Date: June 15^th, 2020 

Dear Florida CEC Members, 

Wow! What a year this has been. The roller coaster seems to have come in fast with no end in sight. I know we are all anxious to see what the 2020-2021 school year has in store for us! I hope that in the meantime all of you are beginning to enjoy your summer with some much needed time off, or at least a lightened work load. 

As we look forward to next year the FCEC board has needed to make some tough decisions. Please know that we do not take these decisions lightly and have explored all options. Due to the uncertain time, we have decided to cancel our annual conference that was scheduled for October 2020. I know it is an event that we all look forward to each year, but we cannot in good faith invest the money into a conference this year. With university and district budgets being frozen, and staff being furloughed or shuffled into distance learning positions, we feel that we cannot rely on attendance to be high enough to cover the conference costs. As FCEC board members, we pledge to be fiscally responsible. And at this time we feel that it would be fiscally irresponsible to plan a large face to face conference with potentially very low registration. 

We are pleased to announce that our contracted hotel, the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort, has agreed to the cancellation of the conference at no cost to FCEC. However, to leave our current contract at no charge, we do have to contract with them for both the 2021 and 2022 conferences. Although some people expressed through their conference survey that we should find a hotel not on the beach, we feel that this is a very reasonable offer and the financially responsible thing to do. So let’s get excited for the next few years as we return to sunny Daytona! 

I also want to take a moment to introduce our new FCEC president, Dr. Karen Ramlackhan. Dr. Ramlackhan will begin her presidency on July 1^st. Dr. Ramlackhan is an assistant professor at the University of South Florida. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, a master’s degree in Special Education and a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education both from the University of Florida. Formerly, she was a high school Algebra and elementary special education teacher. Currently, she teaches courses in different programs, primarily at the Master’s level, in the College of Education. Dr. Ramlackhan’s research is interdisciplinary and intersects with issues of policy, leadership, and social justice with particular emphasis on the (in)equitable policies and practices in schools and districts as well as the inclusion of marginalized populations in educational systems. 

Please help welcome Karen as our FCEC president, and know that I look forward to continuing to serve Florida CEC as the immediate past president. 

Sincerely,
Christy Fulater
FCEC President