By BRANDON LARRABEE
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
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THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 27, 2017……… Republican divisions on standardized testing temporarily scuttled a bill aimed at cutting back on the number of exams students face in public schools, though Senate leaders said they believed a vote Monday would not completely derail action on the issue.
The Senate Education Committee voted narrowly Monday to postpone action on the measure (SB 926), one of several dealing with testing during this year’s legislative session. A bipartisan mutiny was led by Sen. Tom Lee, a Thonotosassa Republican who is a vocal opponent of the state’s standardized testing regime and who has increasingly become an irritant to his chamber’s GOP leadership.
Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Lee said the process for dealing with the testing bill was “an abomination to our own rules” and was meant to trump legislation from Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat who doubles as head of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.
