{"id":3453,"date":"2019-03-17T11:07:46","date_gmt":"2019-03-17T15:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3453"},"modified":"2019-03-17T11:07:53","modified_gmt":"2019-03-17T15:07:53","slug":"news-updates-3-17-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3453","title":{"rendered":"News &#038; Updates 3\/17\/19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We&#8217;re monitoring several bills in our state legislature that could negatively impact science education. The good news is that so far there has been very little movement. One has been scheduled for a committee hearing and others have gotten some press. But the session is still quite young and we can&#8217;t relax until it&#8217;s all over May 3. <strong>You first opportunity for action is the Alternative High School Diploma Bill in the senate. We need you to contact committee members to warn them about the negative consequences of the bill. Read further down in this post for more information and the committee members&#8217; contact information.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some bills we are tracking that have updates (but this is not everything we are tracking):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Alternative High School Diploma Bills (that allow students to graduate having taken only one science course) <\/li><li>Instructional Materials Bills (that contain references to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153controversial issues\u00e2\u20ac\u009d)<\/li><li>Academic Standards Bill (that contain references to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153controversial theories\u00e2\u20ac\u009d)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alternative High School Diploma Bills: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flsenate.gov\/Session\/Bill\/2019\/00770\">SB 770<\/a> &amp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myfloridahouse.gov\/Sections\/Bills\/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=64063&amp;SessionId=87\">HB 661<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>These bills would allow students to graduate high school with only 18 credits instead of 24 and would allow students to substitute science and math courses with courses that lead to some type of industry certification. The main problem with these bills is that a student could graduate high school after having only taken one science course!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wrote a blog post about it here: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3441\">Should Florida students be allowed to graduate with only one science course?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wrote an op-ed about the bills that was published in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tallahassee.com\/story\/opinion\/2019\/02\/24\/florida-students-need-more-science-math-education-not-less\/2971684002\/\">Tallahassee Democrat<\/a>. And a longer version was published in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news-journalonline.com\/opinion\/20190305\/brandon-haught-students-need-more-science-and-math---not-less\">Daytona Beach News-Journal<\/a>. (Unfortunately, I messed up and wrote SB707 instead of SB 770 and neither paper caught the error.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Science and math are just too darn hard. We can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect everyone to know the difference between astronomy and astrology or be able to read a scatterplot graph.<\/p><p>That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a message now coming from Tallahassee. Apparently, science and math are just too \u00e2\u20ac\u0153advanced\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for our poor high school students. So, bills filed in Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s House and Senate aim to give students a way to avoid those difficult subjects.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The Daytona Beach News-Journal also wrote an editorial opposed to the bill:  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news-journalonline.com\/opinion\/20190228\/our-view-students-deserve-high-standards\">Students deserve high standards<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Hutson\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s legislation throws a troubling wrinkle into the mix, however. He proposes scaling down higher-level math, science and writing class requirements for students enrolled in a vocational program. Those students could also graduate high school in three years \u00e2\u20ac\u201d with 18 credits, and as little as one class in science and two in math.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>TAKE ACTION<\/strong>: The senate bill is now scheduled for a hearing in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flsenate.gov\/Committees\/Show\/ED\">education committee<\/a>, Tuesday 03\/19\/19 at 4 p.m. Please call or write the members of the committee to let them know that this bill is a bad idea. Send them links to the op-eds linked above and put your own personal take on the issue. They need to hear from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chair: Senator Manny Diaz, Jr. (R)<br>\ndiaz.manny.web@flsenate.gov<br>\nDistrict office: 305-364-3073<br>\nCapitol office: 850-487-5036<br>\nTwitter: @SenMannyDiazJr<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vice Chair: Senator Bill Montford (D)<br>\nmontford.bill.web@flsenate.gov<br>\nDistrict &amp; Capitol office: 850-487-5003<br>\nTwitter: @BillMontford (but account isn&#8217;t active)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Senator Dennis Baxley (R) <br>\nbaxley.dennis.web@flsenate.gov<br>\nDistrict office: 352-750-3133<br>\nCapitol office: 850-487-5012<br>\nTwitter: @dennisbaxley<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Senator Lori Berman (D)<br>\nberman.lori.web@flsenate.gov<br>\nDistrict office: 561-292-6014<br>\nCapitol office: 850-487-5031<br>\nTwitter: @loriberman<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Senator Janet Cruz (D)<br>\ncruz.janet.web@flsenate.gov<br>\nDistrict office: 813-348-1017<br>\nCapitol office: 850-487-5018<br>\nTwitter: @SenJanetCruz<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Senator Keith Perry (R)<br>\nperry.keith.web@flsenate.gov<br>\nDistrict office: 352-264-4040<br>\nCapitol office: 850-487-5008<br>\nTwitter: @KeithPerryFL<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Senator David Simmons (R)<br>\nsimmons.david.web@flsenate.gov<br>\nDistrict office: 407-262-7578<br>\nCapitol office: 850-487-5009<br>\nTwitter: @DSimmonsFL<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Senator Kelli Stargel (R)<br> stargel.kelli.web@flsenate.gov<br> District office: 863-668-3028<br> Capitol office: 850-487-5022<br> Twitter: @kellistargel<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Instructional Materials Bills <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flsenate.gov\/Session\/Bill\/2019\/01454\">SB 1454<\/a> &amp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myfloridahouse.gov\/Sections\/Bills\/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=64892\">HB 855<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>These bills are jam-packed with bad news, with massive changes suggested to the way instructional materials (textbooks and other materials used in instruction) are selected and challenged. There&#8217;s a lot to be concerned about in these bills, including: &#8220;Instructional materials recommended by each reviewer shall be accurate and factual; provide, objective, balanced, and noninflammatory viewpoints on controversial issues.&#8221; The controversial issues targeted are, of course, evolution and global warming in science courses. To learn about all of the other problems with these bills and a little bit about the lawmaker behind one, read my blog post <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3435\">New Instructional Materials bill includes \u00e2\u20ac\u0153controversial issues\u00e2\u20ac\u009d requirement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both bills have been assigned to three committees each, which is a good sign. The more committees the bills have to pass through, the better the chances of them being stopped. Neither bill has been scheduled for a hearing yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Tampa Bay Times published a story today (3\/17\/19) about the bills: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tampabay.com\/blogs\/gradebook\/2019\/03\/17\/will-florida-legislators-make-it-easier-to-ban-books-in-schools-well-soon-find-out\/\">Will Florida legislators make it easier to ban books in schools? We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll soon find out<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Members of the conservative Florida Citizens Alliance have been appalled with what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen in the books being handed to students in the public schools.<\/p><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Pornographic\u00e2\u20ac\u009d scenes in novels. Religious \u00e2\u20ac\u0153indoctrination\u00e2\u20ac\u009d boosting Islam over others in the social studies books. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Unbalanced propaganda\u00e2\u20ac\u009d promoting climate change in science texts.<\/p><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p><p>The bills pose a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153clear and present danger\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to public education, said Brandon Haught, a leader with Florida Citizens for Science and a Volusia County classroom teacher.<\/p><p>Florida Citizens Alliance members \u00e2\u20ac\u0153want to bully the school boards into complying with them,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Haught said.<\/p><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p><p>The bills have been assigned to several committees, and have not been scheduled for hearings. But that seemingly long march to the chamber floors isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t leading the opponents to ease up.<\/p><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You might figure there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no way,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Haught said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t dismiss this.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"> <br>Academic Standards Bill <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flsenate.gov\/Session\/Bill\/2019\/00330\">SB 330<\/a> (no HB)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This bill would impact the standards for all academic subjects, especially science. It proposes allowing school districts to adopt their own sets of educational standards if they are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153equal to or more rigorous\u00e2\u20ac\u009d than the state\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s educational standards. The bill specifically targets science standards with the following directive: &#8220;Controversial theories and concepts shall be taught in a factual, objective, and balanced manner.&#8221; This, of course, is aimed directly at evolution and global warming. To read more about the background of this bill, see our issues page <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?page_id=3398\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Controversial Theories\/Rigorous Standards\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bills 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The bill has been assigned to four committees and has not been scheduled for a hearing yet. There is no companion bill in the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One columnist in the Orlando Sentinel views this bill favorably: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.orlandosentinel.com\/opinion\/audience\/david-whitley\/os-op-climate-change-bill-david-whitley-20190308-story.html\">Climate is right to teach skepticism in Florida schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>But from what I can tell, the most controversial thing about climate change is people saying it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not controversial.<\/p><p>So I wish Baxley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bill would drop the evolution fight and solely address climate. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like my kids to hear both sides of the story.<\/p><p>Especially when one side is being told by Al Gore.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>But an Associate Press article takes a more critical view: <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/6f5ae325e919481fa081c188b1d5dc3f?platform=hootsuite\">School lessons targeted by climate change doubters<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Florida state Sen. Dennis Baxley is pressing legislation that would allow schools to teach alternatives to controversial theories.<\/p><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There is really no established science on most things, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll find,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the GOP legislator said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We&#8217;re monitoring several bills in our state legislature that could negatively impact science education. The good news is that so far there has been very little movement. One has been scheduled for a committee hearing and others have gotten some &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3453\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcZNLl-TH","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3456,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3456","url_meta":{"origin":3453,"position":0},"title":"Science Education not important in Florida senate","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"With an 8 to 0 vote in the Florida senate education committee yesterday, SB 770 cleared its first hurdle after undergoing several changes. Despite an overhaul of the bill and a couple of amendments tacked on, our key concern about science education requirements for graduation getting sliced and diced is\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/diploma.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/diploma.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/diploma.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3151,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3151","url_meta":{"origin":3453,"position":1},"title":"And the sausage-making begins","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"January 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"We're tracking several bills in the Florida legislature that have a high potential to be bad news for science education (see our issues page for the whole list of projects we're tracking). The legislative session officially kicks off tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan. 9) but already one of the bills we're concerned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Textbooks&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Textbooks","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=26"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3444,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3444","url_meta":{"origin":3453,"position":2},"title":"Getting ready for another wild ride in Tallahassee","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The state legislative session kicks off Tuesday. We here at Florida Citizens for Science are as busy as can be as we monitor several bad bills filed in the legislature that can negatively impact science education. Additionally, the review of all academic standards directed by Gov. Ron DeSantis has a\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3478,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3478","url_meta":{"origin":3453,"position":3},"title":"Florida Legislative Session Wrap Up 2019","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"May 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"May the Fourth Be With You! Today, the 2019 session of the Florida Legislature is finally over. Here's a quick summary of the issues we here at Florida Citizens for Science were tracking. Senate Bill 330: Educational Standards for K-12 Public Schools This bill would have impacted the standards for\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/sciencetextbookswarming.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/sciencetextbookswarming.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/sciencetextbookswarming.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":538,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=538","url_meta":{"origin":3453,"position":4},"title":"Keeping things straight","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"April 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"There are a lot of important posts here concerning the deceptively-named \"academic freedom\" bills being considered by the Florida legislature, but many posts get pushed further down the page as new information comes in. In an effort to make things a bit easier here are some links to use so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;\"Academic Freedom\" bills '08&quot;","block_context":{"text":"\"Academic Freedom\" bills '08","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2615,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2615","url_meta":{"origin":3453,"position":5},"title":"Lots and lots of bill updates today","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"March 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quite a bit to talk about today. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll start with the Religious Liberties bills that we oppose on the grounds they can negatively impact science education. One passed the Senate judiciary committee this afternoon on a narrow, party line vote of 5-4. I spoke at this meeting but I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Instructional Materials bills '17&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Instructional Materials bills '17","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=32"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3453"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3453"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3454,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3453\/revisions\/3454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}