CS/HB 345 2025
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hb345-01-c1
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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 student elopement; creating s. 2
1003.211, F.S.; providing definitions; requiring 3
public schools to create a School Staff Assistance for 4
Emergencies (SAFE) Team and a school elopement plan; 5
providing requirements for the plan; providing for 6
membership and responsibilities of the SAFE team; 7
requiring the SAFE team to create student -specific 8
elopement quick reference guides for certain studen ts; 9
providing requirements for such guides; requiring 10
public schools to annually submit their plans to the 11
district school board; authorizing the State Board of 12
Education to adopt rules; providing an effective date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
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Section 1. Section 1003.211, Florida Statutes, is created 17
to read: 18
1003.211 School elopement plans. — 19
(1) For purposes of this section, the term: 20
(a) "Disability" means, for a student in kindergarten 21
through grade 12, an au tism spectrum disorder, as defined in the 22
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth 23
Edition, published by the American Psychiatric Association, or 24
an intellectual disability, as defined in s. 393.063. 25
CS/HB 345 2025
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hb345-01-c1
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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
(b) "Elopement" means when a stude nt with disabilities 26
wanders away, walks away, runs away, escapes, or otherwise 27
leaves the supervision of school staff or leaves school grounds 28
unsupervised or unnoticed before the end of his or her scheduled 29
school day. 30
(2) To ensure the safety of stude nts with disabilities at 31
risk of elopement, each public school shall create a School 32
Staff Assistance for Emergencies (SAFE) Team and a school 33
elopement plan. The plan must include procedures for immediately 34
contacting the student's parent if a student wit h disabilities 35
elopes. 36
(3) The school principal and assistant principal shall 37
serve on the SAFE Team and the school principal shall appoint at 38
least five other members to serve on the team. The SAFE Team 39
shall: 40
(a) Create and annually update the school elopement plan 41
and respond to all elopements. 42
(b) Provide training to all school personnel to 43
familiarize such personnel with the school elopement plan and 44
all necessary procedures. 45
(4)(a) If a student with disabilities is prone to 46
elopement, the SAFE Team, in coordination with the student's 47
parent, must create a student -specific elopement quick reference 48
guide. The elopement quick reference guide must include all of 49
the following: 50
CS/HB 345 2025
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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
1. The student's identifying information. 51
2. A current photograph o f the student. 52
3. The student's level of communication. 53
4. A list of the student's interests, behaviors, 54
preferences, and aversions. 55
5. Any health considerations for the student. 56
6. A list of any GPS technology that could be used to help 57
locate the student. 58
7. A list of possible locations where the student may go 59
when eloping. 60
(b) The SAFE Team must distribute a student's elopement 61
quick reference guide to the student's parent and all relevant 62
school personnel. 63
(5) Each public school must annu ally provide its elopement 64
plan to the district school board. 65
(6) The state board may adopt rules to administer this 66
section. 67
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 68