STORAGE NAME: h0447a.SAS
DATE: 3/26/2025
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FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BILL ANALYSIS
This bill analysis was prepared by nonpartisan committee staff and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
BILL #: CS/HB 447
TITLE: Disability History and Awareness Instruction
SPONSOR(S): Salzman
COMPANION BILL: SB 540 (Collins)
LINKED BILLS: None
RELATED BILLS: None
Committee References
Student Academic Success
17 Y, 0 N, As CS
PreK-12 Budget
Education & Employment
SUMMARY
Effect of the Bill:
For school districts that provide disability history and awareness instruction during the first two weeks of October,
the bill, to be known as the Evin B. Hartsell Act, requires the instruction to include specific materials. The
instruction must include materials for students in kindergarten through grade 3 on bullying and physical
disabilities; for grades 4 through 6, on autism spectrum disorder; for grades 7 through 9, on hearing impairments;
and for grades 10 through 12, on learning and intellectual disabilities.
Fiscal or Economic Impact:
School districts that choose to provide disability history and awareness instruction may incur costs associated with
the required instructional materials; thus, the bill may have an indeterminate fiscal impact on local government
expenditures.
JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
ANALYSIS
EFFECT OF THE BILL:
The bill, to be known as the Evin B. Hartsell Act, requires that school districts who elect to provide instruction on
disability history and awareness during the first two weeks of October for Disability History and Awareness
Weeks, include the following material:
For kindergarten through grade 3:
o Conversations on bullying.
Such conversations may address what students should do if they are being bullied, what
they should do if they see someone being bullied, why bullying is not the victim's fault, what
different types of bullying look like, the possibility that a friend could be a bully, or the
school's antibullying policy.
o Activities to teach about physical disabilities.
For grades 4 through 6:
o Information about autism spectrum disorder.
For grades 7 through 9:
o Information about hearing impairments.
For grades 10 through 12
o Information on different types of learning and intellectual disabilities. (Sections 1 and 2).
The effective date of the bill is July 1, 2025. (Section 3).
FISCAL OR ECONOMIC IMPACT:
JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT:
The bill may have an indeterminate fiscal impact on local government expenditures, as school districts that provide
disability history and awareness instruction may incur costs associated with the required instructional materials.
RELEVANT INFORMATION
SUBJECT OVERVIEW:
Disability Awareness
One in every five Americans is a person with a disability. A person may be born with a disability, develop one due
to an accident or illness, or experience one as part of aging. Although disability is a natural part of life, people with
disabilities have not always had equal opportunities.
1
Until 1975, children with disabilities did not have the right to a free and appropriate public education. That
changed with the passage of the Federal Education for All Handicapped Children Act, now known as the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act.
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Disability History and Awareness
Florida law designates the first two weeks of October each year as Disability History and Awareness Weeks,
requiring district school boards to recognize this designation. During this 2-week period, each district school board
may provide disability history and awareness instruction in all K-12 public schools.
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Students may receive intensive instruction to expand their knowledge, understanding, and awareness of
individuals with disabilities, the history of disability, and the disability rights movement. Disability history may
include the events and timelines of the development and evolution of services to, and the civil rights of, individuals
with disabilities. Disability history may also include the contributions of specific individuals with disabilities,
including the contributions of acknowledged national leaders.
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The instruction may be integrated into the existing school curriculum in ways including, but not limited to,
supplementing lesson plans, holding school assemblies, or providing other school-related activities. The
instruction may be delivered by qualified school personnel or by knowledgeable guest speakers, with a particular
focus on including individuals with disabilities.
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The goals of disability history and awareness instruction include:
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Better treatment for individuals with disabilities, especially for youth in school, and increased attention to
preventing the bullying or harassment of students with disabilities.
Encouragement to individuals with disabilities to develop increased self-esteem, resulting in more
individuals with disabilities gaining pride in being an individual with a disability, obtaining postsecondary
education, entering the workforce, and contributing to their communities.
Reaffirmation of the local, state, and federal commitment to the full inclusion in society of, and the equal
opportunity for, all individuals with disabilities.
OTHER RESOURCES:
Department of Education Resource Guide for Disability History and Awareness
Lesson Plans from the Museum of Disability History
1
Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System/Panhandle Area Educational Consortium, Disability History and
Awareness Weeks, https://www.paec.org/disabilityhistoryawareness/ (last visited Mar. 18, 2025).
2
Id., see also 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400–1482.
3
S. 1003.4205(1), F.S.; see also, Florida Department of Education, Disability History & Awareness,
https://www.fldoe.org/academics/exceptional-student-edu/parent-info/disability-history-awareness.stml (last visited Mar.
18, 2025).
4
S. 1003.4205(2)(a), F.S.
5
S. 1003.4205(2)(b), F.S.
6
S. 1003.4205(3), F.S. JUMP TO SUMMARY ANALYSIS RELEVANT INFORMATION BILL HISTORY
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Evin B. Hartsell Foundation
BILL HISTORY
COMMITTEE REFERENCE ACTION DATE
STAFF
DIRECTOR/
POLICY CHIEF
ANALYSIS
PREPARED BY
Student Academic Success
Subcommittee
17 Y, 0 N, As CS 3/25/2025 Sanchez Dixon
THE CHANGES ADOPTED BY THE
COMMITTEE:
Removed the requirements for activities from the instructional
materials for grades 4 through 12.
Removed the specified examples of activities from the instructional
materials for kindergarten through grade 3.
Removed the authorization for school districts to consult with the Evin
B. Hartsell Foundation in developing curricula.
PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee
Education & Employment
Committee
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THIS BILL ANALYSIS HAS BEEN UPDATED TO INCORPORATE ALL OF THE CHANGES DESCRIBED ABOVE.
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