ENROLLED 2022 Legislature SB 7044, 1st Engrossed 20227044er 1 2 An act relating to postsecondary education; amending 3 s. 1001.706, F.S.; authorizing the Board of Governors 4 to adopt a regulation regarding post-tenure reviews 5 for state university faculty; specifying requirements 6 for the regulation; amending s. 1004.085, F.S.; 7 providing requirements for lists of required and 8 recommended textbooks and instructional materials for 9 Florida College System institution and state 10 university courses; amending s. 1007.24, F.S.; 11 revising the maintenance requirements of, and 12 information that must be included in, the statewide 13 course numbering system; requiring certain 14 postsecondary educational institutions registration 15 processes to include specified information; requiring 16 certain postsecondary educational institutions to 17 accept and apply general education courses and credit 18 in a specified manner; requiring the State Board of 19 Education to adopt rules; providing requirements for 20 such rules; creating s. 1008.47, F.S.; defining the 21 term postsecondary education institution; requiring 22 the Board of Governors and State Board of Education to 23 identify and determine accrediting agencies or 24 associations best suited for public postsecondary 25 institutions by a specified date; providing 26 requirements for such accrediting agencies or 27 associations; prohibiting public postsecondary 28 institutions from being accredited by the same agency 29 or association for consecutive accreditation cycles; 30 requiring public postsecondary institutions to obtain 31 accreditation from accrediting agencies or 32 associations identified by the Board of Governors or 33 State Board of Education, respectively; providing that 34 specified academic programs are exempt from such 35 requirements; requiring institutions to provide 36 specified reports to the Board of Governors or the 37 State Board of Education; requiring institutions to 38 seek specified accreditation; authorizing institutions 39 to remain with current accreditors under certain 40 circumstances; creating a cause of action for 41 postsecondary education institutions; authorizing the 42 award of specified damages, court costs, and attorney 43 fees; providing for the future expiration of specified 44 provisions; amending ss. 1009.23 and 1009.24, F.S.; 45 requiring Florida College System institutions and 46 state universities, respectively, to post specified 47 information relating to tuition and fee rates and 48 proposed changes to such rates on their websites; 49 revising the information that must be included in a 50 required notice to students; requiring a specific 51 press release to be e-mailed to enrolled students; 52 providing requirements for a Florida College System 53 institution or a state university, respectively, to 54 raise, impose, or authorize certain fees; providing a 55 directive to the Division of Law Revision; providing 56 effective dates. 57 58 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 59 60 Section 1.Present paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of 61 subsection (6) of section 1001.706, Florida Statutes, are 62 redesignated as paragraphs (c), (d), and (e), respectively, and 63 a new paragraph (b) is added to that subsection, to read: 64 1001.706Powers and duties of the Board of Governors. 65 (6)POWERS AND DUTIES RELATING TO PERSONNEL. 66 (b)The Board of Governors may adopt a regulation requiring 67 each tenured state university faculty member to undergo a 68 comprehensive post-tenure review every 5 years. The board may 69 include other considerations in the regulation, but the 70 regulation must address: 71 1.Accomplishments and productivity; 72 2.Assigned duties in research, teaching, and service; 73 3.Performance metrics, evaluations, and ratings; and 74 4.Recognition and compensation considerations, as well as 75 improvement plans and consequences for underperformance. 76 Section 2.Section 1004.085, Florida Statutes, is amended 77 to read: 78 1004.085Textbook and instructional materials affordability 79 and transparency. 80 (1)As used in this section, the term instructional 81 materials means educational materials for use within a course 82 which may be available in printed or digital format. 83 (2)An employee of a Florida College System institution or 84 state university may not demand or receive any payment, loan, 85 subscription, advance, deposit of money, service, or anything of 86 value, present or promised, in exchange for requiring students 87 to purchase a specific textbook or instructional material for 88 coursework or instruction. 89 (3)An employee may receive: 90 (a)Sample copies, instructor copies, or instructional 91 materials. These materials may not be sold for any type of 92 compensation if they are specifically marked as free samples not 93 for resale. 94 (b)Royalties or other compensation from sales of textbooks 95 or instructional materials that include the instructors own 96 writing or work. 97 (c)Honoraria for academic peer review of course materials. 98 (d)Fees associated with activities such as reviewing, 99 critiquing, or preparing support materials for textbooks or 100 instructional materials pursuant to guidelines adopted by the 101 State Board of Education or the Board of Governors. 102 (e)Training in the use of course materials and learning 103 technologies. 104 (4)Each Florida College System institution and state 105 university board of trustees is authorized to adopt policies in 106 consultation with providers, including bookstores, which allow 107 for the use of innovative pricing techniques and payment options 108 for textbooks and instructional materials. Such policies may 109 include bulk pricing arrangements that enable students to 110 purchase course materials or texts that are delivered digitally; 111 delivered through other technologies that are, or the licenses 112 of which are, required for use within a course; or delivered in 113 a print format. Innovative pricing techniques and payment 114 options must include an opt-in or opt-out provision for students 115 and may be approved only if there is documented evidence that 116 the options reduce the cost of textbooks and instructional 117 materials for students taking a course. 118 (5)(a)Each Florida College System institution and state 119 university shall post prominently in the course registration 120 system and on its website, as early as is feasible, but at least 121 45 days before the first day of class for each term, a hyperlink 122 to lists of required and recommended textbooks and instructional 123 materials for at least 95 percent of all courses and course 124 sections offered at the institution during the upcoming term. 125 The lists must include the International Standard Book Number 126 (ISBN) for each required and recommended textbook and 127 instructional material or other identifying information, which 128 must include, at a minimum, all of the following: the title, all 129 authors listed, publishers, edition number, copyright date, 130 published date, and other relevant information necessary to 131 identify the specific textbooks or instructional materials 132 required and recommended for each course. The State Board of 133 Education and the Board of Governors shall include in the 134 policies, procedures, and guidelines adopted under subsection 135 (6) certain limited exceptions to this notification requirement 136 for classes added after the notification deadline. 137 (b)The lists of required and recommended textbooks and 138 instructional materials required in paragraph (a) must: 139 1.Be posted as early as is feasible but at least 45 days 140 before the first day of class for each term. 141 2.Remain posted for at least 5 academic years. 142 3.Be searchable by the course subject, the course number, 143 the course title, the name of the instructor of the course, the 144 title of each assigned textbook or instructional material, and 145 each author of an assigned textbook or instructional material. 146 4.Be easily downloadable by current and prospective 147 students. 148 (c)If a course subject to paragraphs (a) and (b) is a 149 general education core course option identified pursuant to s. 150 1007.25, course syllabi information containing sufficient detail 151 to inform students of all of the following must be included: 152 1.The course curriculum. 153 2.The goals, objectives, and student expectations of the 154 course. 155 3.How student performance will be measured. 156 (6)After receiving input from students, faculty, 157 bookstores, and publishers, the State Board of Education and the 158 Board of Governors each shall adopt textbook and instructional 159 materials affordability policies, procedures, and guidelines for 160 implementation by Florida College System institutions and state 161 universities, respectively, that further efforts to minimize the 162 cost of textbooks and instructional materials for students 163 attending such institutions while maintaining the quality of 164 education and academic freedom. The policies, procedures, and 165 guidelines shall address: 166 (a)The establishment of deadlines for an instructor or 167 department to notify the bookstore of required and recommended 168 textbooks and instructional materials so that the bookstore may 169 verify availability, source lower cost options when practicable, 170 explore alternatives with faculty when academically appropriate, 171 and maximize the availability of used textbooks and 172 instructional materials. 173 (b)Confirmation by the course instructor or academic 174 department offering the course, before the textbook or 175 instructional materials adoption is finalized, of the intent to 176 use all items ordered, particularly each individual item sold as 177 part of a bundled package. 178 (c)Determination by a course instructor or the academic 179 department offering the course, before a textbook or 180 instructional material is adopted, of the extent to which a new 181 edition differs significantly and substantively from earlier 182 versions and the value to the student of changing to a new 183 edition or the extent to which an open-access textbook or 184 instructional material is available. 185 (d)The availability of required and recommended textbooks 186 and instructional materials to students otherwise unable to 187 afford the cost, including consideration of the extent to which 188 an open-access textbook or instructional material may be used. 189 (e)Participation by course instructors and academic 190 departments in the development, adaptation, and review of open 191 access textbooks and instructional materials and, in particular, 192 open-access textbooks and instructional materials for high 193 demand general education courses. 194 (f)Consultation with school districts to identify 195 practices that impact the cost of dual enrollment textbooks and 196 instructional materials to school districts, including, but not 197 limited to, the length of time that textbooks and instructional 198 materials remain in use. 199 (g)Selection of textbooks and instructional materials 200 through cost-benefit analyses that enable students to obtain the 201 highest-quality product at the lowest available price, by 202 considering: 203 1.Purchasing digital textbooks in bulk. 204 2.Expanding the use of open-access textbooks and 205 instructional materials. 206 3.Providing rental options for textbooks and instructional 207 materials. 208 4.Increasing the availability and use of affordable 209 digital textbooks and learning objects. 210 5.Developing mechanisms to assist in buying, renting, 211 selling, and sharing textbooks and instructional materials. 212 6.The length of time that textbooks and instructional 213 materials remain in use. 214 7.An evaluation of cost savings for textbooks and 215 instructional materials which a student may realize if 216 individual students are able to exercise opt-in provisions for 217 the purchase of the materials. 218 (7)The board of trustees of each Florida College System 219 institution and state university shall report, by September 30 220 of each year, to the Chancellor of the Florida College System or 221 the Chancellor of the State University System, as applicable, 222 the textbook and instructional materials selection process for 223 high-enrollment courses; specific initiatives of the institution 224 designed to reduce the costs of textbooks and instructional 225 materials; policies implemented in accordance with subsection 226 (5); the number of courses and course sections that were not 227 able to meet the textbook and instructional materials posting 228 deadline for the previous academic year; and any additional 229 information determined by the chancellors. By November 1 of each 230 year, each chancellor shall provide a summary of the information 231 provided by institutions to the State Board of Education and the 232 Board of Governors, as applicable. 233 Section 3.Present subsection (8) of section 1007.24, 234 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (9) and amended, 235 a new subsection (8) is added to that section, and subsections 236 (4) and (5) of that section are amended, to read: 237 1007.24Statewide course numbering system. 238 (4)The statewide course numbering system must be shall 239 maintained electronically and regularly updated by the 240 department and include the courses at the recommended levels, 241 course numbers, course titles, credits awarded, and other 242 identifiable information by institution and academic year, as 243 required by state board rule. 244 (5)The registration process at each state university and 245 Florida College System institution must shall include the 246 courses at their designated levels, and statewide course 247 numbers, course titles, credits awarded, and other identifiable 248 information, as required by state board rule. 249 (8)Participating postsecondary institutions receiving 250 transfer course credit must accept and apply general education 251 courses and credit in accordance with this section, s. 1007.25, 252 and other provisions of law, including credit earned through 253 dual enrollment, course equivalencies, and other acceleration 254 mechanisms, as first satisfying general education core course 255 credit requirements and other general education subject area 256 course credit requirements before applying the course credit as 257 elective credit. 258 (9)(8)