Timeline of Change

February 2000  
Florida board of regents adopts Gov. Jeb Bush's One Florida Plan, which eliminates the use of affirmative action policies in admissions in the state in exchange for a system giving special consideration to students who demonstrate economic or educational disadvantage. One Florida also guarantees admission to high school students who rank in the top 20 percent of their senior class to a state university, regardless of SAT or ACT scores. The plan also earmarks $20 million in need-based financial aid for low-income students attending state institutions and directs additional resources toward improving outcomes at middle schools and high schools that rank in the D and F categories on statewide performance indicators. The plan gets mixed reviews from African Americans and others. Critics say the new plan will cause the state's HBCUs to shoulder a disproportionate share of the burden of admitting students who, though they rank in the top 20 percent of their senior class, do not qualify for admission to the state's most selective institutions.

May 2000
Florida legislators pass HB 2263, which creates a new governance system for education in the state. The move triggers the beginning of a process for ending nearly all existing education governing bodies in the state, including the board of regents and the state board of community colleges. The new model creates a "seamless, student-centered," pre-kindergarten through graduate school (K-20) system that will emphasize academic success.
June 2000
Gov. Bush signs legislation granting FAMU permission to reinstate its law school, after a 30-year battle. The previous law school was closed in 1968.

August 2000
A 12-member transition task force is appointed to implement the state's new education governance system. The task force includes five appointees named by the governor, three named by the speaker of the state legislature and three named by the president of the state senate. The task force, which meets monthly in a public forum, is charged with completing the transition by 2003.