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