HB 609 2025
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hb609-00
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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 public postsecondary academic 2
freedom; amending ss. 1001.03 and 1001.706, F.S.; 3
deleting the definition for the term "shield"; 4
requiring the State Board of Education and Board of 5
Governors to ensure Florida College System 6
institutions and state universities, respectively, are 7
free from political influence and interference in 8
specified activities; deleting a prohibition against 9
such boards shielding students, faculty, and staff 10
from specified speech; creating s. 1004.022, F.S.; 11
providing that students in the State University System 12
and Florida College System have the right to pursue an 13
education without specified interference; amending s. 14
1004.097, F.S.; deleting provisions authorizing 15
students to record video or audio of class lectures; 16
deleting a cause of action relating to such 17
recordings; creating s. 1012.802, F.S.; providing that 18
each State University System and Florida College 19
System faculty member shall negotiate his or her 20
academic assignments with specified parties; providing 21
requirements for such negotiations; authorizing the 22
Board of Governors and the State Board of Education to 23
adopt regulations and rules, respectively; providing 24
an effective date. 25
HB 609 2025
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 27
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Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (19) of 29
section 1001.03, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 30
1001.03 Specific powers of State Board of Education. — 31
(19) INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND VIEWPOINT DIVERSITY 32
ASSESSMENT.— 33
(a) For the purposes of this subsection, the term : 34
1. "intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity" means 35
the exposure of students, faculty, and staff to, and the 36
encouragement of their explora tion of, a variety of ideological 37
and political perspectives. 38
2. "Shield" means to limit students', faculty members', or 39
staff members' access to, or observation of, ideas and opinions 40
that they may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, disagreeable, or 41
offensive. 42
(c) The State Board of Education must ensure that may not 43
shield students, faculty, or staff at Florida College System 44
institutions are from free from undue political influence and 45
interference in academic affairs, including curriculum design, 46
faculty appointments, research activities, and administrative 47
operations speech protected under the First Amendment to the 48
United States Constitution, Art. I of the State Constitution, or 49
s. 1004.097. 50
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Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (13) of 51
section 1001.706, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 52
1001.706 Powers and duties of the Board of Governors. — 53
(13) INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND VIEWPOINT DIVERSITY 54
ASSESSMENT.— 55
(a) For the purposes of this subsection, the term : 56
1. "intellectual freedo m and viewpoint diversity" means 57
the exposure of students, faculty, and staff to, and the 58
encouragement of their exploration of, a variety of ideological 59
and political perspectives. 60
2. "Shield" means to limit students', faculty members', or 61
staff members' access to, or observation of, ideas and opinions 62
that they may find uncomfortable, unwelcome, disagreeable, or 63
offensive. 64
(c) The Board of Governors must ensure that may not shield 65
students, faculty, or staff at state universities are from free 66
from undue political influence and interference in academic 67
affairs, including curriculum design, faculty appointments, 68
research activities, and administrative operations speech 69
protected under the First Amendment to the United States 70
Constitution, Art. I of the State Constitution, or s. 1004.97 . 71
Section 3. Section 1004.022, Florida Statutes, is created 72
to read: 73
1004.022 Academic freedom. —Notwithstanding any other 74
provision of law to the contrary, every student in the State 75
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University System and Flori da College System has the unalienable 76
right to pursue education access across all academic disciplines 77
without governmental or institutional interference, including, 78
but not limited to, a student's prerogative to select, drop, or 79
change courses and areas o f study without facing pressure or 80
restrictions based on political or ideological grounds. 81
Section 4. Paragraph (g) of subsection (3) and subsection 82
(4) of section 1004.097, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 83
1004.097 Free expression on campus. — 84
(3) RIGHT TO FREE-SPEECH ACTIVITIES.— 85
(g) Notwithstanding s. 934.03 and subject to the 86
protections provided in the Family Educational Rights and 87
Privacy Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g, and ss. 1002.22 and 88
1002.225, a student may record video or audio of class lectures 89
for his or her own personal educational use, in connection with 90
a complaint to the public institution of higher education where 91
the recording was made, or as evidence in, or in preparation 92
for, a criminal or civil proceeding. A recorded l ecture may not 93
be published without the consent of the lecturer. 94
(4) CAUSE OF ACTION. —A person injured by a violation of 95
this section may bring an action : 96
(a) against a public institution of higher education based 97
on the violation of the individual's e xpressive rights in a 98
court of competent jurisdiction to obtain declaratory and 99
injunctive relief and may be entitled to damages plus court 100
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costs and reasonable attorney fees, which may only be paid from 101
nonstate funds. 102
(b) Against a person who has publi shed video or audio 103
recorded in a classroom in violation of paragraph (3)(g) in a 104
court of competent jurisdiction to obtain declaratory and 105
injunctive relief and may be entitled to damages plus court 106
costs and reasonable attorney fees, with the total recov ery not 107
to exceed $200,000. 108
Section 5. Section 1012.802, Florida Statutes, is created 109
to read: 110
1012.802 Faculty assignments at public postsecondary 111
education institutions. — 112
(1) Each faculty member at a state university or Florida 113
College System institution shall, at his or her discretion, 114
negotiate his or her annual assignments with his or her 115
department chair and academic officers. To maintain the 116
professional autonomy of faculty members, the negotiation 117
process must be free from interference by th e state university's 118
or Florida College System institution's board of trustees or any 119
other governing body. 120
(2) The Board of Governors and the State Board of 121
Education may adopt regulations and rules, respectively, to 122
administer this section. 123
Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 124