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January 22, 2018
Seated L to R: Deacon Scott Conway, Diocese of St. Augustine; Gary Gelo, Diocese of Palm Beach; Kim Pryzbylski, Archdiocese of Miami; Kristy Swol, Diocese of Venice
Standing L to R: Jackie Flanigan, Diocese of Orlando; Mary Camp, FCCB; Chris Pastura, Diocese of St. Petersburg; Henry Fortier, Diocese of Orlando; John Clarke, Diocese of Palm Beach; Mike Juhas, Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee
Catholic school superintendents from Florida's seven dioceses gathered in Tallahassee this week to discuss shared concerns and opportunities, and to visit with legislators.
Among the proposals addressed with lawmakers was HB 829 (Plasencia) / SB 1080 (Baxley). This measure removes the prior-public-attendance requirement for kindergarten to 5th grade students seeking to participate in the McKay Scholarship Program for Students with Disabilities. Allowing private school students who have been newly-diagnosed with a disability to continue in their current educational setting without moving to a public school avoids disruption for the child and the family.
Neither bill has had a committee hearing yet this session. In a January 17 letter, Michael Sheedy, executive director, urged the chairs of first committees of reference in both the House and the Senate to support the proposal and allow its consideration at their next committee meetings. HB 829 has been placed on the agenda for the PreK-12 Innovation Subcommittee for Tuesday, January 23 at 9:00 am.
