Governor Rick Scott introduced his legislative agenda for education at a summit in Fort Myers today. It’s based on what he learned from educators and others on a recent statewide listening tour. Its aim is to implement a smooth transition to national Common Core Standards within two years and to support teachers.
Scott said the state will fund mentoring programs for students and eliminate many regulations. The Governor said flexibility is key in education and business.
"Consumers shop for price. They are not going to pay companies more because they are looking at a high tax location, state or country. They are not willing to pay more because a company spends dollars (unintelligible) on unnecessary regulations or unreasonable permitting processes. And they're not willing to pay more because a company has unqualified, unproductive employees," said Scott.
Included in the regulations Scott said the state plans to eliminate is the enrollment cap on Charter Schools.
A Teacher Supply Program would use donations from businesses to pay for debit cards distributed to teachers to purchase classroom supplies. Under Scott’s plan, the state would also invest 2 million dollars to create a Competitive Teacher Training Grant in which teachers would partner with businesses.
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