Florida 2025 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0609 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 public postsecondary academic 2
16	16	freedom; amending ss. 1001.03 and 1001.706, F.S.; 3
17	17	deleting the definition for the term "shield"; 4
18	18	requiring the State Board of Education and Board of 5
19	19	Governors to ensure Florida College System 6
20	20	institutions and state universities, respectively, are 7
21	21	free from political influence and interference in 8
22	22	specified activities; deleting a prohibition against 9
23	23	such boards shielding students, faculty, and staff 10
24	24	from specified speech; creating s. 1004.022, F.S.; 11
25	25	providing that students in the State University System 12
26	26	and Florida College System have the right to pursue an 13
27	27	education without specified interference; amending s. 14
28	28	1004.097, F.S.; deleting provisions authorizing 15
29	29	students to record video or audio of class lectures; 16
30	30	deleting a cause of action relating to such 17
31	31	recordings; creating s. 1012.802, F.S.; providing that 18
32	32	each State University System and Florida College 19
33	33	System faculty member shall negotiate his or her 20
34	34	academic assignments with specified parties; providing 21
35	35	requirements for such negotiations; authorizing the 22
36	36	Board of Governors and the State Board of Education to 23
37	37	adopt regulations and rules, respectively; providing 24
38	38	an effective date. 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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52	52	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 27
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54	54	Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (19) of 29
55	55	section 1001.03, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 30
56	56	1001.03 Specific powers of State Board of Education. — 31
57	57	(19) INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND VIEWPOINT DIVERSITY 32
58	58	ASSESSMENT.— 33
59	59	(a) For the purposes of this subsection, the term : 34
60	60	1. "intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity" means 35
61	61	the exposure of students, faculty, and staff to, and the 36
62	62	encouragement of their explora tion of, a variety of ideological 37
63	63	and political perspectives. 38
64	64	2. "Shield" means to limit students', faculty members', or 39
65	65	staff members' access to, or observation of, ideas and opinions 40
66	66	that they may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, disagreeable, or 41
67	67	offensive. 42
68	68	(c) The State Board of Education must ensure that may not 43
69	69	shield students, faculty, or staff at Florida College System 44
70	70	institutions are from free from undue political influence and 45
71	71	interference in academic affairs, including curriculum design, 46
72	72	faculty appointments, research activities, and administrative 47
73	73	operations speech protected under the First Amendment to the 48
74	74	United States Constitution, Art. I of the State Constitution, or 49
75	75	s. 1004.097. 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	Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (13) of 51
89	89	section 1001.706, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 52
90	90	1001.706 Powers and duties of the Board of Governors. — 53
91	91	(13) INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND VIEWPOINT DIVERSITY 54
92	92	ASSESSMENT.— 55
93	93	(a) For the purposes of this subsection, the term : 56
94	94	1. "intellectual freedo m and viewpoint diversity" means 57
95	95	the exposure of students, faculty, and staff to, and the 58
96	96	encouragement of their exploration of, a variety of ideological 59
97	97	and political perspectives. 60
98	98	2. "Shield" means to limit students', faculty members', or 61
99	99	staff members' access to, or observation of, ideas and opinions 62
100	100	that they may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, disagreeable, or 63
101	101	offensive. 64
102	102	(c) The Board of Governors must ensure that may not shield 65
103	103	students, faculty, or staff at state universities are from free 66
104	104	from undue political influence and interference in academic 67
105	105	affairs, including curriculum design, faculty appointments, 68
106	106	research activities, and administrative operations speech 69
107	107	protected under the First Amendment to the United States 70
108	108	Constitution, Art. I of the State Constitution, or s. 1004.97 . 71
109	109	Section 3. Section 1004.022, Florida Statutes, is created 72
110	110	to read: 73
111	111	1004.022 Academic freedom. —Notwithstanding any other 74
112	112	provision of law to the contrary, every student in the State 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	University System and Flori da College System has the unalienable 76
126	126	right to pursue education access across all academic disciplines 77
127	127	without governmental or institutional interference, including, 78
128	128	but not limited to, a student's prerogative to select, drop, or 79
129	129	change courses and areas o f study without facing pressure or 80
130	130	restrictions based on political or ideological grounds. 81
131	131	Section 4. Paragraph (g) of subsection (3) and subsection 82
132	132	(4) of section 1004.097, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 83
133	133	1004.097 Free expression on campus. — 84
134	134	(3) RIGHT TO FREE-SPEECH ACTIVITIES.— 85
135	135	(g) Notwithstanding s. 934.03 and subject to the 86
136	136	protections provided in the Family Educational Rights and 87
137	137	Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g, and ss. 1002.22 and 88
138	138	1002.225, a student may record video or audio of class lectures 89
139	139	for his or her own personal educational use, in connection with 90
140	140	a complaint to the public institution of higher education where 91
141	141	the recording was made, or as evidence in, or in preparation 92
142	142	for, a criminal or civil proceeding. A recorded l ecture may not 93
143	143	be published without the consent of the lecturer. 94
144	144	(4) CAUSE OF ACTION. —A person injured by a violation of 95
145	145	this section may bring an action : 96
146	146	(a) against a public institution of higher education based 97
147	147	on the violation of the individual's e xpressive rights in a 98
148	148	court of competent jurisdiction to obtain declaratory and 99
149	149	injunctive relief and may be entitled to damages plus court 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	costs and reasonable attorney fees, which may only be paid from 101
163	163	nonstate funds. 102
164	164	(b) Against a person who has publi shed video or audio 103
165	165	recorded in a classroom in violation of paragraph (3)(g) in a 104
166	166	court of competent jurisdiction to obtain declaratory and 105
167	167	injunctive relief and may be entitled to damages plus court 106
168	168	costs and reasonable attorney fees, with the total recov ery not 107
169	169	to exceed $200,000. 108
170	170	Section 5. Section 1012.802, Florida Statutes, is created 109
171	171	to read: 110
172	172	1012.802 Faculty assignments at public postsecondary 111
173	173	education institutions. — 112
174	174	(1) Each faculty member at a state university or Florida 113
175	175	College System institution shall, at his or her discretion, 114
176	176	negotiate his or her annual assignments with his or her 115
177	177	department chair and academic officers. To maintain the 116
178	178	professional autonomy of faculty members, the negotiation 117
179	179	process must be free from interference by th e state university's 118
180	180	or Florida College System institution's board of trustees or any 119
181	181	other governing body. 120
182	182	(2) The Board of Governors and the State Board of 121
183	183	Education may adopt regulations and rules, respectively, to 122
184	184	administer this section. 123
185	185	Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 124