It's Charlie's turn to weigh in on FCAT

Gov. Charlie Crist has said in the past that he wants to "tweak" the FCAT and the way it gets used.

Now he has his chance.

Senate Bill 1908, which among other things decreases the importance of FCAT results on the state's grading of high schools, officially hit the governor's desk this morning. The bill also seeks to temper the state's FCAT culture by prohibiting schools from suspending the regular curriculum in favor of test prep.

Educators and lawmakers (even Democrats) have praised the bill as one of the better pieces of education legislation to come out of Tallahassee in a while. Crist has until July 4 to approve or or veto it.

Also on the governor's plate is SB 526, establishing a three-county pilot project that would allow student athletes at private schools to participate in public school sports. Earlier this week, Crist signed:

• HB 623, which requires school districts to consider universal free breakfast programs.
• SB 1906, which creates a pilot program offering high school credit to students in industry certification programs.
• SB 1414, which requires the Department of Education to annually evaluate supplemental education services providers.

The new laws take effect July 1.