Florida 2024 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0439 Compare Versions

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

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3	3	HB 439 2024
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7	7	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
8	8	hb0439-00
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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 corporal punishment; amending s. 2
16	16	1002.20, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made 3
17	17	by the act; amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; requiring 4
18	18	charter schools to comply with general law relating to 5
19	19	corporal punishment; amending s. 1003.01, F.S.; 6
20	20	conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 7
21	21	amending s. 1003.32, F.S.; deleting provisions 8
22	22	authorizing teachers to administer corporal 9
23	23	punishment; providing duties of and responsibilities 10
24	24	for principals relating to corporal punishment; 11
25	25	requiring a specified notification be provided to 12
26	26	parents relating to corporal punishment; providing 13
27	27	requirements for a student to be disciplined using 14
28	28	corporal punishment; prohibiting the use of corporal 15
29	29	punishment on specified students; providing reporting 16
30	30	requirements relating to corporal punishment; 17
31	31	providing an effective date. 18
32	32	19
33	33	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 20
34	34	21
35	35	Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section 22
36	36	1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 23
37	37	1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights. —Parents of public 24
38	38	school students must receive accurate and timely information 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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49	49
50	50
51	51	regarding their child's academic progress and must be i nformed 26
52	52	of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K -12 27
53	53	students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory 28
54	54	rights including, but not limited to, the following: 29
55	55	(4) DISCIPLINE.— 30
56	56	(c) Corporal punishment. — 31
57	57	1. In accordance with the provisions of s. 1003.32, 32
58	58	Corporal punishment of a public school student may only be 33
59	59	administered in accordance with s. 1003.32(1)(k) by a teacher or 34
60	60	school principal within guidelines of the school principal and 35
61	61	according to district school board policy. Another adult must be 36
62	62	present and must be informed in the student's presence of the 37
63	63	reason for the punishment. Upon request, the teacher or school 38
64	64	principal must provide the parent with a written explanation of 39
65	65	the reason for the punishment and the name of the other adult 40
66	66	who was present. 41
67	67	2. A district school board having a policy authorizing the 42
68	68	use of corporal punishment as a form of discipline shall review 43
69	69	its policy on corporal punishment once every 3 years during a 44
70	70	district school board meeting held pursuant to s. 1001.372. The 45
71	71	district school board shall take public testimony at the board 46
72	72	meeting. If such board meeting is not held in accordance with 47
73	73	this subparagraph, the portion of the district school board's 48
74	74	policy authorizing corporal punishment e xpires. 49
75	75	Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (16) of section 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	1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 51
89	89	1002.33 Charter schools. — 52
90	90	(16) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES. — 53
91	91	(b) Additionally, a charter school shall be in compliance 54
92	92	with the following st atutes: 55
93	93	1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and 56
94	94	records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties. 57
95	95	2. Chapter 119, relating to public records. 58
96	96	3. Section 1003.03, relating to the maximum class size, 59
97	97	except that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s. 60
98	98	1003.03 shall be the average at the school level. 61
99	99	4. Section 1012.22(1)(c), relating to compensation and 62
100	100	salary schedules. 63
101	101	5. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions. 64
102	102	6. Section 1012.335, relating to contracts with 65
103	103	instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011. 66
104	104	7. Section 1012.34, relating to the substantive 67
105	105	requirements for performance evaluations for instructional 68
106	106	personnel and school administrators. 69
107	107	8. Section 1006.12, relating to safe -school officers. 70
108	108	9. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat management 71
109	109	teams. 72
110	110	10. Section 1006.07(9), relating to School Environmental 73
111	111	Safety Incident Reporting. 74
112	112	11. Section 1006.07(10), relating to reporting of 75
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121	121	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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125	125	involuntary examinations. 76
126	126	12. Section 1006.1493, relating to the Florida Safe 77
127	127	Schools Assessment Tool. 78
128	128	13. Section 1006.07(6)(d), relating to adopting an active 79
129	129	assailant response plan. 80
130	130	14. Section 943.082(4)(b), relating to the mobile 81
131	131	suspicious activity reporting to ol. 82
132	132	15. Section 1012.584, relating to youth mental health 83
133	133	awareness and assistance training. 84
134	134	16. Section 1001.42(4)(f)2., relating to middle school and 85
135	135	high school start times. A charter school -in-the-workplace is 86
136	136	exempt from this requirement. 87
137	137	17. Section 1003.32(1)(k), relating to corporal 88
138	138	punishment. 89
139	139	Section 3. Subsection (6) of section 1003.01, Florida 90
140	140	Statutes, is amended to read: 91
141	141	1003.01 Definitions. —As used in this chapter, the term: 92
142	142	(6) "Corporal punishment" means the moderate use of 93
143	143	physical force or physical contact by a teacher or principal as 94
144	144	may be necessary to maintain discipline or to enforce school 95
145	145	rule. However, the term "corporal punishment" does not include 96
146	146	the use of such reasonable force by a teacher or principal as 97
147	147	may be necessary for self-protection or to protect other 98
148	148	students from disruptive students. 99
149	149	Section 4. Paragraph (k) of subsection (1) of section 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	1003.32, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 101
163	163	1003.32 Authority of teacher; responsibility for control 102
164	164	of students; district school board and principal duties. —Subject 103
165	165	to law and to the rules of the district school board, each 104
166	166	teacher or other member of the staff of any school shall have 105
167	167	such authority for the control and discipline of students as may 106
168	168	be assigned to him or her by the principal or the principal's 107
169	169	designated representative and shall keep good order in the 108
170	170	classroom and in other places in which he or she is assigned to 109
171	171	be in charge of students. 110
172	172	(1) In accordance with this section and within the 111
173	173	framework of the district school board's code of student 112
174	174	conduct, teachers and other instructional personnel shall have 113
175	175	the authority to undertake any of the following actions in 114
176	176	managing student behavior and ensuring the safety of all 115
177	177	students in their classes and school and their opportunity to 116
178	178	learn in an orderly and disciplined classroom: 117
179	179	(k) Use corporal punishment according to school board 118
180	180	policy and at least the following procedures, if a principal 119
181	181	teacher feels that corporal punishment is necessary: 120
182	182	1. The use of corporal punishment shall be approved in 121
183	183	principle by the principal before it is used and may only be 122
184	184	administered by the principal , but approval is not necessary for 123
185	185	each specific instance in which it is used . The principal shall 124
186	186	prepare guidelines for administering such punishment which 125
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195	195	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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199	199	identify the types of punishable offenses and, the conditions 126
200	200	under which the punishment shall be administered , and the 127
201	201	specific personnel on the school staff authorized to administer 128
202	202	the punishment. 129
203	203	2. A teacher or principal may administer corporal 130
204	204	punishment only in the presence of another adult who is informed 131
205	205	beforehand, and in the student's presence, of the reason for the 132
206	206	punishment. Before a principal may administer corporal 133
207	207	punishment, he or she must, in the presence of another adult, 134
208	208	verify that the parent of such student has completed the form 135
209	209	required under subparagraph 3. and consented to allow the 136
210	210	administration of corporal punishment on his or her student. 137
211	211	3.a. A teacher or principal who elects to use corporal 138
212	212	punishment must at the beginning of the school year provide each 139
213	213	parent of a student enrolled at his or her school a written form 140
214	214	that allows the parent to authorize the use of corporal 141
215	215	punishment when disciplining his or her student. The form must 142
216	216	read: "Do you authorize the use of corporal punishment on your 143
217	217	child? Florida Statutes defines the term 'corporal punishment' 144
218	218	as 'the moderate use of physical force or physical contact by a 145
219	219	principal as may be necessary to maintain school discipl ine or 146
220	220	to enforce school rule.' Your school district's code of student 147
221	221	conduct provides further information on how corporal punishment 148
222	222	may be administered at your student's school. Please check YES 149
223	223	if you consent to the use of corporal punishment on your s tudent 150
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232	232	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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236	236	or check NO if you do not consent to the use of corporal 151
237	237	punishment on your student and provide your signature. You may 152
238	238	contact your student's principal with any relevant questions 153
239	239	about the administration of corporal punishment." 154
240	240	b. Each principal must collect and store the completed 155
241	241	forms. 156
242	242	c. If a student's parent does not return a completed form 157
243	243	or returns a completed form and does not consent to the use of 158
244	244	corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure for his or her 159
245	245	student, a principal may n ot administer corporal punishment on 160
246	246	the student. 161
247	247	4. Once a principal has administered the corporal 162
248	248	punishment, he or she shall, upon request, provide the student's 163
249	249	parent with a written explanation of the reason for the 164
250	250	punishment and the name of the ot her adult who was present and 165
251	251	the name of the other adult who witnessed the principal verify 166
252	252	the student's parental consent form before the administration of 167
253	253	the corporal punishment . 168
254	254	5. Corporal punishment may not be used to discipline the 169
255	255	following students: 170
256	256	a. Exceptional students as defined in s. 1003.01(9). 171
257	257	b. Students with an individual education plan under s. 172
258	258	1003.5716. 173
259	259	c. Students who attend an alternative school as described 174
260	260	in s. 1008.341(2). 175
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262	262	HB 439 2024
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266	266	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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269	269	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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273	273	d. Children and youths who are experiencing homelessness 176
274	274	as defined in s. 1003.01. 177
275	275	e. Students covered under s. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 178
276	276	of 1973 and 29 U.S.C. s. 794. 179
277	277	6. Each principal must annually compile the follow 180
278	278	information and submit such information to the Office of Safe 181
279	279	Schools and the school district. 182
280	280	a. The number of instances where corporal punishment was 183
281	281	used during the school year. 184
282	282	b. The number of students who were punished using corporal 185
283	283	punishment during the school year. 186
284	284	c. The number of students who were punished more than once 187
285	285	using corporal punishment during the school year. 188
286	286	Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 189