Not today

When the House Schools and Learning Council meets this morning, it won't be taking up Rep. Alan Hays' "academic freedom" bill relating to the origin of species. The legislation, which already has been heavily amended as it moves through the Senate, has yet to receive one hearing on the House side, and the Legislature wraps at the end of the month.

Don't read much into this lack of action.

The council has one more meeting planned, and chairman Joe Pickens tells the Gradebook that the bill isn't dead yet.

"We still may hear something," Pickens says, adding that he plans to consult Speaker Marco Rubio on the issue. "It's not determined. It's definitely not a 'no' yet."

He noted that the House doesn't have an Ethics in Education bill similar to the one that won Senate approval last week. Yet the chamber expects to take up the measure, which would impose harsher sanctions on teachers convicted of misconduct against students. It's just waiting for the Senate to send it over.

In other words, don't think of the remaining three weeks as a short time, but rather as a period where anything can happen.

(Image from BBC.com)