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Sunburn â The morning read of whatâs hot in Florida politics â 3.2.21
The Legislative Session is here, and Florida Influencers believe that come April 30, Gov.
Ron DeSantis will be the big winner.
Florida Politics asked the stateâs top consultants, lobbyists and political minds who stands to have the best Legislative Session and 43% picked the Governor. His believers include more than half of Republican Influencers, with just 27% of Democrats saying heâs their early favorite.
For the minority party, that honor goes to Senate President
Wilton Simpson, albeit by a narrow margin. Three in 10 Democrats say heâll be the clear winner when the hankie drops. More than half of independents believe the same while just 21% of Republicans agree.
Pandemic looms over education priorities for Florida Legislature
Some Republican leaders want to address academic gaps by enhancing literacy and early learning programs. Others are looking at continuing remote learning options without impacting district funding.
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Updated Feb. 22
TALLAHASSEE â Floridaâs schools remain in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic, nearly a year after state officials first called for campus closures and canceled spring testing.
Many struggles continue. Local school officials and education groups have raised hopes that state lawmakers will prioritize schooling issues â whether financial, social or academic â during the legislative session that starts March 2. Those priorities affect much of the Legislatureâs work on the next budget because education constitutes roughly one-third of the stateâs total spending annually.