Florida 2022 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0125 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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3	3	HB 125 2022
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10	10	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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14	14	A bill to be entitled 1
15	15	An act relating to compulsory school attendance; 2
16	16	amending s. 1003.21, F.S.; revising the required age 3
17	17	for compulsory school attendance from 16 to 18 years 4
18	18	of age; deleting a requirement that a student's parent 5
19	19	sign a declaration of intent to terminate school 6
20	20	enrollment; deleting a requirement that the school 7
21	21	district notify a student's parent upon receipt of 8
22	22	such declaration; amending ss. 1002.20 and 1003.51 , 9
23	23	F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the 10
24	24	act; providing an effective date. 11
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26	26	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13
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28	28	Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (1) of 15
29	29	section 1003.21, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 16
30	30	1003.21 School attendance. — 17
31	31	(1)(a)1. All children who have attained the age of 6 years 18
32	32	or who will have attained the age of 6 years by February 1 of 19
33	33	any school year or who are older than 6 years of age but who 20
34	34	have not attained the age of 18 16 years, except as otherwise 21
35	35	provided, are required to attend school regularly during the 22
36	36	entire school term. 23
37	37	2. Children who will have attained the age of 5 years on 24
38	38	or before September 1 of the school year are eligible for 25
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40	40	HB 125 2022
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44	44	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
45	45	hb0125-00
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47	47	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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51	51	admission to public kinderga rtens during that school year under 26
52	52	rules adopted by the district school board. 27
53	53	(c) A student who attains the age of 18 16 years during 28
54	54	the school year is not subject to compulsory school attendance 29
55	55	beyond the date upon which he or she attains that age i f the 30
56	56	student files a formal declaration of intent to terminate school 31
57	57	enrollment with the district school board. Public school 32
58	58	students who have attained the age of 18 16 years and who have 33
59	59	not graduated are subject to compulsory school attendance until 34
60	60	the formal declaration of intent is filed with the district 35
61	61	school board. The declaration must acknowledge that terminating 36
62	62	school enrollment is likely to reduce the student's earning 37
63	63	potential and must be signed by the student and the student's 38
64	64	parent. The school district shall notify the student's parent of 39
65	65	receipt of the student's declaration of intent to terminate 40
66	66	school enrollment. The student's certified school counselor or 41
67	67	other school personnel shall conduct an exit interview with the 42
68	68	student to determine the reasons for the student's decision to 43
69	69	terminate school enrollment and actions that could be taken to 44
70	70	keep the student in school. The student's certified school 45
71	71	counselor or other school personnel shall inform the student of 46
72	72	opportunities to conti nue his or her education in a different 47
73	73	environment, including, but not limited to, adult education and 48
74	74	high school equivalency examination preparation. Additionally, 49
75	75	the student shall complete a survey in a format prescribed by 50
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77	77	HB 125 2022
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81	81	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
82	82	hb0125-00
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84	84	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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88	88	the Department of Education to provide data on student reasons 51
89	89	for terminating enrollment and actions taken by schools to keep 52
90	90	students enrolled. 53
91	91	Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) of 54
92	92	section 1002.20, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 55
93	93	1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public 56
94	94	school students must receive accurate and timely information 57
95	95	regarding their child's academic progress and must be informed 58
96	96	of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K -12 59
97	97	students and their parents are af forded numerous statutory 60
98	98	rights including, but not limited to, the following: 61
99	99	(2) ATTENDANCE.— 62
100	100	(a) Compulsory school attendance. —The compulsory school 63
101	101	attendance laws apply to all children between the ages of 6 and 64
102	102	18 16 years, as provided in s. 1003. 21(1) and (2)(a), and, in 65
103	103	accordance with the provisions of s. 1003.21(1) and (2)(a): 66
104	104	1. A student who attains the age of 18 16 years during the 67
105	105	school year has the right to file a formal declaration of intent 68
106	106	to terminate school enrollment if the declaration is signed by 69
107	107	the parent. The parent has the right to be notified by the 70
108	108	school district of the district's receipt of the student's 71
109	109	declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment. 72
110	110	2. Students who become or have become married or who are 73
111	111	pregnant and parenting have the right to attend school and 74
112	112	receive the same or equivalent educational instruction as other 75
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114	114	HB 125 2022
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118	118	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
119	119	hb0125-00
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121	121	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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125	125	students. 76
126	126	(b) Regular school attendance. —Parents of students who 77
127	127	have attained the age of 6 years by February 1 of any school 78
128	128	year but who have not attained the age of 18 16 years must 79
129	129	comply with the compulsory school attendance laws. Parents have 80
130	130	the option to comply with the school attendance laws by 81
131	131	attendance of the student in a public school; a parochial, 82
132	132	religious, or denominational school; a private school; a home 83
133	133	education program; or a private tutoring program, in accordance 84
134	134	with the provisions of s. 1003.01(13). 85
135	135	Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section 86
136	136	1003.51, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 87
137	137	1003.51 Other public educational services. — 88
138	138	(4) Each district school board shall: 89
139	139	(a) Notify students in juvenile justice education programs 90
140	140	who attain the age of 16 years of the law regarding compulsory 91
141	141	school attendance and make available the option of enrolling in 92
142	142	an education program to attain a Florida high school diploma by 93
143	143	taking the high school equivalency examination before release 94
144	144	from the program. The Department of Education shall assist 95
145	145	juvenile justice education programs with becoming high school 96
146	146	equivalency examination centers. 97
147	147	Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 98