Florida 2022 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H6077 Compare Versions

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

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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 postsecondary intellectual freedom 2
16	16	and viewpoint diversity; amending ss. 1001.03 and 3
17	17	1001.706, F.S.; removing provisions relating to an 4
18	18	intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity 5
19	19	assessment within Florida College System institutions 6
20	20	and state universities; removing a prohibition against 7
21	21	the State Board of Education and Board of Governors 8
22	22	from shielding specified individuals from free spe ech; 9
23	23	amending s. 1004.097, F.S.; removing a prohibition 10
24	24	against the State Board of Education and Board of 11
25	25	Governors from shielding specified individuals from 12
26	26	access to or observation of certain ideas and 13
27	27	opinions; removing an authorization for students to 14
28	28	record video or audio of class lectures for specified 15
29	29	purposes; removing an authorization to bring specified 16
30	30	actions related to injuries from such video or audio 17
31	31	recordings; providing an effective date. 18
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33	33	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 20
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35	35	Section 1. Subsection (19) of section 1001.03, Florida 22
36	36	Statutes, is amended to read: 23
37	37	1001.03 Specific powers of State Board of Education. — 24
38	38	(19) INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND VIEWPOINT DIVERSITY 25
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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	ASSESSMENT.— 26
52	52	(a) For the purposes of this subs ection, The term: 27
53	53	1. "Intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity" means 28
54	54	the exposure of students, faculty, and staff to, and the 29
55	55	encouragement of their exploration of, a variety of ideological 30
56	56	and political perspectives. 31
57	57	2. "Shield" means to limit st udents', faculty members', or 32
58	58	staff members' access to, or observation of, ideas and opinions 33
59	59	that they may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, disagreeable, or 34
60	60	offensive. 35
61	61	(b) The State Board of Education shall require each 36
62	62	Florida College System institution to conduct an annual 37
63	63	assessment of the intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity 38
64	64	at that institution. The State Board of Education shall select 39
65	65	or create an objective, nonpartisan, and statistically valid 40
66	66	survey to be used by each institution which cons iders the extent 41
67	67	to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented and 42
68	68	members of the college community, including students, faculty, 43
69	69	and staff, feel free to express their beliefs and viewpoints on 44
70	70	campus and in the classroom. The State Board of Educ ation shall 45
71	71	annually compile and publish the assessments by September 1 of 46
72	72	each year, beginning on September 1, 2022. The State Board of 47
73	73	Education may adopt rules to implement this paragraph. 48
74	74	(c) The State Board of Education may not shield students, 49
75	75	faculty, or staff at Florida College System institutions from 50
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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	free speech protected under the First Amendment to the United 51
89	89	States Constitution, Art. I of the State Constitution, or s. 52
90	90	1004.097. 53
91	91	Section 2. Subsection (13) of section 1001.706, Florida 54
92	92	Statutes, is amended to read: 55
93	93	1001.706 Powers and duties of the Board of Governors. — 56
94	94	(13) INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND VIEWPOINT DIVERSITY 57
95	95	ASSESSMENT.— 58
96	96	(a) For the purposes of this subsection, The term: 59
97	97	1. "Intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity" means 60
98	98	the exposure of students, faculty, and staff to, and the 61
99	99	encouragement of their exploration of, a variety of ideological 62
100	100	and political perspectives. 63
101	101	2. "Shield" means to limit students', faculty members', or 64
102	102	staff members' access to, or observation of, ideas and opinions 65
103	103	that they may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, disagreeable, or 66
104	104	offensive. 67
105	105	(b) The Board of Governors shall require each state 68
106	106	university to conduct an annual assessment of the intellectual 69
107	107	freedom and viewpoint diversity at that in stitution. The Board 70
108	108	of Governors shall select or create an objective, nonpartisan, 71
109	109	and statistically valid survey to be used by each state 72
110	110	university which considers the extent to which competing ideas 73
111	111	and perspectives are presented and members of the uni versity 74
112	112	community, including students, faculty, and staff, feel free to 75
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125	125	express their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the 76
126	126	classroom. The Board of Governors shall annually compile and 77
127	127	publish the assessments by September 1 of each year, beginning 78
128	128	on September 1, 2022. 79
129	129	(c) The Board of Governors may not shield students, 80
130	130	faculty, or staff at state universities from free speech 81
131	131	protected under the First Amendment to the United States 82
132	132	Constitution, Art. I of the State Constitution, or s. 1004.97. 83
133	133	Section 3. Paragraph (f) of subsection (2), paragraphs (f) 84
134	134	and (g) of subsection (3), and subsection (4) of section 85
135	135	1004.097, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 86
136	136	1004.097 Free expression on campus. — 87
137	137	(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 88
138	138	(f) "Shield" means to limit students', faculty members', 89
139	139	or staff members' access to, or observation of, ideas and 90
140	140	opinions that they may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, 91
141	141	disagreeable, or offensive. 92
142	142	(3) RIGHT TO FREE-SPEECH ACTIVITIES.— 93
143	143	(f) A Florida College System institution or a state 94
144	144	university may not shield students, faculty, or staff from 95
145	145	expressive activities. 96
146	146	(g) Notwithstanding s. 934.03 and subject to the 97
147	147	protections provided in the Family Educational Rights and 98
148	148	Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S .C. s. 1232g, and ss. 1002.22 and 99
149	149	1002.225, a student may record video or audio of class lectures 100
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158	158	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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162	162	for their own personal educational use, in connection with a 101
163	163	complaint to the public institution of higher education where 102
164	164	the recording was made, or as evide nce in, or in preparation 103
165	165	for, a criminal or civil proceeding. A recorded lecture may not 104
166	166	be published without the consent of the lecturer. 105
167	167	(4) CAUSE OF ACTION. —A person injured by a violation of 106
168	168	this section may bring an action : 107
169	169	(a) against a public institution of higher education based 108
170	170	on the violation of the individual's expressive rights in a 109
171	171	court of competent jurisdiction to obtain declaratory and 110
172	172	injunctive relief and may be entitled to damages plus court 111
173	173	costs and reasonable attorney fees, which may only be paid from 112
174	174	nonstate funds. 113
175	175	(b) Against a person who has published video or audio 114
176	176	recorded in a classroom in violation of paragraph (3)(g) in a 115
177	177	court of competent jurisdiction to obtain declaratory and 116
178	178	injunctive relief and may be entitled to damages plus court 117
179	179	costs and reasonable attorney fees, with the total recovery not 118
180	180	to exceed $200,000. 119
181	181	Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 120