About Upcoming Events Student Activities Membership Contacting Us

Quick Links
 Announcements
FSMTA Newsletter
Member Database
FSMT Foundation
Conference
Internet Links

FSMTA Officers
Standing Committees
District/Local Associations
Certified Members
Code of Ethics
Legislative Activities
Map of Districts
Legislative Activities
 

 

 As an affiliate of the Music Teachers National Association, and as a member of both the Florida Cultural Alliance and the Florida Alliance for Arts Education, the FSMTA is committed to being involved in Legislative Activities concerning Arts Education in the State of Florida. Our State Chairman is Sonja Rozier.
 
Legislative Alert: April 3, 2008
 
SB 610 was passed by the Senate Education K-12 Appropriations Committee with an added sentence (last bullet below) which we believe will be helpful.  This is the PE bill for grades 6-8.
 
The bill requires:
  • The equivalent of one class period per day of physical education for one semester each year for students in grades 6-8.
  • The requirement shall be waived for a student who meets the following criteria:
    • The student is enrolled or required to enroll in a remedial course
    • The student’s parent indicates in writing to the school –
      • A request that the student enroll in another course offered as options by the district, OR
      • The student is participating in physical activities outside the school day equal to or in excess of the mandated requirement
  • School districts must provide notice to the parents of these options in advance of scheduling the students for physical education.
 
This is the final committee stop in the Senate.  The next time this bill is heard will be on the Senate floor. 
 
House bill 757, which is the companion bill to 610, has not been scheduled for a hearing, as yet.  It must make its way through the committee process and to the floor of the House before any of this can become law. 
 
We do believe the amendments accepted in the Senate provide a way for physical education and other important electives – such as music and the arts – to co-exist.  If this bill becomes law – given that the House bill makes its way through the process – music teachers will want to be certain that the course options offered by their school includes music classes. 
 
For music instructors whose band, chorus, or orchestra classes are not meeting staffing requirements, this may be an opportunity to offer a course that would appeal to a wider range of students – such as keyboards, guitar, sound engineering, or another “outside the box” music class. 
 
No further legislative action is required at this time

Sonja A. Rozier, Arts Awareness and Advocacy Chair

As the 2008 Legislative Session looms in the near future, we will be receiving Legislative Alerts from the Florida Alliance for Arts Education, as we are one of their State Partners. There are bills that will be brought before the Legislature that will greatly impact the arts for students in Florida. Please read these Alerts and share with any FSMTA member or friend who can help us fight for our children's arts education. Current alerts can be found of the FMEA website.
 

 

  



This site is best viewed with a version 5.0+ Internet Explorer browser.
Any questions or comments about the site? Contact the webmaster at webmaster@fmta.org

All contents © Copyright of FSMTA 2004-2007
Florida State Music Teachers Association is affiliated with the