HB 1, which would create a new form of private school voucher, has been touted as a safety net for bullied youth, but the reality is that this legislation makes a promise it cannot keep. Instead of providing a safe learning environment for all children, HB 1 would push the victims of bullying out of their schools and into private schools with fewer protections.
HB 9 is bad policy that would violate the Constitution, waste taxpayer money, make our communities less safe, and expose local law enforcement to costly civil rights lawsuits.
Florida Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, and Rep. Ben Diamond, D-St. Petersburg, filed legislation — SB 694 and HB 481 — today that would create a safety valve, allowing judges to depart from mandatory minimum sentencing for low-level drug crimes.
Immigrant children who have been illegally barred from enrolling in high school in Collier County, Florida, should be allowed to begin classes during the upcoming school year while a federal lawsuit filed on their behalf makes its way through court, according to a motion filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center today.
Last fall, the Florida Senate agreed without objection to strip the Confederate battle flag from its official seal. Today, Florida lawmakers are hearing testimony on a proposal that would go further toward redressing the wounds of slavery: the creation of a Florida Slavery Memorial at the state Capitol.
The SPLC and a broad coalition of advocates and legal scholars today urged Florida’s Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners to uphold a county resolution that has saved millions of tax dollars and improved community relations with police by not requiring officers to detain people for immigration authorities in county jails.
Federal education officials have announced that they will investigate Florida’s Pinellas County Schools for subjecting black students and students with disabilities to disproportionate arrests and restraints such as pepper spray for common misbehavior – an investigation sparked by a civil rights complaint filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
To help bring awareness to the fact that thousands of children are charged and held in the adult criminal justice system, the SPLC partnered with community groups in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to host community action events for Youth Justice Action Month (YJAM) events throughout October.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked a federal court to deny an attempt by Florida’s Collier County Public Schools to dismiss a SPLC lawsuit charging that the school district has illegally barred immigrant children with limited English skills from enrolling in high school.
The SPLC today announced a federal civil rights complaint against Pinellas County Schools (PCS) in Florida for subjecting black students and students with disabilities to disproportionate arrests and restraints such as pepper spray for common misbehavior.
