{"id":116140,"date":"2026-01-13T08:22:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T08:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/116140\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T08:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T08:22:11","slug":"a-final-session-to-secure-floridas-education-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/116140\/","title":{"rendered":"A final Session to secure Florida\u2019s education future"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Florida policymakers are convening for the final Legislative Session of Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 tenure, as well as the last for House Speaker Danny Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton. As always, education policy sits at the top of the agenda, and the Foundation for Florida\u2019s Future<\/a> is urging lawmakers to act on priorities that will shape student outcomes for years to come.<\/p>\n

Reading: Invest in literacy<\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)<\/a> have fallen to their lowest levels since before 1999. Meanwhile, states such as Mississippi \u2014 drawing inspiration from reforms that originated in Florida \u2014 are now outperforming us.<\/p>\n

While a broad recommitment to literacy is necessary, lawmakers can make an immediate, high-impact investment by ensuring every elementary school has a dedicated reading coach. These highly trained instructional leaders work directly with teachers to improve reading instruction schoolwide.<\/p>\n

Today, nearly 800 elementary schools report having no active reading coach. Because not all districts prioritize funding for proven literacy strategies, policymakers should establish a dedicated literacy coach fund and require participating districts to better align reading plans with state priorities. This approach would give students a much-needed boost while providing the state greater accountability over literacy outcomes.<\/p>\n

School choice: Protect Florida\u2019s progress<\/p>\n

Florida has been the gold standard for school choice for two decades, distinguished by its scale and responsiveness to families. That progress, however, is not guaranteed.<\/p>\n

Current concerns about tracking and funding students stem from technological limitations, not bureaucratic failures. Adding new administrative requirements for parents and schools would be a mistake. The solution to a technology problem should be technological.<\/p>\n

Florida can look to other states with education scholarship account programs that have successfully addressed these challenges. Investing in modern student tracking systems and adopting a common data governance standard such as EdFi \u2014 already used in Texas, Indiana, and Arizona \u2014 would strengthen accountability without discouraging participation.<\/p>\n

Additional bureaucracy would stifle innovation, deter families, and risk turning a life-changing scholarship program into a difficult-to-navigate government system. Lawmakers should proceed with caution.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Generative AI: Implement reasonable guardrails<\/p>\n

Florida has led the nation in protecting students from the harms of social media and cell phone use in schools. The next step is establishing reasonable guardrails for Generative Artificial Intelligence.<\/p>\n

Policymakers should focus on two priorities. First, protecting student data by requiring transparency, auditing of interactions, and robust parental notice and controls.<\/p>\n

Second, the state must prevent minors from accessing Generative AI products that use addictive, human-like deception to form relationships. These interactions pose serious emotional risks, tragically illustrated by the experience of Florida\u2019s Megan Garcia and the loss of her son, Sewell. These powerful technologies should not be allowed to reach children unchecked.<\/p>\n

Higher education accountability: Capture return on investment<\/p>\n

The One Big Beautiful Bill requires colleges and universities receiving federal student aid to report annual wage outcomes for graduates. Programs whose graduates consistently earn less than high school diploma-only workers will no longer qualify for federal aid.<\/p>\n

Florida can reinforce this accountability by ensuring the same data reported federally is also shared with the state, giving students and policymakers clearer insight when choosing degree programs.<\/p>\n

Florida already boasts one of the nation\u2019s strongest higher education systems, but transparency and incentive alignment remain essential to keeping student outcomes front and center.<\/p>\n

Policy changes lives. While this is a lame-duck year for many state leaders, Florida has an opportunity \u2014 and a responsibility \u2014 to deliver meaningful reforms that keep the state at the forefront of education policy.<\/p>\n

To view the full policy agenda, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Patricia Levesque is executive director of the Foundation for Florida\u2019s Future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Florida policymakers are convening for the final Legislative Session of Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 tenure, as well as the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[58618,28,58619,30,43440,29,58620,58621,58622,58623,55381,58624,58625],"class_list":["post-116140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-education-scholarships-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-education-policy","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-legislative-session-2026","tag-florida-news","tag-generative-ai-safeguards-schools","tag-higher-education-accountability","tag-literacy-coaches-florida","tag-naep-reading-scores-florida","tag-school-choice-accountability","tag-student-data-privacy-florida","tag-workforce-outcomes-college-degrees"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}