By Staff Report
The Senate voted 36-2 on Thursday to approve a proposal directing county school districts to display portraits of Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln in every public school.
The measure, SB 420, would require the Department of Education to select the portraits and distribute them to school districts. Each district would be required to adopt rules governing how the portraits are displayed.
Sens. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, and Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville, voted against the bill.
A similar proposal, HB 371, is awaiting action on the House floor.
The Senate budget includes $200,000 for what is described as a “Patriotic Displays” initiative. The House budget proposal does not include funding for the effort.
The portraits would be incorporated into the state’s “patriotic program” law, which already requires public schools to display the official Florida motto, “In God We Trust.”
AMBER PATINO 
SKYLA CARTER