CS/HB 1467, Engrossed 1 2022 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1467-02-e1 Page 1 of 12 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P RE S E N T A T I V E S A bill to be entitled 1 An act relating to K -12 education; amending s. 2 1001.35, F.S.; establishing term limits for school 3 board members; amending s. 1006.28, F.S.; deleting a 4 requirement that district school boards maintain a 5 specified list on their websites; requiring certain 6 meetings relating to instructional materials to be 7 noticed and open to the public; providing requirements 8 for the membership of committees related to 9 instructional materials; requiring certain individuals 10 involved in selecting library materials to complete a 11 specified training; requiring certain materials to be 12 selected by employees who meet specified criteria; 13 requiring district school boards to adopt procedures 14 for developing library media center collections; 15 providing requirements for such procedures; requ iring 16 elementary schools, district school boards, and the 17 Department of Education to post on their websites 18 specified information relating to instructional 19 materials and other materials in certain formats; 20 providing district school board requirements; 21 providing school principals are responsible for 22 overseeing compliance with specified procedures 23 relating to library media center materials; amending 24 s. 1006.29, F.S.; revising requirements for the 25 CS/HB 1467, Engrossed 1 2022 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1467-02-e1 Page 2 of 12 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P RE S E N T A T I V E S department relating to the development of training 26 programs for the selection of materials used in 27 schools and library media centers; amending s. 28 1006.40, F.S.; revising district school board 29 requirements for the selection and adoption of certain 30 materials; providing an effective date. 31 32 Be It Enacted by the Legisl ature of the State of Florida: 33 34 Section 1. Section 1001.35, Florida Statutes, is amended 35 to read: 36 1001.35 Term of office. —District school board members 37 shall be elected at the general election in November for terms 38 of 4 years except that a person may not appear on the ballot for 39 reelection to the office of school board member if, by the end 40 of his or her current term of office, the person will have 41 served, or but for resignation would have served, in that office 42 for 8 consecutive years. Service of a t erm of office which 43 commenced before November 8, 2022, will not be counted toward 44 the limitation imposed by this section . 45 Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection (2) and 46 subsection (4) of section 1006.28, Florida Statutes, are 47 amended, and paragraph (e) is added to subsection (2) of that 48 section, to read: 49 1006.28 Duties of district school board, district school 50 CS/HB 1467, Engrossed 1 2022 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1467-02-e1 Page 3 of 12 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P RE S E N T A T I V E S superintendent; and school principal regarding K -12 51 instructional materials. — 52 (2) DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD. —The district school board h as 53 the constitutional duty and responsibility to select and provide 54 adequate instructional materials for all students in accordance 55 with the requirements of this part. The district school board 56 also has the following specific duties and responsibilities: 57 (a) Courses of study; adoption. —Adopt courses of study, 58 including instructional materials, for use in the schools of the 59 district. 60 1. Each district school board is responsible for the 61 content of all instructional materials and any other materials 62 used in a classroom, made available in a school library, or 63 included on a reading list, whether adopted and purchased from 64 the state-adopted instructional materials list, adopted and 65 purchased through a district instructional materials program 66 under s. 1006.283, or otherwise purchased or made available. 67 Each district school board shall maintain on its website a 68 current list of instructional materials, by grade level, 69 purchased by the district. 70 2. Each district school board must adopt a policy 71 regarding an objection by a parent or a resident of the county 72 to the use of a specific instructional material, which clearly 73 describes a process to handle all objections and provides for 74 resolution. The process must provide the parent or resident the 75 CS/HB 1467, Engrossed 1 2022 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1467-02-e1 Page 4 of 12 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P RE S E N T A T I V E S opportunity to proffer evidence to the district school board 76 that: 77 a. An instructional material does not meet the criteria of 78 s. 1006.31(2) or s. 1006.40(3)(d) if it was selected for use in 79 a course or otherwise made available to students in the school 80 district but was not su bject to the public notice, review, 81 comment, and hearing procedures under s. 1006.283(2)(b)8., 9., 82 and 11. 83 b. Any material used in a classroom, made available in a 84 school library, or included on a reading list contains content 85 that is pornographic or pro hibited under s. 847.012, is not 86 suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the 87 material presented, or is inappropriate for the grade level and 88 age group for which the material is used. 89 90 If the district school board finds that an instructional 91 material does not meet the criteria under sub -subparagraph a. or 92 that any other material contains prohibited content under sub -93 subparagraph b., the school district shall discontinue use of 94 the material for any grade level or age group for which such use 95 is inappropriate or unsuitable. 96 3. Each district school board must establish a process by 97 which the parent of a public school student or a resident of the 98 county may contest the district school board 's adoption of a 99 specific instructional material. The parent or resident must 100 CS/HB 1467, Engrossed 1 2022 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1467-02-e1 Page 5 of 12 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P RE S E N T A T I V E S file a petition, on a form provided by the school board, within 101 30 calendar days after the adoption of the instructional 102 material by the school board. The school board must make the 103 form available to the public and publish the form on the school 104 district's website. The form must be signed by the parent or 105 resident, include the required contact information, and state 106 the objection to the instructional material based on the 107 criteria of s. 1006.31(2) or s. 1006.40(3)(d). Within 30 days 108 after the 30-day period has expired, the school board must, for 109 all petitions timely received, conduct at least one open public 110 hearing before an unbiased and qualified hearing officer. The 111 hearing officer may not be an employee or agent of the school 112 district. The hearing is not subject to the provisions of 113 chapter 120; however, the hearing must provide sufficient 114 procedural protections to allow each petitioner an adequate and 115 fair opportunity to be hea rd and present evidence to the hearing 116 officer. The school board's decision after convening a hearing 117 is final and not subject to further petition or review. 118 4. Meetings of committees convened for the purpose of 119 ranking, eliminating, or selecting instruc tional materials for 120 recommendation to the district school board must be noticed and 121 open to the public in accordance with s. 286.011. Any committees 122 convened for such purposes must include parents of district 123 students. 124 (d) School library media services; establishment and 125 CS/HB 1467, Engrossed 1 2022 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1467-02-e1 Page 6 of 12 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P RE S E N T A T I V E S maintenance.—Establish and maintain a program of school library 126 media services for all public schools in the district, including 127 school library media centers, or school library media centers 128 open to the public, and, in addition such trav eling or 129 circulating libraries as may be needed for the proper operation 130 of the district school system. Each school district shall 131 provide training to School librarians, and media specialists, 132 and other personnel involved in the selection of school distric t 133 library materials must complete the training program developed 134 pursuant to s. 1006.29(5) before reviewing and selecting 135 regarding the prohibition against distributing harmful materials 136 to minors under s. 847.012 and applicable case law, and best 137 practices for providing students access to age-appropriate 138 materials and library resources. Upon written request, a school 139 district shall provide access to any material or book specified 140 in the request that is maintained in a district school system 141 library and is available for review. 142 1. Each book made available to students through a school 143 district library media center or included in a recommended or 144 assigned school or grade -level reading list must be selected by 145 a school district employee who holds a valid educ ational media 146 specialist certificate, regardless of whether the book is 147 purchased, donated, or otherwise made available to students. 148 2. Each district school board shall adopt procedures for 149 developing library media center collections and post the 150 CS/HB 1467, Engrossed 1 2022 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1467-02-e1 Page 7 of 12 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P RE S E N T A T I V E S procedures on the website for each school within the district. 151 The procedures must: 152 a. Require that book selections meet the criteria in s. 153 1006.40(3)(d). 154 b. Require consultation of reputable, professionally 155 recognized reviewing periodicals and school communi ty 156 stakeholders. 157 c. Provide for library media center collections based on 158 reader interest, support of state academic standards and aligned 159 curriculum, and the academic needs of students and faculty. 160 d. Provide for the regular removal or discontinuance of 161 books based on, at a minimum, physical condition, rate of recent 162 circulation, alignment to state academic standards and relevancy 163 to curriculum, out-of-date content, and required removal 164 pursuant to subparagraph (a)2. 165 3. Each elementary school must pu blish on its website, in 166 a searchable format prescribed by the department, a list of all 167 materials maintained in the school library media center or 168 required as part of a school or grade -level reading list. 169 (e) Public participation. —Publish on its website , in a 170 searchable format prescribed by the department, a list of all 171 instructional materials, including those used to provide 172 instruction required by s. 1003.42. Each district school board 173 must: 174 1. Provide access to all materials, excluding teacher 175 CS/HB 1467, Engrossed 1 2022 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1467-02-e1 Page 8 of 12 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P RE S E N T A T I V E S editions, in accordance with s. 1006.283(2)(b)8.a. before the 176 district school board takes any official action on such 177 materials. This process must include reasonable safeguards 178 against the unauthorized use, reproduction, and distribution of 179 instructional materi als considered for adoption. 180 2. Select, approve, adopt, or purchase all materials as a 181 separate line item on the agenda and must provide a reasonable 182 opportunity for public comment. The use of materials described 183 in this paragraph may not be selected, ap proved, or adopted as 184 part of a consent agenda. 185 3. Annually, beginning June 30, 2023, submit to the 186 Commissioner of Education a report that identifies: 187 a. Each material not purchased from the state -adopted list 188 for which the school district received an objection pursuant to 189 subparagraph (a)2. for the school year and the specific 190 objections thereto. 191 b. Each material that was removed or discontinued as a 192 result of an objection. 193 c. The grade level and course for which a removed or 194 discontinued material was used, as applicable. 195 196 The department shall publish and regularly update a list of 197 materials that were removed or discontinued as a result of an 198 objection and disseminate the list to school districts for 199 consideration in their selection procedures. 200 CS/HB 1467, Engrossed 1 2022 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1467-02-e1 Page 9 of 12 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P RE S E N T A T I V E S (4) SCHOOL PRINCIPAL. —The school principal has the 201 following duties for the management and care of instructional 202 materials at the school: 203 (a) Proper use of instructional materials. —The principal 204 shall assure that instructional materials are used to provid e 205 instruction to students enrolled at the grade level or levels 206 for which the materials are designed, pursuant to adopted 207 district school board rule. The school principal shall 208 communicate to parents the manner in which instructional 209 materials are used to implement the curricular objectives of the 210 school. 211 (b) Money collected for lost or damaged instructional 212 materials; enforcement. —The school principal shall collect from 213 each student or the student's parent the purchase price of any 214 instructional material the student has lost, destroyed, or 215 unnecessarily damaged and to report and transmit the money 216 collected to the district school superintendent. The failure to 217 collect such sum upon reasonable effort by the school principal 218 may result in the suspension of the student from participation 219 in extracurricular activities or satisfaction of the debt by the 220 student through community service activities at the school site 221 as determined by the school principal, pursuant to policies 222 adopted by district school board rul e. 223 (c) Sale of instructional materials. —The school principal, 224 upon request of the parent of a student in the school, shall 225 CS/HB 1467, Engrossed 1 2022 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1467-02-e1 Page 10 of 12 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P RE S E N T A T I V E S sell to the parent any instructional materials used in the 226 school. All such sales shall be made pursuant to rule adopted by 227 the district school board, and the principal shall annually 228 provide information to parents that they may purchase 229 instructional materials and how to purchase the materials. 230 (d) Disposition of funds. —All money collected from the 231 sale, exchange, loss, or damage o f instructional materials shall 232 be transmitted to the district school superintendent to be 233 deposited in the district school board fund and added to the 234 district appropriation for instructional materials. 235 (e) Accounting for instructional materials. —Principals 236 shall see that all instructional materials are fully and 237 properly accounted for as prescribed by adopted rules of the 238 district school board. 239 (f) Selection of library media center materials. —School 240 principals are responsible for overseeing compliance with school 241 district procedures for selecting school library media center 242 materials. 243 Section 3. Subsections (2) and (5) of section 1006.29, 244 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 245 1006.29 State instructional materials reviewers. — 246 (2) For purposes of this part state adoption, the term 247 "instructional materials" means items having intellectual 248 content that by design serve as a major tool for assisting in 249 the instruction of a subject or course. These items may be 250 CS/HB 1467, Engrossed 1 2022 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1467-02-e1 Page 11 of 12 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P RE S E N T A T I V E S available in bound, u nbound, kit, or package form and may 251 consist of hardbacked or softbacked textbooks, electronic 252 content, consumables, learning laboratories, manipulatives, 253 electronic media, and computer courseware or software. A 254 publisher or manufacturer providing instruct ional materials as a 255 single bundle shall also make the instructional materials 256 available as separate and unbundled items, each priced 257 individually. A publisher may also offer sections of state -258 adopted instructional materials in digital or electronic 259 versions at reduced rates to districts, schools, and teachers. 260 (5) The department shall develop a training programs 261 program for persons selected as state instructional materials 262 reviewers and school district reviewers of instructional 263 materials, including thos e used to provide instruction required 264 by s. 1003.42, and any materials maintained in the district 265 school library media centers or included on a reading list . The 266 programs program shall be structured to assist reviewers in 267 complying with the requirements of s. 1006.31(2) developing the 268 skills necessary to make valid, culturally sensitive, and 269 objective decisions regarding the content and rigor of 270 instructional materials . All persons serving as instructional 271 materials reviewers must complete a the training program before 272 prior to beginning the review and selection process. 273 Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section 274 1006.40, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 275 CS/HB 1467, Engrossed 1 2022 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1467-02-e1 Page 12 of 12 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P RE S E N T A T I V E S 1006.40 Use of instructional materials allocation; 276 instructional materials, libra ry books, and reference books; 277 repair of books.— 278 (4) Each district school board is responsible for the 279 content of all materials used in a classroom or otherwise made 280 available to students. Each district school board shall adopt 281 rules, and each district s chool superintendent shall implement 282 procedures, that: 283 (b) Provide a process for public review of, public comment 284 on, and the adoption of instructional materials, including those 285 instructional materials used to provide instruction required by 286 s. 1003.42 teach reproductive health or any disease, including 287 HIV/AIDS, under ss. 1003.42(3) and 1003.46 , which satisfies the 288 requirements of s. 1006.283(2)(b)8., 9., and 11. 289 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 290