Catherwood LibraryILR School

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is continuing the education crusade he began in office. Bush is seeking to push SB 6, a teacher tenure bill through the Florida legislature. The bill would get rid of multi-year contracts, base salary increases on student performance on standardized tests and eliminate experience as a measurement for raises. Many see Bush's efforts to pass SB 6 as aimed at the Florida Education Association as much as reforming schools. The FEA is Florida's largest union, and represents about 140,000 workers, including 100,000 public school teachers. While Bush has had support from fellow Florida Democrats like Governor Charlie Crist and Senator Marco Rubio, their support for SB 6 has seemed to waver. FEA President Andy Ford agreed with those who said that the bill was aimed at the FEA, and said that the union's Democratic leanings, seen by some as the reason for the attack, were because Democrats were more willing to fund public schools and that they have more of a respect for human rights and unions. A spokesman for Bush's foundation said that the passage of the bill would not eliminate collective bargaining, but that union could negotiate the size of raises that would be based on student's results on standardized tests. This fight is seen by many as just another in Bush's disagreements with Florida teachers on the right way to reform public education.