Floor Vote for

Bill Number:	0001A
Date:	Thursday, December 16, 2004
Reading #:	3
Barcode #:	NA
Amend. #:	NA
Sequence:	12
In the Chair:	Bense
Floor Actions:	Passage

Y Adams
Y Allen
Y Altman
- Ambler
Y Anderson
N Antone
Y Arza
Y Attkisson
N Ausley
Y Barreiro
Y Baxley
Y Bean
N Bendross-Mindingall
Y Bense
Y Benson
Y Berfield
Y Bilirakis
Y Bogdanoff
Y Bowen
N Brandenburg
Y Brown
Y Brummer
N Brutus
N Bucher
N Bullard
Y Cannon
Y Carroll
Y Clarke
Y Coley, D.
Y Cretul
Y Culp
N Cusack
Y Davis, D.
Y Davis, M.
Y Dean
Y Detert
Y Domino
Y Evers
Y Farkas
N Fields
Y Flores
Y Galvano
- Gannon
- Garcia, R.
Y Gardiner
N Gelber
N Gibson
Y Gibson, H.
Y Glorioso
Y Goldstein
Y Goodlette
N Gottlieb
Y Grant
N Greenstein
Y Grimsley
Y Harrell
Y Hasner
Y Hays
N Henriquez
N Holloway
Y Homan
Y Hukill
N Jennings
Y Johnson
Y Jordan
N Joyner
N Justice
N Kendrick
Y Kottkamp
Y Kravitz
Y Kreegel
- Kyle
Y Legg
Y Littlefield
Y Llorente
Y Lopez-Cantera
N Machek
Y Mahon
Y Mayfield
N McInvale
N Meadows
Y Mealor
Y Murzin
Y Needelman
Y Negron
Y Patterson
N Peterman
Y Pickens
Y Planas
Y Poppell
N Porth
Y Proctor
Y Quinones
Y Reagan
Y Rice
N Richardson
Y Rivera
Y Robaina
N Roberson, Y.
Y Ross
Y Rubio
Y Russell
N Ryan
N Sands
Y Sansom
N Seiler
Y Simmons
N Slosberg
N Smith
N Sobel
Y Sorensen
Y Stansel
Y Stargel
N Taylor, P.
Y Traviesa
Y Troutman
N Vana
Y Waters
Y Williams, T.
Y Zapata

Total Yeas: 82

Total Nays: 34

Total Abstained: 0

Total Missed: 4

Total Votes: 116

Vote After Roll Call:

Yeas

Kyle

12/16/2004 11:06:08 AM

Nays

Gannon

01/03/2005 12:51:24 PM

Explanations of Vote:

Brutus -

Simply put, this bill falls short. Floridians voted and asked us to provide our children with a strong base for academic success. This bill lacks the structure needed to comply with this request. Florida's children ought to have teachers with college degrees, small classes and a full school day. I hope we can revisit this issue during the upcoming 2005 regular session.
Cusack -

The quality of our pre-kindergarten program will set the academic tone for generations of young students. If we do this one right, we will send our four and five year olds into their educational careers far more inspired and better prepared to achieve success in school. If we fail, our children could stumble through school until graduation or they drop out, frustrated from the start. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this legislation falls short of the standards we should expect in a quality prekindergarten program. There are insufficient academic standards, and the requirements for teachers fall short of what we should expect in our schools. In addition, the three-hour school day for prekindergartners is an inadequate attempt to implement the voter's mandate, and just like many other public-private programs, guidelines to account for public dollars are scarce at best. I hope we can revisit this issue during the upcoming 2005 regular session.
Ryan -

In 2000, voters went to the polls and approved a constitutional amendment requiring the state to offer a high-quality pre-kindergarten program. I believe the overwhelming support for this measure, as well as for the amendment to reduce class size, reflects a dissatisfaction with the level of funding for public education in this state – a sentiment I happen to share. While I very strongly agree that we should have a high-quality pre-kindergarten program in Florida, I had no choice but to vote against this bill. I don’t think this legislation is what the voters had in mind when they voted for the UPK amendment. There are not adequate academic standards, the requirements for teachers are not high enough, the three-hour school day called for in this bill is not long enough and there are insufficient accountability measures to ensure taxpayer money is properly spent and that it is actually being used to teach children. I therefore voted against this bill. I am hopeful, however, that the governor will veto this bill, and the legislature will revisit this issue in the 2005 session to pass a UPK plan that better meets the state’s needs.
Sobel -

The quality of our pre-kindergarten program will set the academic tone for generations of young students. If we do this one right, we will send our four and five year olds into their educational careers far more inspired and better prepared to achieve success in school. If we fail, our children could stumble through school until graduation, frustrated from the start. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this legislation falls short of the standards we should expect in a quality prekindergarten program. There are insufficient academic standards, and the requirements for teachers fall short of what we should expect in our schools. In addition, the three-hour school day for prekindergartners is an inadequate attempt to implement the voter's mandate, and just like many other public-private programs, guidelines to account for public dollars are scarce at best. I hope we can revisit this issue during the upcoming 2005 regular session.