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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to parental rights in education; 2
amending s. 1001.42, F.S.; requiring district school 3
boards to adopt procedures that comport with certain 4
provisions of law for notifying a student's parent of 5
specified information; requiring such procedure s to 6
reinforce the fundamental right of parents to make 7
decisions regarding the upbringing and control of 8
their children in a specified manner; prohibiting the 9
procedures from prohibiting a parent from accessing 10
certain records; providing construction; pro hibiting a 11
school district from adopting procedures or student 12
support forms that prohibit school district personnel 13
from notifying a parent about specified information or 14
that encourage or have the effect of encouraging a 15
student to withhold from a parent such information; 16
prohibiting school district personnel from 17
discouraging or prohibiting parental notification and 18
involvement in critical decisions affecting a 19
student's mental, emotional, or physical well -being; 20
providing construction; prohibiting class room 21
discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity 22
in certain grade levels or in a specified manner; 23
requiring certain training developed or provided by a 24
school district to adhere to standards established by 25
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the Department of Education; requiring school 26
districts to notify parents of healthcare services and 27
provide parents the opportunity to consent or decline 28
such services; providing that a specified parental 29
consent does not wave certain parental rights; 30
requiring school districts to provide par ents with 31
certain questionnaires or health screening forms and 32
obtain parental permission before administering such 33
questionnaires and forms; requiring school districts 34
to adopt certain procedures for resolving specified 35
parental concerns; requiring resolu tion within a 36
specified timeframe; requiring the Commissioner of 37
Education to appoint a special magistrate for 38
unresolved concerns; providing requirements for the 39
special magistrate; requiring the State Board of 40
Education to approve or reject the special 41
magistrate's recommendation within specified 42
timeframe; requiring school districts to bear the 43
costs of the special magistrate; requiring the State 44
Board of Education to adopt rules; providing 45
requirements for such rules; authorizing a parent to 46
bring an action against a school district to obtain a 47
declaratory judgment that a school district procedure 48
or practice violates certain provisions of law; 49
providing for the additional award of injunctive 50
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relief, damages, and reasonable attorney fees and 51
court costs to certain parents; requiring school 52
district to adopt policies to notify parents of 53
certain rights; providing construction; requiring the 54
department to review and update, as necessary, 55
specified materials by a certain date; providing an 56
effective date. 57
58
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 59
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Section 1. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (8) of 61
section 1001.42, Florida Statutes, to read: 62
1001.42 Powers and duties of district school board. —The 63
district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all 64
powers and perform all duties listed below: 65
(8) STUDENT WELFARE. — 66
(c)1. In accordance with the rights of parents enumerated 67
in ss. 1002.20 and 1014.04, adopt procedures for notifying a 68
student's parent if there is a change i n the student's services 69
or monitoring related to the student's mental, emotional, or 70
physical health or well -being and the school's ability to 71
provide a safe and supportive learning environment for the 72
student. The procedures must reinforce the fundamenta l right of 73
parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control 74
of their children by requiring school district personnel to 75
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encourage a student to discuss issues relating to his or her 76
well-being with his or her parent or to facilitate discussion of 77
the issue with the parent. The procedures may not prohibit 78
parents from accessing any of their student's education and 79
health records created, maintained, or used by the school 80
district, as required by s. 1002.22(2). 81
2. A school district may not ado pt procedures or student 82
support forms that prohibit school district personnel from 83
notifying a parent about his or her student's mental, emotional, 84
or physical health or well -being, or a change in related 85
services or monitoring, or that encourage or have the effect of 86
encouraging a student to withhold from a parent such 87
information. School district personnel may not discourage or 88
prohibit parental notification of and involvement in critical 89
decisions affecting a student's mental, emotional, or physical 90
health or well-being. This subparagraph does not prohibit a 91
school district from adopting procedures that permit school 92
personnel to withhold such information from a parent if a 93
reasonably prudent person would believe that disclosure would 94
result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect, as those terms are 95
defined in s. 39.01. 96
3. Classroom instruction by school personnel or third 97
parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur 98
in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age -99
appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in 100
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accordance with state standards. 101
4. Student support services training developed or provided 102
by a school district to school district personnel must adhere to 103
student services guidelines, standards, and frame works 104
established by the Department of Education. 105
5. At the beginning of the school year, each school 106
district shall notify parents of each healthcare service offered 107
at their student's school and the option to withhold consent or 108
decline any specific se rvice. Parental consent to a health care 109
service does not waive the parent's right to access his or her 110
student's educational or health records or to be notified about 111
a change in his or her student's services or monitoring as 112
provided by this paragraph. 113
6. Before administering a student well -being questionnaire 114
or health screening form to a student in kindergarten through 115
grade 3, the school district must provide the questionnaire or 116
health screening form to the parent and obtain the permission of 117
the parent. 118
7. Each school district shall adopt procedures for a 119
parent to notify the principal, or his or her designee, 120
regarding concerns under this paragraph at his or her student's 121
school and the process for resolving those concerns within 7 122
calendar days after notification by the parent. 123
a. At a minimum, the procedures must require that within 124
30 days after notification by the parent that the concern 125
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remains unresolved, the school district must either resolve the 126
concern or provide a statement of the re asons for not resolving 127
the concern. 128
b. If a concern is not resolved by the school district, a 129
parent may: 130
(I) Request the Commissioner of Education to appoint a 131
special magistrate who is a member of The Florida Bar in good 132
standing and who has at least 5 years' experience in 133
administrative law. The special magistrate shall determine facts 134
relating to the dispute over the school district procedure or 135
practice, consider information provided by the school district, 136
and render a recommended decision fo r resolution to the State 137
Board of Education within 30 days after receipt of the request 138
by the parent. The State Board of Education must approve or 139
reject the recommended decision at its next regularly scheduled 140
meeting that is more than 7 calendar days a nd no more than 30 141
days after the date the recommended decision is transmitted. The 142
costs of the special magistrate shall be borne by the school 143
district. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules, 144
including forms, necessary to implement this subparag raph. 145
(II) Bring an action against the school district to obtain 146
a declaratory judgment that the school district procedure or 147
practice violates this paragraph and seek injunctive relief. A 148
court may award damages and shall award reasonable attorney fees 149
and court costs to a parent who receives declaratory or 150
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injunctive relief. 151
c. Each school district shall adopt policies to notify 152
parents of the procedures required under this subparagraph. 153
d. Nothing contained in this subparagraph shall be 154
construed to abridge or alter rights of action or remedies in 155
equity already existing under the common law or general law. 156
Section 2. By June 30, 2023, the Department of Education 157
shall review and update, as necessary, school counseling 158
frameworks and standards; educator practices and professional 159
conduct principles; and any other student services personnel 160
guidelines, standards, or frameworks in accordance with the 161
requirements of this act. 162
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 163