Florida Senate OKs Bill to Abolish Teacher Tenure.

Public school teachers' pay and certification renewals would be linked to their students' test scores and it would be easier to fire them under a bill that passed Wednesday in the Florida Senate.

The chamber also passed a bill that would expand a private school voucher program. Both passed the Republican-controlled Senate on largely party-line votes. Both are opposed by the Florida Education Association, the statewide teachers union, an important Democratic constituency group.

The bills next go to the House, where the voucher measure also expected to win approval, and then to Gov. Charlie Crist, who spoke at a pro-voucher rally outside the Capitol a couple hours after the vote. Sponsors said more than 5,000 attended, mostly voucher students from across Florida.