QEC Minutes 3.18.2025COMMITTEE FOR QUALITY EDUCATION
City of Miami Beach Tuesday, March 18, 2025
9:00am-11:00am
MINUTES
If you are unable to attend, please call Dr. Leslie Rosenfeld, Committee Liaison, at 305.323.2717
Members Present: Beverly Heller, Mary Keinath, James Orlowsky, Amy Ostroff, Jonathan Rothman,
Karen Fryd, Hayley Ross, Ayala Jeger Mendlowitz, Jelena Khurana, Rina Bass, Laurie Kaye Davis, Faiza
Liban, Donielle Cohen, and Christine Perrin-Stocco,
Members Absent: Seth Guttenberg, Jacquelynn Powers, Elizabeth Soto, Devorah Zeiger
Motion 1
Made by Laurie Kaye Davis
Second by Mary Keinath
The Committee for Quality Education requests the Mayor and Commission support Biscayne Beach
Elementary Community Schoolyard concepts presented by the Trust for Public Land including the
identification of funding.
The Committee for Quality Education urges the Mayor and Commission to support the above request.
Motion Passage: Votes 12-0
Motion 2
Made by Rina Bass
Second by Beverly Heller
The Committee for Quality Education (CQE) requests the Mayor and Commission support the inclusion of
3-year-olds in the PreK Scholarship program and continue to engage the CQE in conversations regarding
the development of the initiative.
The Committee for Quality Education urges the Mayor and Commission to support the above request.
Motion Passage: Votes 14-0
Motion 3
Made by Laurie Kaye Davis
Second by Faiza Liban
The Committee for Quality Education (CQE) requests the Mayor and Commission support the Miami-Dade
County Public School Board’s position on HB 261/SB296 and HB123/SB140 and add these to the City of
Miami Beach’s legislative priorities
HB 261/SB 296 MIAMI BEACH SUPPORTS MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS POSITION
ON PROVIDING FLEXIBILTY WITH MANDATED MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL START TIME
CHANGES.
HB 261 and SB 296 removes the requirement that middle and high schools start by specified
times beginning in the 2026-2027 school year but provide flexibility in maintaining school start
If you are unable to attend, please call Dr. Leslie Rosenfeld, Committee Liaison, at 305.323.2717
times, retaining the requirement that district school boards inform the local community about
the health and safety ramifications of sleep deprivation and "consider" the benefits of later start
times.
HB 123 / SB 140 MIAMI BEACH SUPPORTS MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS POSITION ON THIS OPPOSITION
HB 123 and SB 140 propose unwarranted changes to a School Board’s property holdings and to the charter conversion process. We urge the Legislature to reject and reconsider proposals that would adversely affect education and would bypass core tenets that have served Florida school districts for over a century
and run counter to the state constitution.
The Committee for Quality Education urges the Mayor and Commission to support the above request.
Motion Passage: Votes 13-0
Adjournment
FUTURE MEETING DATES:
4/22/25
5/20/25