As Texans mobilize to fight against universal vouchers, let's take a look at how it's going here in Florida.
HB1 (bill enacting universal vouchers) went into effect July 1, and schools started in early-to-mid August.
It's been quite the rollercoaster!🧵👇
Refusing to pay overtime is called wage theft and it’s a federal crime.
Wantonly breaking the Federal Labor Standards Act is pretty much as anti-worker & anti-union as you can get. Looking at you
@Teamsters
I had a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction in 2020, because, cancer. I don’t want to overstep but I’m assuming Florida’s First Lady did too.
HB1421 that passed today has this language that REALLY seems to ban insurance coverage of breast reconstruction after cancer.
The history of the Ocoee massacre is being distorted by these FL Dept of Ed rules.
And it intentionally continues to memory-hole WHY the whites went on such a rampage in 1920. It was not 1 person voting.
Have you EVER heard of The Florida Movement? No? That's purposeful. 🧵1/10
“I said, ‘What I am mapping out here is too bad and too egregious and I can’t take this anymore.’”
Florida Man of the Year James Gaddis, DEP whistleblower
James Gaddis, a cartographer in the Florida DEP Office of Park Planning, leaked details on the state’s plans to add golf courses, pickleball courts and lodges at state parks says he was fired last week but doesn’t regret making the proposals public.
Point is this: when the government targets marginalized communities it always, always, always affects the broader community, all of us. It diminishes all of us.
There you have it.
A strong majority of Florida voters—including 52% of registered Republicans, 59% of independents—think Florida lawmakers shouldn’t have extended K12 vouchers to the wealthiest Floridians.
Just a reminder that public school principals do not leave town in hurricanes—they’re at their school if it’s used as a public shelter. Because, public schools rock, actually.
Betty Osceola shares a strongly worded letter sent to DEP pointing out that the proposed golf courses would disturb several Native American burial grounds
For $676m, we could have given each public school teacher in Florida a $5,000 bonus.
Instead we are giving $8,000 coupons to families for private school tuition they paid themselves last year.
Our teachers are paid $51k on average btw, 48th in the nation
"...roughly 7 in 10 new scholarship awards are going to students already enrolled in private school, at what FPI estimates is a $676 million cost to the state. This is more than triple the initial estimate by the Florida House."
Full statement 👇👇
#sayfie
For my fellow 1m Floridians without power — if you had rooftop solar, you’d have power now.
Solar is not just about saving the planet, it’s about having AC & power for medical devices after being hit by a storm.
Vote for people who help us get rooftop solar.
WE’RE
#1
: Miami is MOST EXPENSIVE U.S. city for groceries — costing $327.89 weekly! Also highest inflation rate (DOUBLE national average), least affordable housing market (80% of income spent on housing), and auto insurance (256% above national average)
#BecauseMiami
This person is on New College’s board of trustees. Unbelievable.
Can someone remind him that Florida, where the public college is that he purportedly serves, has the nation’s largest Haitian American community by far, w/deep roots here? This is flailing, desperate, gross behavior
Reminder: Florida is now the most regressive state in terms of tax code per ITEP. This means that for low income Floridians, it is absolutely not "tax free" to raise a child (there's more than just diapers to buy to raise a kid...)
So are any of our Florida or national press living here going to ask the question “holy crap why is our governor’s campaign sharing videos glorifying serial killer movie characters??”
Arizona’s school voucher experiment has led to a budget meltdown. The state this year faced a $1.4 billion budget shortfall, much of which was a result of the new voucher spending.
Just dropped my son off at his lovely daycare in Sarasota, and another mom was coming out from drop off with a literal Nazi shirt on. SS symbols, the eagle symbol, red & black. Unmistakable.
She’s who is given comfort by state and local leaders who deride “diversity & inclusion”
Something kind of incredible happened today in deep red Sarasota County (where i live)— the school board voted 3-2 for a superintendent who appears to want to do the job of supporting kids and not division. Cofounder of M4L in minority, lost.
🚨
Vouchers in FL are being given to wealthy Florida families, and then money ran out, before they could pay out the vouchers for kids with disabilities who were already in the program.
(I think it might be that they didn’t have enough in the bank for paying out 1st payments)
@AngieNixon
@StepUp4Students
I'm hearing this as well a lot. Schools that can't make payroll will close. And one of my nearby schools told me that all but 2 of the yr students were prior Mc Kay scholarship kids (meaning kids w disabilities) and that new, wealthy families were approved before current ones.
@norm_clips
@Martina
@Teamsters
As of 7/1/2024, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires most salaried workers who earn less than $43,888/yr to be paid overtime (thanks to Biden administration, who increased that salaried amount from Trump’s which he cut back to $35,568). Increases to $58k in ‘25.
So, no.
While FL’s insurance commissioner said somehow solar panels are a risk for homeowners (🙄) the opposite is true — in the wake of Helene, low income & older Georgians keep their AC & medical devices powered thanks Georgia BRIGHT, & IRA (Biden’s) Solar for All program
Georgia BRIGHT is about bringing the benefits of solar and storage--lower bills, cleaner air, resiliency--to the families that need it most. One of our first lessees, the Thomas Family, shared this powerful story about how their system helped them during
#HurricaneHelene
.
@RonDeSantis
says Maine mass murder 'could be another example' of failed mental health system. But he doesn't blame the guns.
Reporting by
@AGGancarski
#FlaPol
Creating a new entitlement for the wealthiest Floridians by giving $8,000 for every student in private schools is a fiscal time bomb for our state. We may have 'plenty of money!!' right now, but maybe talk to a legislator who had to cut BILLIONS in 2010-11.
85% of kids in Florida go to public school. Enough of this. Businesses who rely on an educated workforce—where are you!??? Speak up for our public schools! A future without public schools is a hollowed out society (and economy btw!!)
Our Governor spoke at a Homeschool Conference held here in our state. He opened with this thought in support of school choice over sending your kids to public schools (which in the state of FL have been run by Rs for over 2 decades).
This is cool. Local teens here in Sarasota at Boys & Girls Club decided to focus their group project on the child labor protection rollback bill, HB 49. If you're a teen, or care about teens in FL, consider signing:"Petition: Let Kids be Kids. Stop HB49.
Did you know if we did this, Social Security would be permanently solvent? That raising the retirement age while lifespans are falling in the US is NOT the only policy choice?
Did you know that billionaires are paying the same rate into Social Security as someone making $160,000 a year?
It’s simple: if you have a higher income, you should chip in more—and that starts by making sure those at the very top finally pay their fair share.
New College dropped by double digits in the US News rankings in the last year. Their president was awarded with over $1m in compensation, for a college with less than 800 students.
Maybe this isn’t about “meritocracy” after all, folks
New College of
#Florida
board approves $200k bonus for political hack who's already making a bigger salary than his predecessor who had actual higher ed experience. via
@swalker_7
In Florida, lawmakers are voting on a 6wk abortion ban Thur, while they have 22,500 people with severe disabilities on a waitlist (APD) for services for YEARS & YEARS. There's a record surplus -- they could fund entire list for $1.2 B.
And which state has had the most people covered by Obamacare, by a mile?
You guessed it. The Sunshine State.
6.7m Floridians have been covered at some point by Marketplace plans, more than 800k more than the 2nd place state, Texas.
I’m proud to share that nearly 50 million, or 1 in 7 U.S. residents, have been covered through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces over the last decade.
“Holly Bullard, Chief Strategy Officer for the Florida Policy Institute, told Popular Information that the ‘real scandal’ is that, while DeSantis pumps billions into vouchers, Florida teachers are grossly underpaid compared to their counterparts in other states.”
1. In March,
@RonDeSantis
signed a massive expansion of the state's school voucher program, including $8,000 vouchers for thousands of homeschoolers
Now, parents are exploiting the program, using taxpayer dollars for Disney World passes, PS5s, & 55" TVs
We have reciepts 🧾🧾🧾
WATCH:
@CaseyDeSantis
says "Hope Florida" program has worked with faith-based community to help Floridians get off welfare and public assistance, become more self sufficient and successful
"We're the first state to do [this] [...] Can you help the single mom? She's having a hard
In Sarasota County where I live, hundreds of families will lose childcare because their commission chair is mad his wife’s nonprofit wasn’t recommended to be funded by an advisory committee. Really.
#Florida
county commission (whose members include state GOP chairman) votes to cut out funds for childcare, homeless services, Boys and Girls Clubs via
@SaundraAmrhein
A federal judge just told the DeSantis administration that they have no right to go around a new law in order to kick kids off KidCare.
Good. Now let’s get all those kids you kicked off their coverage BACK double down on the KidCare expansion implementation
BIG + GOOD news for kids:
The federal judge in Tampa has DISMISSED the DeSantis Administration's case to bring down 12 months continuous eligibility for kids in CHIP‼️
The state was seeking to undermine this protection not just for kids in Florida but nationwide.
While using FL taxpayer money to pay for TVs, Disney tickets, etc, for private families w/ vouchers
is upsetting— the REAL scandal is the juxtaposition of these recent headlines. Hundreds of thousands of kids are being cut from Medicaid. Meanwhile, $2B in NEW $ for vouchers.
I was about to call my pediatrician today to get my 2 yo vaccinated Monday. This is a huge f-u to parents of small children in Florida. Can I drive to Georgia???
Florida’s Rep Gaetz is demanding that low income schools get 80% federal cut, infants get nutrition cuts & much more OR he shuts down the government & Florida seniors will be delayed in getting SS checks, no one home at Medicare, etc.He wants to be our governor in 2026.
This is a message to every person who has ever made a joke about Florida, or has counted us out as a state worth investing in… “it’s too big, too hard, too expensive.”
A grassroots effort to get abortion on the ballot, led by Floridians and mostly FL $… just sent me this
@BettyPFingal
@HC_Richardson
Excellent question. So in a recent US Supreme Court decision (called Grants Pass) they found that homelessness was not a protected class and that by and large, laws like HB 1365 can stand. Read more here
Today’s Editorial in the Orlando Sentinel.
Florida’s children deserve so much more. The Legislature must prioritize education & protect them from employer exploitation.
Average teacher pay in FL is now 50th in the nation. Last. (!!)
While average starting pay is 16th. This is intentional - called pay compression - which any MBA will tell you pushes out seasoned employees,& which I wrote on & warned about here in 2019
Average teacher pay in Florida has fallen from 48th to 50th in the most recent NEA salary rankings released today. For all the patting on the back that the Gov and Commissioner do for increasing teacher pay, it’s clear the emperor has no clothes. Florida must do better.
A state that is opting out of a child summer hunger program, suing the feds to kick kids off KidCare, and just shrugs when over 500k kids fall off Medicaid, is not pro-child. Proud to work with the folks quoted in this article to support our kids 💪
I’m up for suggestions on how to keep people with AR-15s/ bump-stocked guns from entering my son’s daycare. I’m trying to find a solution that will *keep my son alive* that whackos can’t work around. I’m frustrated. Suggestions are welcome.
#BanAssaultWeopons
I’m up for suggestions on how to keep
@tiktok_us
off of my eldest son’s iPhone. I’m trying to find a solution that he can’t work around. I’m frustrated. Suggestions are welcome.
#BanTikTok
the FL legislature is moving bills that allow 16-year-olds to 1) work up on a rooftop (SB460) and 2) overnight on a school night (HB49).
Santa, they're trying to replace you
Do you know who DOES deserve a statue in every town and city and county in Florida?
Sec. Jonathan Gibbs, the father of FL public education.
Didn’t know that? Maybe ask yourself why. And what statues they’re debating instead.
Someone who had a great mentor (who trained them to fill their spot and then made it happen) told me once their mentor told them “success without succession is failure in disguise” and I think on it daily
If I speak my truth, y’all will not like it. I will say this, there is something deeply sinister about holding onto power until the day you die. Even if you think you’re doing good, why haven’t you trained up the generations behind you to take over so you could pass the baton?
only 19% of FL voters support main provisions in HB49, rolling back child labor protections. Yet today the senate companion was filed as well.
Please
@Disney
@Target
@Publix
… pull your support for this toxic exploitative mess ..talk to your folks at
@FloridaRetail
@FRLAnews
Do Florida lawmakers not realize that the reason high school starts so early is because of money? It’s about using the same bus fleet for all the schools—are they doubling transpo $? (No)
🚨ICYMI The DeSantis Admin today sued the feds to overturn a new rule protecting kids from being kicked off KidCare for missing premium payments— risking a further delay in Florida’s KidCare expansion (& could affect all US CHIP programs). Only state to sue for this.
NEW: In a just-released statement, FPI CEO Sadaf Knight calls the state's lawsuit against CMS "a big step backward" after the recent expansion of FL's KidCare program.
Full statement below 👇👇👇
About 27,000 FL teenagers took AP psych last year. But it looks like the class won't be an option this year. Florida bans AP psychology over gender identity, sexual orientation lessons, College Board says
Fun fact: Florida has long had more people on ACA Marketplace coverage (aka Obamacare) than any other state — and it ain’t close. Last year 3.2 million Floridians signed up, 1 in 5 in the nation on Marketplace coverage
“We need to have a health care plan that works. ObamaCare hasn’t worked. We are going to replace and supersede with a better — better plan.”
DeSantis says his health care plan would ‘supersede’ ObamaCare
"(DeSantis) just invited Satanic chaplains into public schools, whether he likes it or not.”
-Lucien Greaves, co-founder of the Satanic Temple on Gov. DeSantis signing HB931
A lot of people are going to say this storm was overblown—a lot of national press made a huge hype when it hit a high Cat 5 in the Gulf, but local meteorologists like Denis Phillips were always emphasizing the wind shear should reduce its power to a 3, which is what happened
This story is bananas. Florida charges people $50 a day for their stay in prison. The state wants this woman to pay $127,000 because she was sentenced to 7 years—even though she only served 10 months.
A perfect example of how the gov’t sets people up to fail upon release.
HOT TIP:
If you find yourself defending going around federal rules to kick thousands of kids off healthcare by grousing about “personal responsibility,” you’re losing
Mississippi House passes Medicaid expansion 96-20!
I've said it before -- all states will get there eventually.
This isn't a partisan issue - its purely a fight between extremist R's and more reasonable R's. How long do you leave $ on the table + let your citizens get sicker?
Florida factoid of the day: did you know that our 1868 Constitution included free university for all?
(This was our Reconstruction constitution; the 1885 snap-back-to-confederacy constitution axed it, of course)
Over 460k kids in FL have lost Medicaid in 1 year, & now the most sick kids are being pushed off, parents are desperate.
Don't tell me "you care about babies" & then do this.
If you are a legislator or media w/ a health beat in FL, please read Joan's blog.
In short: next wk, the state is going to (without warning) require EVERY Medicaid, SNAP & TANF user to sign up for a new web portal, with 2 factor auth. (they'd need email plus a cell).
Breaking: On top of unwinding millions of Floridians will have to create a new account next week online.
My blog explains:
Florida’s Rolling Out a New Medicaid/SNAP Eligibility System Next Week – Throwing Gas on the Unwinding Fire via
@GeorgetownCCF
Time to vote Florida!
Our public schools & students need us to weigh in & vote for school board candidates who support all of our children & do not invite chaos into our schools.
(In Sarasota, that’s Edwards & Barker)
Aug 20 is last day to vote!! Get to it!
@tarantallegra
@byjoelanderson
It really really feels like he hid his illness and fight bc Hollywood would have quickly refused to hire him (a phenomenon I’ve read about), a travesty. Now his legacy proves this practice wrong, The strength! 💜😢
#WakandaForever
@MaxChesnes
@SilasMorgan1128
@FLDEPNews
@TB_Times
No, DEP, it doesn’t work that way. You cannot conjure a strawman to get out of this; they didn’t say there was a group behind it when they tried to slip this through so they don’t get to pawn off the outrage to a Dan Bongino concocted group stealing valor from Tuskegee Airmen
“Florida voters may have the final say in whether the state will expand Medicaid if Florida Decides Healthcare is able to collect enough signatures between today and early 2026.
The organization sponsoring the proposed constitutional amendment is officially kicking off” TODAY!
Sunburn — The morning 🌅 read of what’s hot ☕ ☕ in Florida politics — 2.1.24 — Burnin’ 🔥🔥 today: Medicaid expansion, vape shops, DeSantis v. Disney, hemp, Salazar & 28 Years Later
#FlaPol
Undoubtedly this taco-hating lady named her kid Severus after the character in Harry Potter, not knowing that for millennia this name was more associated with Severus, the emperor of Rome who had African roots. But sure, keep banning books
No policymaker, legislator, state government, or adult can claim to protect children and then introduce this language for consideration. As a Florida mama bear I say hell no.
There’s a bigoted guy named Radford roaming Tampa who murdered this nice man (Walt) in cold blood bc he was gay. This is terrifying & an obvious consequence of stoking anti-LGBT+ hate for political gain, added to “stand your ground” law ie “free pass to murder”
Witnesses say the man who fatally shot John Walter Lay at a Florida dog park had harassed him for months with slurs and threats because he was gay; no charges have been filed against the gunman, who is claiming self-defense.
Bahamians helped build South Florida in the 1800s. Florida is home to the largest Bahamian American community, near Coral Gables. In September 2023 alone, Florida exported over $100m of goods to the Bahamas, & imported over $40m.
.
@RonDeSantis
now says it would take '12 hours' to 'flatten' the Bahamas in the event its residents attacked Fort Lauderdale.
Reporting by
@AGGancarski
#FlaPol