Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday is set to hold an education-related news conference in Orlando.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference at Daytona Beach College on Tuesday morning.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday is set to hold a news conference on Wednesday to sign the state budget.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday morning is set to make an education-related announcement in Orlando.

Kimberly Daniels, a Democrat and member of the Florida House of Representatives from Jacksonville, is set to hold a news conference Thursday at noon to address her role on the African American Task Force.

The State Board of Education on Wednesday approved new academic standards for instruction about African American history, after numerous teachers from across Florida objected to the changes and asked the board to put the proposal on hold.

The Florida Board of Education has approved a ban on classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades.

Republican Sen. Manny Diaz will become the state’s first Hispanic education commissioner.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After the Senate scaled back its version of the bill, a House committee Monday postponed consideration of a measure that would limit the authority of local governments to regulate vacation-rental properties. The House Ways & Means Committee was slated to take up the controversial proposal (HB 219), but Chairman Bobby Payne, R-Palatka, announced the postponement without further explanation. Lawmakers have repeatedly considered similar bills in recent years but have faced heavy opposition from local governments. The House bill, for example, would prevent local ordinances or regulations requiring licensure or inspections of vacation rental properties. Regulation of vacation rentals would be allowed if such regulation also would apply to all residential properties — a concept that local governments have fought.

Both would involve the use of education savings accounts, giving parents flexible spending power with 97.5 percent of the current state per-student funding level, or roughly $7,600. Meanwhile, the bill would combine the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program and the Hope Scholarship Program, which are designed for the broader student population. “What’s great about ESAs (education savings accounts) is it empowers parents more. AdBut vouchers have long been one of the most-controversial issues in Florida’s education system, and opponents criticize education savings accounts and other parts of Diaz’s plan. Florida isn’t the only state with a Republican-controlled legislature considering the launch or expansion of education savings accounts.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A sweeping Senate proposal to consolidate Florida’s school-voucher programs and establish them as flexible spending accounts for students continued advancing Wednesday. The measure (SB 48), sponsored by Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, was approved by the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee in a 6-3, party-line vote. Diaz faced questions from Democrats about how the education savings accounts would function. “Ninety percent of our students attend public schools, and we see school districts that are reeling from the increased economic burden of this (COVID-19) pandemic. The Senate Education Committee also approved Diaz’s bill this month, and the measure needs approval from the Appropriations Committee before it can go to the full Senate.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – State lawmakers, advised this week about limited tax dollars amid the COVID-19 pandemic, have already proposed 43 hometown projects worth more than $45 million. In most years, lawmakers approve a couple of hundred local projects in the state budget, though the governor has line-item veto power to eliminate spending. When legislators last year sent a $93.2 billion budget to Gov. In slashing $1 billion from the budget in June to reduce spending amid the pandemic, DeSantis vetoed $264 million worth of those projects. A year earlier, about $270 million for 440 local projects made the final budget, after DeSantis used his line-item veto to cut more than 160 proposals, worth $130 million.

When asked by reporters if his plan would make it to the floor for a Senate vote, Diaz was non-committal. In exchange, regulation would be “preempted” to the state, largely preventing local governments from regulating vacation rentals. Florida law already bans local governments from passing ordinances to outlaw vacation rentals. Vacation rentals have sparked backlash from some homeowners, who complain about raucous parties, parking issues and a steady stream of strangers in neighborhoods. For us to be micromanaging vacation rentals, I am not sure that is the right thing to do,” DeSantis said.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A long-running dispute over vacation rentals is heating up, as a Senate panel Tuesday approved a proposal that would give the state -- not local officials -- control over regulation of short-term rentals. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, would “preempt” regulation of vacation rentals, including licensing and inspection, to the state. Under current law, cities and counties cannot prohibit short-term rentals of residential properties. But it would let cities and counties impose new regulations so long as the rules applied equally to all residential properties, including private homes as well as vacation rentals. Diaz said he is well-suited to sponsor the proposal because, unlike other regions of the state, the majority of his district “does not suffer” from problems associated with vacation rentals.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In a long-running issue watched by communities and businesses across the state, a Senate committee Monday approved a proposal that would take away power from cities and counties to regulate vacation rental properties. The Senate Innovation, Industry and Technology Committee backed a bill (SB 1128), sponsored by Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, that would “preempt” regulation of vacation rentals to the state. But critics contend that such rentals, in many cases, have turned into commercial operations in residential areas. “We can’t just preempt,” Passidomo said. “We have to preempt and set rules.”Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville, has filed a House version of the bill (HB 1011).

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Senate Education Chairman Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, wants to set a minimum requirement for money flowing to public-school classrooms. Diaz on Monday filed a bill (SB 360) that would require school districts to spend at least 80 percent of the money they receive through the state's main funding formula on classroom costs. Those costs would include such things as salaries and bonuses for teachers, materials for teachers and students and technology for students. The bill would apply to money that districts receive through the Florida Education Finance Program, the formula commonly known as the FEFP. It is filed for the 2020 legislative session, which starts Jan. 14.