The 2003 regular Legislative Session is only two weeks away from the deadline for ending the regular nine-week session and, after seven weeks of meetings and a prior two months of almost continuous committee meetings, the House and the Senate could not be further apart.
 

There is no agreement on any of the major issues from the budget for next year to medical malpractice, worker's compensation or how to implement the new class size reduction mandate. There isn't even any agreement on how much reducing class size will cost.
 

The two bodies are $288 million apart on how much to spend on public education, K-12 next year, and even the higher of the two, which is the Senate, won't be adequate for school districts to continue current programs and provide teacher pay raises.
 

Although there are many similarities between the House and Senate regarding what methods could be used to reduce class size, there are huge differences in how much each thinks it will cost and how each approaches the voucher issue. The House offers four new voucher programs in its class size reduction bill; the Senate none.
 

Although Senate President Jim King  (R-Duval) recently was reported to have said the session will end on time, that does not preclude the almost certainty of one or more special sessions to follow.
 

In the House, although bills of interest to the Florida PTA are moving, none have reached the House calendar.
 

In the Senate, 15 bills supported by the Florida PTA either have been passed by the Senate and sent to the House for its consideration or have made it to the Senate calendar which is one step away from the "special order calendar" where bills are placed when the Senate intends take them up as soon as possible. A few are already on the special order calendar.
 

One bill, SB 160, actually is on the way to the Governor for his approval.
 

Following are the bills of interest to the Florida PTA, which have cleared all their Senate committee hurdles and are ready to be voted upon by that full body or have already been approved and sent to the House.
 

CSSB 90 creates a legal privilege by which a parent, or child, or guardian can refuse to disclose certain confidential communications between the child and the parent. The privilege also allows the parent to prevent someone else from disclosing the confidential communications between the parent and the child. The privilege does not apply in certain criminal proceedings, but in other certain legal matters. Essentially it gives both the parent and the child the right to refuse to discuss what they disclosed to each other.  Sponsored by Senator Steve Geller (D-Broward), the bill has passed the Senate and sent to the House for its consideration.

SB 160 is one of the first bills of interest to the PTA to be passed by both the House and Senate and sent to the Governor for his signature.  It specifies that it is not a criminal offense to possess certain drugs which are used for industrial purposes such as for the manufacture of polyurethane's and it clarifies that it is unlawful to possess certain drugs within 1,000 feet of a school or child care facility from the hours of 6 a.m. to midnight. The sponsor is Sen. Stephen Wise (R-Duval),
 

SB 162 provides statutory authority for all public schools to offer American Sign Language  (ASL) for foreign language credit, but, at the same time, requires school boards to let students know that outside of Florida other institutions of higher learning may not be willing to recognize a foreign language credit given for (ASL).  The bill requires a state task force be organized to develop guidelines for including ASL courses as part of a school curriculum and the State Board of Education to adopt rules to establish licensing/certification standards for ASL teachers. It requires the Commissioner of Education to make sure the state's postsecondary institutions accept high school ASL as a foreign language and to encourage the postsecondary institutions to offer ASL as a way to satisfy their foreign language credit requirements.  Sponsored by Senator Stephen Wise (R-Duval), the bill has passed the Senate and is awaiting House action.
 

SB 198 gives school boards a voice in the decision regarding authorizing adult entertainment businesses to continue doing business if they are located within 2500 feet of a school.   Currently, only a county or municipality can authorize waiving the 2500 foot requirement and then under only certain conditions. Under this bill, the school board must be involved in the decision. Sponsored by Sen. Les Miller (D-Hillsborough), the bill has passed the Senate sent to the House for its consideration.
 

SB 354 repeals a requirement that students holding Bright Futures Scholarships initially take tests in five subject areas when they enroll in community colleges or universities to determine if they can earn credit via the exam rather than taking the course. The subjects include: English, Humanities, Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences It has been determined that the cost of this program -some $8.1 million -is not a good investment in terms of the numbers of students-about 22 per cent of them-- who could earn credit this way. The testing requirement would be repealed under this bill although credit by examination would continue to be an option for students wishing to accelerate their graduation. Sponsored by Rep. Lisa Carlton (R-Charlotte/Manatee/Sarasota), the bill is on special order calendar in the Senate.
 

SB 366 is in line with the Senate's proposed Appropriations Bill for next year, which would maintain the District Cost Differential at its current level.  The DCD recognizes differences in costs-of-living in various areas of the state and applies that difference to the school funding formula. It is calculated on a three-year rolling average and, depending upon the area , may go up or down each year.  This bill would simply keep the current rate regardless of what the new calculation shows. Sponsored by Sen. Lisa Carlton (R-Charlotte/ Manatee/ Sarasota), the bill is on the Senate calendar.
 

SB 612 calls for a constitutional amendment to limit school board members' terms to 12 years.  If passed by the Legislature and ultimately by the voters, it would not affect current board members whose 12-year limit would begin with their next election. The Florida School Boards Association reports that less than 20 percent of school board members statewide serve more than 12 years. Sponsored by Sen. Les Miller (R-Hillsborough), the bill  is on the Senate calendar.
 

SB 684 requires employees of nonpublic sector bus drivers to annual check their employees" driving records to make sure their license has not been suspended or revoked. It also stipulates that private school students may ride on public school buses and vice versa subject to mutual agreements between the school board and the private school Sponsored by Sen. Les Miller (D-Hillsborough), the bill is on the Senate calendar. 
 

SB 1056 imposes additional courts cost in cases of certain crimes against children such as battery of a child, kidnapping or false imprisonment, sexual battery, lewd or lascivious offenses, and others.. The additional costs would be imposed against each offender pleading guilty or no contest or who is found guilty of any of the specified offenses. The funds would be used to support the state's network of Child Advocacy Centers. Sponsored by Sen. Rod Smith (D-Alachua), the bill is on the Senate calendar.
 

CS SB 1334//534/360 is in response to the new constitutional amendment requiring universal prekindergarten be offered on a voluntary basis to all children as of 2005.  The State Department of Education will be required to conduct a study to determine the curriculum, design and standards for the new program. The study is to be completed by October of this year and is to include input from regional focus groups throughout the state.  The bill stipulates that the program should offer  a high-quality learning opportunity for the states' four-year-old population and that the study provide estimates of the cost per student. Sponsored by Senators Rudy Garcia (R-Miami-Dade), Lee Constantine (R-Orange/ Seminole), Lisa Carlton (R-Charlotte/ Manatee/ Sarasota), the bill is on the special order calendar. 
 

   SB 1896 authorizes the use of flashing beacons or other automatic devices to be
 

used in place of posting static signs in school speed zones. The mechanical devices would have to be operated by a time clock or manually activated during the appropriate hours in the morning and evening. Sponsored by Senator Jeff Atwater (R-Broward/Palm Beach) the bill is on the Senate calendar.
 

SB 2114 focuses on creating adults who understand how, when and where to vote  and the importance of voting. The bill requires school boards to cooperate with their county supervisor of elections and provide voter education to high school seniors. The curriculum would go so far as to instruct the seniors how to operate the new electronic voting machines, how to be a poll worker and even how to run for election. School boards are encouraged to work with their election supervisors to obtain the use of the county's voting equipment when there is a student election. Sponsored by Sen. Frederica Wilson (D-Miami-Dade), the bill is on the Senate calendar.
 

SB 2242 is an extensive measure dealing with charter schools.  The bill establishes guiding principles for charter schools including setting  high standards for student achievement, more accountability and identifying how the charter intends to focus on reading. The bill lifts the current cap on the number of charter schools each school board may authorize and authorizes community colleges to develop charter schools in cooperation with the school board. The bill stipulates that charter school applications have to include information on: how the school's curriculum will enable students to meet the Sunshine State Standards; what the school's goals and objectives are going to be and how they will be measured and evaluated; what the school will do about students not reading on grade level, and how the school intents to handle its finances for each year of the charter up to a maximum of five years.
 

The bill attempt to address the growing requests from charter schools for help in meeting their construction needs. It does so by revising the percent of funds a school board may retain for administrative purposes from the current uniform rate of five per cent to one percent for schools with more than 1,000 students; three per cent for schools with 700 to 900 students and five per cent for schools with less than 700 students, Then it authorizes the charters whose administrative fee holdback is less than five per cent to use the difference between the amount withheld and the five per cent to support their school construction needs.  Sponsored by Sen. Dan Webster (R-Orange/Seminole), the bill is on the Senate calendar.
 

SB 2352 establishes criteria to protect children from drowning in public swimming pools. It requires the pools be equipped with certain types of permanent barriers that completely enclose the pool whether it be a fence or wall with gates that can be locked and not opened by very young children. Sponsored by Sen. Debby Wasserman-Schultz (D-Broward), the bill is on the Senate calendar.

SB 2356 stipulates that volunteers at schools and for religious organizations would be included in the list of persons responsible for a child's welfare and would have a legal responsibility to report known or suspected cases of child abuse, abandonment or neglect.
 

In the case of a known or suspected sexual abuse of a child, a person who should report the abuse but does not or even prevents someone else from reporting it would be committing a third degree felony.  Sponsored by Sen. Alex Villalobos (R-Miami-Dade), the bill is on the Senate calendar.