using charter schools to steer millions of dollars into his personal accounts.  May was also sentenced to 20 years in prison.

 

Links to two more articles about the Amendments that are on the Florida ballot

This is a link to Florida Tax Watch’s Voter Guide:

https://floridataxwatch.org/Research/Full-Library/ArtMID/34407/ArticleID/17819/2018-Voter-Guide

I am glad that they recommend YES on # 4 and # 11.

They recommend a yes on #2. I have run into a few people with rental property that want us to vote yes on #2. The LWV thinks this is better done via legislation so the LWV recommends a no on #2.

I agree with the Florida Tax Watch on their explanation for a no on #3. I voted no on #3. Quote from the Florida Tax Watch link:

Gambling has always been a contentious issue in Florida, as evidenced by the Legislature not being able to pass a gambling bill for several sessions. While the amendment would likely rule out casinos for the near future, public sentiment could change. And while the amendment would make the citizens’ initiative the exclusive method to bring casino gambling to the ballot, it must be remembered that the initiative process is the least transparent method to publicly vet proposed constitutional amendments. It is easy to envision a well-funded, pro-casino group getting enough signatures to bring a casino proposal to the ballot. This would still allow the special interests supporters want to keep out of the process to craft a proposal, but there would be no input or deliberation by the Legislature.

I agree with their explanation of what a NO vote would mean BUT I wish they had suggested a yes on #9. Quote from article:

A NO VOTE on #9 MEANS
Piece 1: There would be no constitutional safeguard against offshore drilling for oil and natural gas on lands beneath all state waters. Any legislative prohibition could easily be lifted.
Piece 2: Floridians will continue to be subjected to second-hand vapor when they attend movies or restaurants and other public places.

It seems nefarious to me that they are recommending a yes on #10. Why can’t a county decide if they want these positions elected or appointed? The voters in the county should decide. Vote NO on #10. Quote from article:

Eight charter counties (Brevard, Broward, Clay, Duval, Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola, and Volusia) have changed the manner of selection of at least one of the five constitutional officers or restructured or abolished at least one of the five constitutional offices and transferred their duties to another county office. The ballot measure, if approved, would require these eight charter counties to amend their charters to: (1) reflect that sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser,
supervisor of elections, and clerk of circuit court be elected by the voters of that county,

Here is a link to another comprehensive description of the amendments:

https://ballot.votesaveamerica.com/v/measures/878

I don’t disagree with their description of #11 but I wish they had made a stronger statement on why you need to vote YES on #11 like this article does:
I find the link’s explanation of amendment 6 inadequate. Here is a better explanation on why you need to vote NO on 6.  Around minute 45, they tell you why to vote no on #6:

I voted yes on 4,9,11,12 and 13.  I voted no on the rest.  IF you’re still on the fence, please let me try to convince you that I’m right.

Please repeal 776.032

I do hope that in the November 2018 election, Florida will turn the GOP controlled Florida Congress blue.   And I hope the new blue Florida Congress will make it a priority to overturn this law that was passed in 2017.

Here is the link to the bill that we want the new blue Florida Congress to repeal: 
 
When this law passed, defendants no longer had to present evidence to prove their claim of self-defense. That’s insane, isn’t it? This bill needs to be overturned.  This is a 2017 article before the law passed and was signed into law by Rick Scott:
 
You can check and see who voted yes on this awful bill at this link:
 
Quotes from this article:
The 2017 version of the “stand your ground” law shifts the burden of proof to the prosecution after the defendant has made a prima facie claim of justified use of force, and it requires that the state (prosecutors) meet this burden of proof with clear and convincing evidence,”