This is interesting!

[URL]http://www.msnbc.com/local/wfla/MGAO129NKZC.asp?0na=x227G181-[/URL]

Lawmakers Open Book On Schools

TALLAHASSEE - Students could legally take loaded firearms to school - as long as the guns are kept locked in their cars.

Public school administrators in charge of multimillion- dollar school budgets and complicated curriculums would need no training in education.

These are some of the ways in which state lawmakers propose ``streamlining'' the state education system as they complete an extensive and far- ranging rewrite of education laws.

The 1,800 pages of revisions lawmakers began tackling Tuesday at the start of a special legislative session are described by legislative leaders and Gov. Jeb Bush as a 21st century updating.

But a close look at competing proposals circulating in both chambers shows lawmakers going far beyond mere revision of the state's decades- old patchwork of education codes.

``This bill does nothing ... the polls show the people wanted,'' said Sen. Les Miller, D-Tampa, the only member of the Education Committee to vote against the Senate's proposed revisions Tuesday. ``It doesn't reduce class size, it doesn't address teacher shortages, it doesn't improve teacher pay.''

The goal is to revamp state education laws to reflect Florida's new approach to governing public schools, community colleges and universities.

``The last time [the state] attempted anything like this was 1941,'' said Jim Horne, a former state senator appointed by Bush to serve as Florida's new education secretary.

Bush called on legislative leaders Tuesday to quickly resolve differences in competing House and Senate versions. He threw his support behind a compromise plan hammered out in the final hours of the 2002 regular session that Senate leaders have since abandoned.

House Speaker Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo, warned Tuesday that he's ready to send lawmakers in his chamber home until a compromise is reached if Senate leaders send over a substantially different proposal.

Differences must be ironed out this week if lawmakers are to meet a self-imposed Friday deadline. Among them: * Charter schools: House leaders want the state to have final say over creation of new charter schools. Senate leaders want to leave it up to local school boards.

* Religious rights: The House wants to make it clear students have the right to talk about their religious views on campus. The Senate wants to leave the issue untouched.

* Alzheimer's research: The House includes dedicated funding for Alzheimer's research at the University of South Florida. The Senate version doesn't.

Sen. Ron Klein, D-Delray Beach, tried Tuesday to yank a provision contained in both the House and Senate versions that eases the state's ``zero tolerance'' prohibiting firearms on campus. Local school boards could allow students and employees to bring guns to schools if they keep them locked in their vehicles.

``I don't think it's appropriate to have firearms on campus,'' said Klein, who later abandoned his effort to remove the provision. ``If you want to be consistent in keeping weapons out of our schools, we should think really hard about this.''

University presidents, Florida's community colleges, local school boards and the state PTA have endorsed the bulk of the rewrite.

when i was in HS in the late 80s early 90's we used to go hunting before school, arrive early, shower and change in the gym locker room and go about our school day. aaahhh life in the country (and that was in MD no less)