Senate Bill 1564, which would place certain Florida schools in a program where students attend classes for 12 months per year, passed unanimously in the Education Pre-K12 committee on Tuesday and is now on its way to the Appropriations Committee on Education. If it passes, the program would begin next year for a period of four years, according to Local 10/WPLG news.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Patricia Williams (D), told Florida Politics that the proposed legislation is important to help mitigate Florida students’ learning loss caused in large part by the pandemic. She also suggested that it would help with the juvenile crime rate, which historically rises during the summer months.
Under the pilot program, the Florida Department of Education will study how the districts participating deal with issues such as transportation, budgeting, and parent engagement, among others. The Education Commissioner would then report his findings to the Governor and the Legislature to determine whether the state should adopt year-round school for all students.
