HB 6077 2022
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hb6077-00
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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 postsecondary intellectual freedom 2
and viewpoint diversity; amending ss. 1001.03 and 3
1001.706, F.S.; removing provisions relating to an 4
intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity 5
assessment within Florida College System institutions 6
and state universities; removing a prohibition against 7
the State Board of Education and Board of Governors 8
from shielding specified individuals from free spe ech; 9
amending s. 1004.097, F.S.; removing a prohibition 10
against the State Board of Education and Board of 11
Governors from shielding specified individuals from 12
access to or observation of certain ideas and 13
opinions; removing an authorization for students to 14
record video or audio of class lectures for specified 15
purposes; removing an authorization to bring specified 16
actions related to injuries from such video or audio 17
recordings; providing an effective date. 18
19
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 20
21
Section 1. Subsection (19) of section 1001.03, Florida 22
Statutes, is amended to read: 23
1001.03 Specific powers of State Board of Education. — 24
(19) INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND VIEWPOINT DIVERSITY 25
HB 6077 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
ASSESSMENT.— 26
(a) For the purposes of this subs ection, The term: 27
1. "Intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity" means 28
the exposure of students, faculty, and staff to, and the 29
encouragement of their exploration of, a variety of ideological 30
and political perspectives. 31
2. "Shield" means to limit st udents', faculty members', or 32
staff members' access to, or observation of, ideas and opinions 33
that they may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, disagreeable, or 34
offensive. 35
(b) The State Board of Education shall require each 36
Florida College System institution to conduct an annual 37
assessment of the intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity 38
at that institution. The State Board of Education shall select 39
or create an objective, nonpartisan, and statistically valid 40
survey to be used by each institution which cons iders the extent 41
to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented and 42
members of the college community, including students, faculty, 43
and staff, feel free to express their beliefs and viewpoints on 44
campus and in the classroom. The State Board of Educ ation shall 45
annually compile and publish the assessments by September 1 of 46
each year, beginning on September 1, 2022. The State Board of 47
Education may adopt rules to implement this paragraph. 48
(c) The State Board of Education may not shield students, 49
faculty, or staff at Florida College System institutions from 50
HB 6077 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
free speech protected under the First Amendment to the United 51
States Constitution, Art. I of the State Constitution, or s. 52
1004.097. 53
Section 2. Subsection (13) of section 1001.706, Florida 54
Statutes, is amended to read: 55
1001.706 Powers and duties of the Board of Governors. — 56
(13) INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND VIEWPOINT DIVERSITY 57
ASSESSMENT.— 58
(a) For the purposes of this subsection, The term: 59
1. "Intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity" means 60
the exposure of students, faculty, and staff to, and the 61
encouragement of their exploration of, a variety of ideological 62
and political perspectives. 63
2. "Shield" means to limit students', faculty members', or 64
staff members' access to, or observation of, ideas and opinions 65
that they may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, disagreeable, or 66
offensive. 67
(b) The Board of Governors shall require each state 68
university to conduct an annual assessment of the intellectual 69
freedom and viewpoint diversity at that in stitution. The Board 70
of Governors shall select or create an objective, nonpartisan, 71
and statistically valid survey to be used by each state 72
university which considers the extent to which competing ideas 73
and perspectives are presented and members of the uni versity 74
community, including students, faculty, and staff, feel free to 75
HB 6077 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
express their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the 76
classroom. The Board of Governors shall annually compile and 77
publish the assessments by September 1 of each year, beginning 78
on September 1, 2022. 79
(c) The Board of Governors may not shield students, 80
faculty, or staff at state universities from free speech 81
protected under the First Amendment to the United States 82
Constitution, Art. I of the State Constitution, or s. 1004.97. 83
Section 3. Paragraph (f) of subsection (2), paragraphs (f) 84
and (g) of subsection (3), and subsection (4) of section 85
1004.097, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 86
1004.097 Free expression on campus. — 87
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 88
(f) "Shield" means to limit students', faculty members', 89
or staff members' access to, or observation of, ideas and 90
opinions that they may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, 91
disagreeable, or offensive. 92
(3) RIGHT TO FREE-SPEECH ACTIVITIES.— 93
(f) A Florida College System institution or a state 94
university may not shield students, faculty, or staff from 95
expressive activities. 96
(g) Notwithstanding s. 934.03 and subject to the 97
protections provided in the Family Educational Rights and 98
Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S .C. s. 1232g, and ss. 1002.22 and 99
1002.225, a student may record video or audio of class lectures 100
HB 6077 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
for their own personal educational use, in connection with a 101
complaint to the public institution of higher education where 102
the recording was made, or as evide nce in, or in preparation 103
for, a criminal or civil proceeding. A recorded lecture may not 104
be published without the consent of the lecturer. 105
(4) CAUSE OF ACTION. —A person injured by a violation of 106
this section may bring an action : 107
(a) against a public institution of higher education based 108
on the violation of the individual's expressive rights in a 109
court of competent jurisdiction to obtain declaratory and 110
injunctive relief and may be entitled to damages plus court 111
costs and reasonable attorney fees, which may only be paid from 112
nonstate funds. 113
(b) Against a person who has published video or audio 114
recorded in a classroom in violation of paragraph (3)(g) in a 115
court of competent jurisdiction to obtain declaratory and 116
injunctive relief and may be entitled to damages plus court 117
costs and reasonable attorney fees, with the total recovery not 118
to exceed $200,000. 119
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 120