Schools Need Flexibility Now: Outdated Spending Rules Limit Learning

Guest Column by Mike Jennings

Most of us take for granted the ability to use technology to access and convey information. In fact, it would be hard to imagine any serious business operating without computers and the workers who know how to use them.

What is expected in the workplace is often unavailable in the very classrooms where we are training tomorrow’s workforce.

That needs to change now, before more of our students are left behind by their peers in other states.

Employers expect it. Students need it. Parents should demand it.

The good news is that Senate Bill 1124, introduced by Senator Thad Altman (R, Melbourne) and its companion, House Bill 623 by Rep. Rachel Burgin (R, Brandon) will help provide our school districts the authority to bring more technology into our classrooms.

A similar provision is also in a budget-related bill in the Florida House of Representatives.

At issue is a pot of money each district can use for instructional materials. Half of that budget is dedicated to the purchase of textbooks and learning aids that are on a state-approved list. The remainder can be used for other books or items like digital learning materials and software, but not for the hardware to run them.

School districts should be able to – at their discretion – devote some of this money to computers. The bills currently before the Legislature would give them that flexibility.

Also understand that this isn’t about spending more money; it’s about spending existing funds more efficiently.

The State of Texas has passed essentially the same legislation already. Georgia and New York are looking at similar bills. And California is moving to all-digital textbooks in their schools.

These states realize that computers are to the 21st century what telephones and typewriters were to the 20th.

Employees in almost every field use technology to do their jobs better. They might not need to know how to write programs or create Web sites, but they certainly need to be comfortable using computers to find information and communicate with others.

Still, the proposed legislation does not reduce the amount of money districts can spend on textbooks. It will still prevent districts from using the money from this source for administrative purchases (like office equipment, for example.)

It simply allows them to dedicate a portion of their funding to computer hardware, based on their own priorities.

Schools in Florida already face enough challenges in matching limited resources against growing needs. They should not also have to fight against outdated regulations that handcuff teachers and prohibit common-sense learning enhancements.

As Chairman of the Board for Associated Industries of Florida, representing thousands of employers around the state, and founded here in Duval County, we have been fighting the battle against outdated or burdensome regulations on behalf of employers for more than 90 years.

The same philosophy applies to education.

We should set standards at the state level and then give districts the flexibility to meet those standards, using the resources and local decisions that meet their individual needs.

Florida needs to give its 67 school districts the authority to decide how best to spend their instructional materials budgets.

The Florida Legislature needs to pass these good bills now.

Mike Jennings is Chairman of the Board for Associated Industries of Florida.