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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to education; amending s. 11.45, F.S.; 2
conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 3
amending s. 110.211, F.S.; authorizing recruiting 4
within the career service system to include the use of 5
certain apprenticeship programs; providing tha t open 6
competition is not required under certain 7
circumstances relating to the career service system; 8
amending s. 125.901, F.S.; revising the composition 9
and terms of membership for councils on children's 10
services; amending ss. 216.251, 447.203, and 1000.0 4, 11
F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the 12
act; amending s. 1000.40, F.S.; revising the scheduled 13
repeal date of the Interstate Compact on Educational 14
Opportunity for Military Children; amending s. 15
1001.03, F.S.; renaming critical teacher shorta ge 16
areas as "high-demand teacher needs areas"; amending 17
s. 1001.20, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes 18
made by the act; creating s. 1001.325, F.S.; 19
prohibiting the expenditure of funds by public 20
schools, charter schools, school districts, charter 21
school administrators, or direct -support organizations 22
to purchase membership in, or goods or services from, 23
any organization that discriminates on the basis of 24
race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or 25
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religion; prohibiting the expenditure of funds by 26
public schools, charter schools, school districts, 27
charter school administrators, or direct -support 28
organizations to promote, support, or maintain certain 29
programs or activities; authorizing the use of student 30
fees and school or district facilities by stud ent-led 31
organizations under certain circumstances; providing 32
construction; requiring the State Board of Education 33
to adopt rules; amending s. 1001.452, F.S.; deleting a 34
provision requiring the Commissioner of Education to 35
determine whether school districts have maximized 36
efforts to include minority persons and persons of 37
lower socioeconomic status on their school advisory 38
councils; amending s. 1002.20, F.S.; authorizing 39
public schools to purchase or enter into arrangements 40
for certain emergency opioid antag onists, rather than 41
only for naloxone; revising specified liability 42
protections to include public school employees who 43
administer an emergency opioid antagonist; requiring 44
that district school board policies authorizing 45
corporal punishment include a requir ement that 46
parental consent be provided before the administration 47
of corporal punishment; amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; 48
requiring a charter school to comply with provisions 49
relating to corporal punishment; prohibiting local 50
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governing authorities from imposing or enforcing 51
certain building requirements and restrictions on 52
charter school facilities; requiring the local 53
governing authority to administratively approve a 54
charter school if certain requirements are met; 55
amending the statutory cause of action for an 56
aggrieved school or entity; prohibiting local 57
governing authorities from requiring charter schools 58
to obtain a special exemption or conditional use 59
approval unless otherwise specified; repealing s. 60
1002.351, F.S., relating to the Florida School for 61
Competitive Academics; amending ss. 1002.394 and 62
1002.395, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made 63
by the act; amending s. 1002.421, F.S.; revising the 64
background screening requirements for certain private 65
school personnel; amending s. 1002.71, F.S.; revising 66
the conditions under which a student may withdraw from 67
a prekindergarten program and reenroll in another 68
program; amending s. 1003.05, F.S.; requiring that 69
strategies addressed in specified memoranda of 70
agreement between school districts and military 71
installations include the development and 72
implementation of a specified training module; 73
requiring the Department of Education to provide the 74
training module to each district school board; 75
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requiring each district school board to provide such 76
module to each public and charter K-12 school in its 77
district; requiring district school boards to make 78
certain training available to certain employees; 79
amending s. 1003.41, F.S.; requiring that certain 80
standards documents contain only academic standards 81
and benchmarks; requ iring the commissioner to revise 82
currently approved standards documents and submit them 83
to the state board by a specified date; amending s. 84
1003.42, F.S.; requiring health education for students 85
in grades 6 through 12 to include instruction on human 86
embryologic development; providing requirements for 87
such instruction; requiring the state board to adopt 88
rules relating to such instruction; providing parental 89
exemption for instruction on human embryologic 90
development; requiring school districts to notify 91
parents of the right to an exemption; amending s. 92
1003.4201, F.S.; revising the requirements for certain 93
reading instruction plans to include specified 94
instruction and information; requiring the department 95
to approve school district reading instruction plans; 96
creating s. 1003.4202, F.S.; requiring school 97
districts to implement a certain system of 98
comprehensive mathematics instruction for certain 99
students; defining the term "evidence -based"; amending 100
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s. 1003.4282, F.S.; providing additional components 101
for required instruction on financial literacy; 102
amending s. 1004.04, F.S.; revising the uniform core 103
curricula for state-approved teacher preparation 104
programs to include specified mathematics content; 105
amending s. 1004.85, F.S.; revising the requirements 106
for postsecondary educator preparation institutes to 107
include certain instruction and assessments on 108
specified mathematics content; amending s. 1006.09, 109
F.S.; expanding the duties of school principals 110
relating to student discipline and school safety; 111
amending s. 1006.13, F.S.; requiring district school 112
superintendents to provide a determination to extend 113
the expulsion period for students; providing 114
requirements for such determination; requiring such 115
determination be provided to students and parents; 116
amending s. 1007.27, F.S.; authorizing the department 117
to join or establish a national consortium as an 118
additional alternative method to develop and implement 119
advanced placement courses; amending s. 1007.35, F.S.; 120
authorizing public high schools to provide the Classic 121
Learning Test 10 to specified students; amending s. 122
1008.25, F.S.; requiring certain provisions to be 123
defined in state board rules; requiring parents of a 124
student who exhibits a substantial deficiency in 125
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mathematics to be notified in writing of information 126
about the student's eligibility for the New Worlds 127
Scholarship Accounts and the New Worlds Tutoring 128
Program; amending s. 1008.365, F.S.; expanding the 129
types of tutoring hours that may be counted toward 130
meeting the community service requirements for the 131
Bright Futures scholarship to include paid tutoring 132
hours; amending s. 1008.366, F.S.; requiring the New 133
Worlds Tutoring Program to provide best practice 134
guidelines for mathematics tutoring in consultation 135
with the Office of Mathematics and Sciences; revising 136
the submission date for a specified report relating to 137
the New Worlds Tutoring Program; repealing s. 1011.58, 138
F.S., relating to procedures for legislative budget 139
requests for the Florida School for Competitive 140
Academics; repealing s. 1011.59, F.S.; relating to 141
funds for the Florida School for Competitive 142
Academics; amending s. 1011.71, F.S.; revising the 143
definition of the term "casualty insurance" for 144
specified purposes; amending ss. 1012.07 and 1012.22, 145
F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the 146
act; amending s. 1012.315, F.S.; revising the 147
background screening requirements for certain private 148
school personnel; providing that certain background 149
screening requirements remain in place for a specified 150
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period of time for certain personnel; amending s. 151
1012.56, F.S.; requiring competency -based professional 152
learning certification programs to include specified 153
mathematics content; amending s. 1012.586, F.S.; 154
amending reading endorsements and subject area 155
examinations to address identifications of the 156
characteristics of dyscalculia; removing the 157
requirement for school districts' reading endorsement 158
add-on programs to be resubmitted for approval by a 159
date certain; requiring the department to adopt 160
mathematics endorsement pathways; amending s. 1012.77, 161
F.S.; deleting obsolete language; authorizing certain 162
charter school consortia to submit nominees for the 163
Teacher of the Year and Ambassador for Education; 164
providing effective dates. 165
166
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 167
168
Section 1. Paragraph s (d) and (f) of subsection (2) of 169
section 11.45, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 170
11.45 Definitions; duties; authorities; reports; rules. — 171
(2) DUTIES.—The Auditor General shall: 172
(d) Annually conduct financial audits of the accounts and 173
records of all district school boards in counties with 174
populations of less fewer than 150,000, according to the most 175
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recent federal decennial statewide census , and; the Florida 176
School for the Deaf and the Blind ; and the Florida School for 177
Competitive Academics . 178
(f) At least every 3 years, conduct operational audits of 179
the accounts and records of state agencies, state universities, 180
state colleges, district school boards, the Florida Clerks of 181
Court Operations Corporation, water management districts, and 182
the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind , and the Florida 183
School for Competitive Academics . 184
185
The Auditor General shall perform his or her duties 186
independently but under the general policies established by the 187
Legislative Auditing Committee. This subsection doe s not limit 188
the Auditor General's discretionary authority to conduct other 189
audits or engagements of governmental entities as authorized in 190
subsection (3). 191
Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 110.211, Florida 192
Statutes, is amended to read: 193
110.211 Recruitment.— 194
(3) Recruiting shall seek efficiency in advertising and 195
may be assisted by a contracted vendor responsible for 196
maintenance of the personnel data. Recruiting may include the 197
use of an apprenticeship program, as defined in s. 446.021(6). 198
Open competition is not required for a position that will be 199
filled by a person who has successfully completed an 200
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apprenticeship program with the hiring agency. 201
Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 202
125.901, Florida Statutes, is amended to rea d: 203
125.901 Children's services; independent special district; 204
council; powers, duties, and functions; public records 205
exemption.— 206
(1) Each county may by ordinance create an independent 207
special district, as defined in ss. 189.012 and 200.001(8)(e), 208
to provide funding for children's services throughout the county 209
in accordance with this section. The boundaries of such district 210
shall be coterminous with the boundaries of the county. The 211
county governing body shall obtain approval at a general 212
election, as defined in s. 97.021, by a majority vote of those 213
electors voting on the question, to annually levy ad valorem 214
taxes which shall not exceed the maximum millage rate authorized 215
by this section. Any district created pursuant to the provisions 216
of this subsection shall be required to levy and fix millage 217
subject to the provisions of s. 200.065. Once such millage is 218
approved by the electorate, the district shall not be required 219
to seek approval of the electorate in future years to levy the 220
previously approved m illage. However, a referendum to increase 221
the millage rate previously approved by the electors must be 222
held at a general election, and the referendum may be held only 223
once during the 48-month period preceding the effective date of 224
the increased millage. 225
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(b) However, any county as defined in s. 125.011(1) may 226
instead have a governing body consisting of 33 members, 227
including the superintendent of schools, or his or her designee; 228
two representatives of public postsecondary education 229
institutions located in t he county; the county manager or the 230
equivalent county officer , or his or her designee ; the district 231
administrator from the appropriate district of the Department of 232
Children and Families, or the administrator's designee who is a 233
member of the Senior Manag ement Service or the Selected Exempt 234
Service; the director of the county health department or the 235
director's designee; the state attorney for the county or the 236
state attorney's designee; the chief judge assigned to juvenile 237
cases, or another juvenile judge who is the chief judge's 238
designee and who shall sit as a voting member of the board, 239
except that the judge may not vote or participate in setting ad 240
valorem taxes under this section; an individual who is selected 241
by the board of the local United Way or it s equivalent; a member 242
of a locally recognized faith -based coalition, selected by that 243
coalition; a member of the local chamber of commerce, selected 244
by that chamber or, if more than one chamber exists within the 245
county, a person selected by a coalition of the local chambers; 246
a member of the early learning coalition, selected by that 247
coalition; a representative of a labor organization or union 248
active in the county; a member of a local alliance or coalition 249
engaged in cross-system planning for health and soc ial service 250
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delivery in the county, selected by that alliance or coalition; 251
a member of the local Parent -Teachers Association/Parent -252
Teacher-Student Association, selected by that association; a 253
youth representative selected by the local school system's 254
student government; a local school board member appointed by the 255
chair of the school board; the mayor of the county or the 256
mayor's designee; one member of the county governing body, 257
appointed by the chair of that body; a member of the state 258
Legislature who represents residents of the county, selected by 259
the chair of the local legislative delegation; an elected 260
official representing the residents of a municipality in the 261
county, selected by the county municipal league; and 5 4 262
members-at-large, appointed to the council by the majority of 263
sitting council members. The remaining seven members shall be 264
appointed by the Governor in accordance with procedures set 265
forth in paragraph (a), except that the Governor may remove a 266
member for cause or upon the written petitio n of the council. 267
Appointments by the Governor must, to the extent reasonably 268
possible, represent the geographic and demographic makeup 269
diversity of the population of the county. Members who are 270
appointed to the council by reason of their position are not 271
subject to the length of terms and limits on consecutive terms 272
as provided in this section. The remaining appointed members of 273
the governing body shall be appointed to serve 3-year 2-year 274
terms, except that those members appointed by the Governor shall 275
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be appointed to serve 4 -year terms, and the youth representative 276
and the legislative delegate shall be appointed to serve 1 -year 277
terms. A member may be reappointed; however, a member may not 278
serve for more than three consecutive terms. A member is 279
eligible to be appointed again after a 2 -year hiatus from the 280
council. 281
Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 282
216.251, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 283
216.251 Salary appropriations; limitations. — 284
(2)(a) The salary for each position not sp ecifically 285
indicated in the appropriations acts shall be as provided in one 286
of the following subparagraphs: 287
1. Within the classification and pay plans provided for in 288
chapter 110. 289
2. Within the classification and pay plans established by 290
the Board of Trustees for the Florida School for the Deaf and 291
the Blind of the Department of Education and approved by the 292
State Board of Education for academic and academic 293
administrative personnel. 294
3. Within the classification and pay plan approved and 295
administered by the Board of Governors or the designee of the 296
board for those positions in the State University System. 297
4. Within the classification and pay plan approved by the 298
President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 299
Representatives, as the case may be, for employees of the 300
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Legislature. 301
5. Within the approved classification and pay plan for the 302
judicial branch. 303
6. Within the classification and pay plans established by 304
the Board of Trustees for the Florida School for Competitive 305
Academics of the Department of Education and approved by the 306
State Board of Education for academic and academic 307
administrative personnel. 308
Section 5. Subsection (2) of section 447.203, Florida 309
Statutes, is amended to read: 310
447.203 Definitions. —As used in this part: 311
(2) "Public employer" or "employer" means the state or any 312
county, municipality, or special district or any subdivision or 313
agency thereof which the commission determines has sufficient 314
legal distinctiveness properly to carry out the functions of a 315
public employer. With respect to all public employees determined 316
by the commission as properly belonging to a statewide 317
bargaining unit composed of State Career Service System 318
employees or Selected Professional Service employees, the 319
Governor is deemed to be the pub lic employer; and the Board of 320
Governors of the State University System, or the board's 321
designee, is deemed to be the public employer with respect to 322
all public employees of each constituent state university. The 323
board of trustees of a community college is deemed to be the 324
public employer with respect to all employees of the community 325
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college. The district school board is deemed to be the public 326
employer with respect to all employees of the school district. 327
The Board of Trustees of the Florida School for th e Deaf and the 328
Blind is deemed to be the public employer with respect to the 329
academic and academic administrative personnel of the Florida 330
School for the Deaf and the Blind. The Board of Trustees of the 331
Florida School for Competitive Academics is deemed to be the 332
public employer with respect to the academic and academic 333
administrative personnel of the Florida School for Competitive 334
Academics. The Governor is deemed to be the public employer with 335
respect to all employees in the Correctional Education Program 336
of the Department of Corrections established pursuant to s. 337
944.801. 338
Section 6. Subsection (7) of section 1000.04, Florida 339
Statutes, is amended to read: 340
1000.04 Components for the delivery of public education 341
within the Florida Early Learning -20 education system.—Florida's 342
Early Learning-20 education system provides for the delivery of 343
early learning and public education through publicly supported 344
and controlled K-12 schools, Florida College System 345
institutions, state universities and other postsecon dary 346
educational institutions, other educational institutions, and 347
other educational services as provided or authorized by the 348
Constitution and laws of the state. 349
(7) THE FLORIDA SCHOOL FOR COMPETITIVE ACADEMICS. —The 350
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Florida School for Competitive Academ ics is a component of the 351
delivery of public education within Florida's Early Learning -20 352
education system. 353
Section 7. Effective upon this act becoming a law, section 354
1000.40, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 355
1000.40 Future repeal of the Interst ate Compact on 356
Educational Opportunity for Military Children. —Sections 1000.36, 357
1000.361, 1000.38, and 1000.39 and this section shall stand 358
repealed on July 1, 2028 2025, unless reviewed and saved from 359
repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 360
Section 8. Subsection (5) of section 1001.03, Florida 361
Statutes, is amended to read: 362
1001.03 Specific powers of State Board of Education. — 363
(5) IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH-DEMAND CRITICAL TEACHER NEEDS 364
SHORTAGE AREAS.—The State Board of Education shall identify 365
high-demand critical teacher needs shortage areas pursuant to s. 366
1012.07. 367
Section 9. Paragraph (e) of subsection (4) of section 368
1001.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 369
1001.20 Department under direction of state board. — 370
(4) The Department of Education shall establish the 371
following offices within the Office of the Commissioner of 372
Education which shall coordinate their activities with all other 373
divisions and offices: 374
(e) Office of Inspector General. —Organized using existing 375
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resources and funds and responsible for promoting 376
accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness and detecting 377
fraud and abuse within school districts, the Florida School for 378
the Deaf and the Blind, the Florida School for Competitive 379
Academics, and Florida College System ins titutions in Florida. 380
If the Commissioner of Education determines that a district 381
school board, the Board of Trustees for the Florida School for 382
the Deaf and the Blind, the Board of Trustees for the Florida 383
School for Competitive Academics, or a Florida College System 384
institution board of trustees is unwilling or unable to address 385
substantiated allegations made by any person relating to waste, 386
fraud, or financial mismanagement within the school district, 387
the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, the Florida 388
School for Competitive Academics, or the Florida College System 389
institution, the office must conduct, coordinate, or request 390
investigations into such substantiated allegations. The office 391
shall investigate allegations or reports of possible fraud or 392
abuse against a district school board made by any member of the 393
Cabinet; the presiding officer of either house of the 394
Legislature; a chair of a substantive or appropriations 395
committee with jurisdiction; or a member of the board for which 396
an investigation is sought. The office may investigate 397
allegations or reports of suspected violations of a student's, 398
parent's, or teacher's rights. The office shall have access to 399
all information and personnel necessary to perform its duties 400
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and shall have all of its curre nt powers, duties, and 401
responsibilities authorized in s. 20.055. 402
Section 10. Section 1001.325, Florida Statutes, is created 403
to read: 404
1001.325 Prohibited expenditures. — 405
(1) A public school, charter school, school district, 406
charter school administrat or, or direct-support organization may 407
not expend any funds, regardless of source, to purchase 408
membership in, or goods and services from, any organization that 409
discriminates on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, 410
disability, or religion. 411
(2) A public school, charter school, school district, 412
charter school administrator, or direct -support organization may 413
not expend any state or federal funds to promote, support, or 414
maintain any programs or campus activities that: 415
(a) Violate s. 1000.05; or 416
(b) Advocate, promote, or engage in political or social 417
activism, as defined by the State Board of Education. 418
419
Student fees to support student -led organizations are permitted 420
notwithstanding any speech or expressive activity by such 421
organizations which wo uld otherwise violate this subsection, 422
provided that public funds are allocated to student -led 423
organizations pursuant to written policies or regulations of the 424
school or district in which the student is enrolled, as 425
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applicable. Use of school or district fa cilities by student-led 426
organizations is permitted notwithstanding any speech or 427
expressive activity by such organizations which would otherwise 428
violate this subsection, provided that such use is granted to 429
student-led organizations pursuant to written pol icies or 430
regulations of the school or school district, as applicable. 431
(3) Subsection (2) does not prohibit programs, campus 432
activities, or functions required for compliance with general or 433
federal laws or regulations, for obtaining or retaining 434
accreditation, or for continuing to receive state funds with the 435
approval of either the State Board of Education or the 436
department. 437
(4) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to 438
implement this section. 439
Section 11. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of se ction 440
1001.452, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 441
1001.452 District and school advisory councils. — 442
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 443
(a) The district school board shall establish an advisory 444
council for each school in the district and shall develop 445
procedures for the election and appointment of advisory council 446
members. Each school advisory council shall include in its name 447
the words "school advisory council." The school advisory council 448
shall be the sole body responsible for final decisionmaking at 449
the school relating to implementation of ss. 1001.42(18) and 450
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1008.345. A majority of the members of each school advisory 451
council must be persons who are not employed by the school 452
district. Each advisory council shall be composed of the 453
principal and an appropriately balanced number of teachers, 454
education support employees, students, parents, and other 455
business and community citizens who are representative of the 456
ethnic, racial, and economic community served by the school. 457
Career center and high school advisory counci ls shall include 458
students, and middle and junior high school advisory councils 459
may include students. School advisory councils of career centers 460
and adult education centers are not required to include parents 461
as members. Council members representing teacher s, education 462
support employees, students, and parents shall be elected by 463
their respective peer groups at the school in a fair and 464
equitable manner as follows: 465
1. Teachers shall be elected by teachers. 466
2. Education support employees shall be elected by 467
education support employees. 468
3. Students shall be elected by students. 469
4. Parents shall be elected by parents. 470
471
The district school board shall establish procedures to be 472
used by schools in selecting business and community members 473
which that include means of ensuring wide notice of vacancies 474
and of taking input on possible members from local business, 475
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chambers of commerce, community and civic organizations and 476
groups, and the public at large. The district school board shall 477
review the membership compo sition of each advisory council. If 478
the district school board determines that the membership elected 479
by the school is not representative of the ethnic, racial, and 480
economic community served by the school, the district school 481
board must shall appoint additional members to achieve proper 482
representation. The commissioner shall determine if schools have 483
maximized their efforts to include on their advisory councils 484
minority persons and persons of lower socioeconomic status. 485
Although schools are strongly encourag ed to establish school 486
advisory councils, the district school board of any school 487
district that has a student population of 10,000 or less fewer 488
may establish a district advisory council which includes at 489
least one duly elected teacher from each school in the district. 490
For the purposes of school advisory councils and district 491
advisory councils, the term "teacher" includes classroom 492
teachers, certified student services personnel, and media 493
specialists. For purposes of this paragraph, "education support 494
employee" means any person employed by a school who is not 495
defined as instructional or administrative personnel pursuant to 496
s. 1012.01 and whose duties require 20 or more hours in each 497
normal working week. 498
Section 12. Paragraph (o) of subsection (3) and par agraph 499
(c) of subsection (4) of section 1002.20, Florida Statutes, are 500
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amended to read: 501
1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights. —Parents of public 502
school students must receive accurate and timely information 503
regarding their child's academic progress and m ust be informed 504
of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K -12 505
students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory 506
rights including, but not limited to, the following: 507
(3) HEALTH ISSUES.— 508
(o) Emergency opioid antagonist Naloxone use and supply.— 509
1. A public school may purchase a supply of an emergency 510
the opioid antagonist approved by the United States Food and 511
Drug Administration (FDA) naloxone from a wholesale distributor 512
as defined in s. 499.003 or may enter into an arrangement with a 513
wholesale distributor or manufacturer as defined in s. 499.003 514
for an FDA-approved emergency opioid antagonist naloxone at 515
fair-market, free, or reduced prices for use in the event that a 516
student has an opioid overdose. The FDA-approved emergency 517
opioid antagonist naloxone must be maintained in a secure 518
location on the public school's premises. 519
2. A public school district employee who administers an 520
approved emergency opioid antagonist to a student in compliance 521
with ss. 381.887 and 768.13 is immune from civil liability under 522
s. 768.13. 523
(4) DISCIPLINE.— 524
(c) Corporal punishment. — 525
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1. In accordance with the provisions o f s. 1003.32, 526
corporal punishment of a public school student may only be 527
administered by a teacher or school principal within guidelines 528
of the school principal and according to district school board 529
policy. Another adult must be present and must be inform ed in 530
the student's presence of the reason for the punishment. Upon 531
request, the teacher or school principal must provide the parent 532
with a written explanation of the reason for the punishment and 533
the name of the other adult who was present. 534
2. A district school board having a policy authorizing the 535
use of corporal punishment as a form of discipline shall include 536
in such policy a requirement that a parent provide consent for 537
the school to administer corporal punishment. The district 538
school board policy ma y require such consent for the school year 539
or before each administration. The district school board shall 540
review its policy on corporal punishment once every 3 years 541
during a district school board meeting held pursuant to s. 542
1001.372. The district school b oard shall take public testimony 543
at the board meeting. If such board meeting is not held in 544
accordance with this subparagraph, the portion of the district 545
school board's policy authorizing corporal punishment expires. 546
Section 13. Paragraph (b) of subse ction (16) and 547
paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (18) of section 1002.33, 548
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 549
1002.33 Charter schools. — 550
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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
(16) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES. — 551
(b) Additionally, a charter school shall be in compliance 552
with the following statutes: 553
1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and 554
records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties. 555
2. Chapter 119, relating to public records. 556
3. Section 1003.03, relating to the maximum class size, 557
except that the calculatio n for compliance pursuant to s. 558
1003.03 shall be the average at the school level. 559
4. Section 1012.22(1)(c), relating to compensation and 560
salary schedules. 561
5. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions. 562
6. Section 1012.335, relating to contr acts with 563
instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011. 564
7. Section 1012.34, relating to the substantive 565
requirements for performance evaluations for instructional 566
personnel and school administrators. 567
8. Section 1006.12, relating to safe -school officers. 568
9. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat management 569
teams. 570
10. Section 1006.07(9), relating to School Environmental 571
Safety Incident Reporting. 572
11. Section 1006.07(10), relating to reporting of 573
involuntary examinations. 574
12. Section 1006.1493, relating to the Florida Safe 575
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Schools Assessment Tool. 576
13. Section 1006.07(6)(d), relating to adopting an active 577
assailant response plan. 578
14. Section 943.082(4)(b), relating to the mobile 579
suspicious activity reporting tool. 580
15. Section 1012.584 , relating to youth mental health 581
awareness and assistance training. 582
16. Section 1001.42(4)(f)2., relating to middle school and 583
high school start times. A charter school -in-the-workplace is 584
exempt from this requirement. 585
17. Section 1002.20(4)(c), relat ing to school corporal 586
punishment. 587
(18) FACILITIES.— 588
(a)1. A startup charter school shall utilize facilities 589
which comply with the Florida Building Code pursuant to chapter 590
553 except for the State Requirements for Educational 591
Facilities. Conversion ch arter schools shall utilize facilities 592
that comply with the State Requirements for Educational 593
Facilities provided that the school district and the charter 594
school have entered into a mutual management plan for the 595
reasonable maintenance of such facilities. The mutual management 596
plan shall contain a provision by which the district school 597
board agrees to maintain charter school facilities in the same 598
manner as its other public schools within the district. Charter 599
schools, with the exception of conversion char ter schools, are 600
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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
not required to comply, but may choose to comply, with the State 601
Requirements for Educational Facilities of the Florida Building 602
Code adopted pursuant to s. 1013.37. 603
2. The local governing authority may shall not adopt, or 604
impose, or enforce any local building requirements , or site-605
development restrictions , or operational requirements , such as 606
parking and site-size criteria, student enrollment and capacity, 607
hours of operation, and occupant load:, 608
a. That are addressed by and more string ent than those 609
found in the State Requirements for Educational Facilities of 610
the Florida Building Code ; or 611
b. That are not uniformly imposed or enforced by the local 612
governing authority upon public schools within the jurisdiction 613
of the local governing a uthority. 614
3. A local governing authority must treat charter schools 615
equitably in comparison to similar requirements, restrictions, 616
and site planning processes imposed upon public schools that are 617
not charter schools, including such provisions that are 618
established by interlocal agreement , development order, or 619
development permit. An interlocal agreement entered into by a 620
school district for the development of only its own schools, 621
including provisions relating to the extension of 622
infrastructure, may be use d by charter schools. A charter school 623
may not be subject to any land use regulation requiring a change 624
to a local government comprehensive plan or requiring a 625
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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
development order or development permit, as those terms are 626
defined in s. 163.3164, or any requirement or restriction that 627
would not be required for a public or private school in the same 628
location or a location on which a public or private school has 629
previously been permitted. A local governing authority may not 630
apply or enforce a condition against a charter school unless the 631
condition is uniformly applied to other public schools within 632
the jurisdiction of the local governing authority and the 633
charter school is located on property that is the subject of a 634
previously approved development order or devel opment permit, and 635
if such development order or development permit contains 636
conditions applicable to the construction or operation of a 637
public or private school, including, but not limited to: 638
a. Limits on the number of students; 639
b. Limits on the numbe r of teachers; 640
c. Limits on the number of classrooms; 641
d. Limits on the hours of operation; 642
e. Minimum outdoor recreation area; or 643
f. Requirements to conform to a prior plan of development . 644
4. The agency having jurisdiction for inspection of a 645
facility and issuance of a certificate of occupancy or use shall 646
be the local municipality or, if in an unincorporated area, the 647
county governing authority. A charter school that meets the 648
requirements of state law consistent with the requirements of 649
this subsection shall be administratively approved by the local 650
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governing authority. If a an official or employee of the local 651
governing authority refuses to comply with this subsection 652
paragraph, the aggrieved school or entity has an immediate right 653
to bring an action in circuit court to enforce its rights by 654
injunction. An aggrieved party that prevails in such an action 655
receives injunctive relief may be awarded attorney fees and 656
court costs. 657
(c) Any facility, or portion thereof, used to house a 658
charter school whose charter has been approved by the sponsor 659
and the governing board, pursuant to subsection (7), is exempt 660
from ad valorem taxes pursuant to s. 196.1983. Notwithstanding 661
any other law, local ordinance, or regulation to the contrary, a 662
local governing authority may not require a charter school to 663
obtain a special exemption or conditional use approval for the 664
charter school to be an allowable use under the local governing 665
authority's land development code. Any library, community 666
service, museum, performing arts, theater, cinema, or church 667
facility; any facility or land owned by a Florida College System 668
institution or university; any similar public institutional 669
facilities; and any facilit y recently used to house a school or 670
child care facility licensed under s. 402.305 may provide space 671
to charter schools within their facilities under their 672
preexisting zoning and land use designations without obtaining a 673
special exception, rezoning, or a l and use change. 674
Section 14. Section 1002.351, Florida Statutes, is 675
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repealed. 676
Section 15. Subsection (6) of section 1002.394, Florida 677
Statutes, is amended to read: 678
1002.394 The Family Empowerment Scholarship Program. — 679
(6) SCHOLARSHIP PROHIBITION S.—A student is not eligible 680
for a Family Empowerment Scholarship while he or she is: 681
(a) Enrolled full time in a public school, including, but 682
not limited to, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, 683
the College-Preparatory Boarding Academy, the Florida School for 684
Competitive Academics, the Florida Virtual School, the Florida 685
Scholars Academy, a developmental research school authorized 686
under s. 1002.32, or a charter school authorized under this 687
chapter. For purposes of this paragraph, a 3 - or 4-year-old 688
child who receives services funded through the Florida Education 689
Finance Program is considered to be a student enrolled in a 690
public school; 691
(b) Enrolled in a school operating for the purpose of 692
providing educational services to youth in a Departmen t of 693
Juvenile Justice commitment program; 694
(c) Receiving any other educational scholarship pursuant 695
to this chapter. However, an eligible public school student 696
receiving a scholarship under s. 1002.411 may receive a 697
scholarship for transportation pursuant to subparagraph 698
(4)(a)2.; 699
(d) Not having regular and direct contact with his or her 700
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private school teachers pursuant to s. 1002.421(1)(i), unless he 701
or she is eligible pursuant to paragraph (3)(b) and enrolled in 702
the participating private school's trans ition-to-work program 703
pursuant to subsection (16) or a home education program pursuant 704
to s. 1002.41; 705
(e) Participating in a private tutoring program pursuant 706
to s. 1002.43 unless he or she is determined eligible pursuant 707
to paragraph (3)(b); or 708
(f) Participating in virtual instruction pursuant to s. 709
1002.455 that receives state funding pursuant to the student's 710
participation. 711
Section 16. Subsection (4) of section 1002.395, Florida 712
Statutes, is amended to read: 713
1002.395 Florida Tax Credit Scholars hip Program.— 714
(4) SCHOLARSHIP PROHIBITIONS. —A student is not eligible 715
for a scholarship while he or she is: 716
(a) Enrolled full time in a public school, including, but 717
not limited to, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, 718
the College-Preparatory Boarding Academy, the Florida School for 719
Competitive Academics, the Florida Virtual School, the Florida 720
Scholars Academy, a developmental research school authorized 721
under s. 1002.32, or a charter school authorized under this 722
chapter. For purposes of this paragraph, a 3- or 4-year-old 723
child who receives services funded through the Florida Education 724
Finance Program is considered a student enrolled full time in a 725
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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
public school; 726
(b) Enrolled in a school operating for the purpose of 727
providing educational serv ices to youth in a Department of 728
Juvenile Justice commitment program; 729
(c) Receiving any other educational scholarship pursuant 730
to this chapter. However, an eligible public school student 731
receiving a scholarship under s. 1002.411 may receive a 732
scholarship for transportation pursuant to subparagraph 733
(6)(d)4.; 734
(d) Not having regular and direct contact with his or her 735
private school teachers pursuant to s. 1002.421(1)(i) unless he 736
or she is enrolled in a personalized education program; 737
(e) Participating i n a home education program as defined 738
in s. 1002.01(1); 739
(f) Participating in a private tutoring program pursuant 740
to s. 1002.43 unless he or she is enrolled in a personalized 741
education program; or 742
(g) Participating in virtual instruction pursuant to s. 743
1002.455 that receives state funding pursuant to the student's 744
participation. 745
Section 17. Paragraphs (e), (m), and (p) of subsection (1) 746
of section 1002.421, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 747
1002.421 State school choice scholarship program 748
accountability and oversight. — 749
(1) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS. —A private 750
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school participating in an educational scholarship program 751
established pursuant to this chapter must be a private school as 752
defined in s. 1002.01 in this state, be regis tered, and be in 753
compliance with all requirements of this section in addition to 754
private school requirements outlined in s. 1002.42, specific 755
requirements identified within respective scholarship program 756
laws, and other provisions of Florida law that apply to private 757
schools, and must: 758
(e) Annually complete and submit to the department a 759
notarized scholarship compliance statement certifying that all 760
school employees and contracted personnel with direct student 761
contact have undergone background screening pursuant to s. 762
435.12 and have met the screening standards as provided in s. 763
1012.315 s. 435.04. 764
(m) Require each employee and contracted personnel with 765
direct student contact, upon employment or engagement to provide 766
services, to undergo a state and national background screening 767
under s. 1012.315, pursuant to s. 943.0542, by electronically 768
filing with the Department of Law Enforcement a complete set of 769
fingerprints taken by an authorized law enforcement agency or an 770
employee of the private school, a schoo l district, or a private 771
company who is trained to take fingerprints and deny employment 772
to or terminate an employee if he or she fails to meet the 773
screening standards under s. 1012.315 s. 435.04. Results of the 774
screening shall be provided to the participa ting private school. 775
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For purposes of this paragraph: 776
1. An "employee or contracted personnel with direct 777
student contact" means any employee or contracted personnel who 778
has unsupervised access to a scholarship student for whom the 779
private school is respo nsible. 780
2. The costs of fingerprinting and the background check 781
shall not be borne by the state. 782
3. Continued employment of an employee or contracted 783
personnel after notification that he or she has failed the 784
background screening under this paragraph shall cause a private 785
school to be ineligible for participation in a scholarship 786
program. 787
4. An employee or contracted personnel holding a valid 788
Florida teaching certificate who has been fingerprinted pursuant 789
to s. 1012.32 is not required to comply with the provisions of 790
this paragraph. 791
5. All fingerprints submitted to the Department of Law 792
Enforcement as required by this section shall be retained in the 793
Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse as provided in 794
s. 435.12 by the Department of Law Enforcement in a manner 795
provided by rule and entered in the statewide automated 796
biometric identification system authorized by s. 943.05(2)(b). 797
Such fingerprints shall thereafter be available for all purposes 798
and uses authorized for arrest fingerprints ente red in the 799
statewide automated biometric identification system pursuant to 800
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s. 943.051. 801
6. Employees, contracted personnel, owners, and operators 802
must be rescreened as required by s. 435.12. 803
7. Persons who apply for employment are governed by the 804
laws and rules in effect at the time of application for 805
employment, provided that the person is continually employed by 806
the same school. 807
6. The Department of Law Enforcement shall search all 808
arrest fingerprints received under s. 943.051 against the 809
fingerprints retained in the statewide automated biometric 810
identification system under subparagraph 5. Any arrest record 811
that is identified with the retained fingerprints of a person 812
subject to the background screening under this section shall be 813
reported to the empl oying school with which the person is 814
affiliated. Each private school participating in a scholarship 815
program is required to participate in this search process by 816
informing the Department of Law Enforcement of any change in the 817
employment or contractual sta tus of its personnel whose 818
fingerprints are retained under subparagraph 5. The Department 819
of Law Enforcement shall adopt a rule setting the amount of the 820
annual fee to be imposed upon each private school for performing 821
these searches and establishing the p rocedures for the retention 822
of private school employee and contracted personnel fingerprints 823
and the dissemination of search results. The fee may be borne by 824
the private school or the person fingerprinted. 825
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7. Employees and contracted personnel whose fing erprints 826
are not retained by the Department of Law Enforcement under 827
subparagraphs 5. and 6. are required to be refingerprinted and 828
must meet state and national background screening requirements 829
upon reemployment or reengagement to provide services in orde r 830
to comply with the requirements of this section . 831
8. Every 5 years following employment or engagement to 832
provide services with a private school, employees or contracted 833
personnel required to be screened under this section must meet 834
screening standards u nder s. 435.04, at which time the private 835
school shall request the Department of Law Enforcement to 836
forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 837
for national processing. If the fingerprints of employees or 838
contracted personnel are not re tained by the Department of Law 839
Enforcement under subparagraph 5., employees and contracted 840
personnel must electronically file a complete set of 841
fingerprints with the Department of Law Enforcement. Upon 842
submission of fingerprints for this purpose, the priv ate school 843
shall request that the Department of Law Enforcement forward the 844
fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for national 845
processing, and the fingerprints shall be retained by the 846
Department of Law Enforcement under subparagraph 5. 847
(p) Require each owner or operator of the private school, 848
prior to employment or engagement to provide services, to 849
undergo level 2 background screening as provided in s. 1012.315 850
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under chapter 435. For purposes of this paragraph, the term 851
"owner or operator" means an owner, operator, superintendent, or 852
principal of, or a person with equivalent decisionmaking 853
authority over, a private school participating in a scholarship 854
program established pursuan t to this chapter. The fingerprints 855
for the background screening must be electronically submitted to 856
the Department of Law Enforcement and may be taken by an 857
authorized law enforcement agency or a private company who is 858
trained to take fingerprints. Howeve r, the complete set of 859
fingerprints of an owner or operator may not be taken by the 860
owner or operator. The owner or operator shall provide a copy of 861
the results of the state and national criminal history check to 862
the Department of Education. The cost of the background 863
screening may be borne by the owner or operator. 864
1. Every 5 years following employment or engagement to 865
provide services, each owner or operator must meet level 2 866
screening standards as described in s. 435.04, at which time the 867
owner or operator shall request the Department of Law 868
Enforcement to forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of 869
Investigation for level 2 screening. If the fingerprints of an 870
owner or operator are not retained by the Department of Law 871
Enforcement under subparagr aph 2., the owner or operator must 872
electronically file a complete set of fingerprints with the 873
Department of Law Enforcement. Upon submission of fingerprints 874
for this purpose, the owner or operator shall request that the 875
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Department of Law Enforcement forwa rd the fingerprints to the 876
Federal Bureau of Investigation for level 2 screening, and the 877
fingerprints shall be retained by the Department of Law 878
Enforcement under subparagraph 2. 879
2. Fingerprints submitted to the Department of Law 880
Enforcement as required by this paragraph must be retained by 881
the Department of Law Enforcement in a manner approved by rule 882
and entered in the statewide automated biometric identification 883
system authorized by s. 943.05(2)(b). The fingerprints must 884
thereafter be available for al l purposes and uses authorized for 885
arrest fingerprints entered in the statewide automated biometric 886
identification system pursuant to s. 943.051. 887
3. The Department of Law Enforcement shall search all 888
arrest fingerprints received under s. 943.051 against the 889
fingerprints retained in the statewide automated biometric 890
identification system under subparagraph 2. Any arrest record 891
that is identified with an owner's or operator's fingerprints 892
must be reported to the owner or operator, who must report to 893
the Department of Education. Any costs associated with the 894
search shall be borne by the owner or operator. 895
4. An owner or operator who fails the level 2 background 896
screening is not eligible to participate in a scholarship 897
program under this chapter. 898
1.5. In addition to the offenses listed in s. 435.04, a 899
person required to undergo background screening pursuant to this 900
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part or authorizing statutes may not have an arrest awaiting 901
final disposition for, must not have been found guilty of, or 902
entered a plea of nol o contendere to, regardless of 903
adjudication, and must not have been adjudicated delinquent for, 904
and the record must not have been sealed or expunged for, any of 905
the following offenses or any similar offense of another 906
jurisdiction: 907
a. Any authorizing sta tutes, if the offense was a felony. 908
b. This chapter, if the offense was a felony. 909
c. Section 409.920, relating to Medicaid provider fraud. 910
d. Section 409.9201, relating to Medicaid fraud. 911
e. Section 741.28, relating to domestic violence. 912
f. Section 817.034, relating to fraudulent acts through 913
mail, wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or 914
photooptical systems. 915
g. Section 817.234, relating to false and fraudulent 916
insurance claims. 917
h. Section 817.505, relating to patient brokering. 918
i. Section 817.568, relating to criminal use of personal 919
identification information. 920
j. Section 817.60, relating to obtaining a credit card 921
through fraudulent means. 922
k. Section 817.61, relating to fraudulent use of credit 923
cards, if the offense was a felo ny. 924
l. Section 831.01, relating to forgery. 925
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m. Section 831.02, relating to uttering forged 926
instruments. 927
n. Section 831.07, relating to forging bank bills, checks, 928
drafts, or promissory notes. 929
o. Section 831.09, relating to uttering forged bank bills, 930
checks, drafts, or promissory notes. 931
p. Section 831.30, relating to fraud in obtaining 932
medicinal drugs. 933
q. Section 831.31, relating to the sale, manufacture, 934
delivery, or possession with the intent to sell, manufacture, or 935
deliver any counterfei t controlled substance, if the offense was 936
a felony. 937
2.6. At least 30 calendar days before a transfer of 938
ownership of a private school, the owner or operator shall 939
notify the parent of each scholarship student. 940
3.7. The owner or operator of a private s chool that has 941
been deemed ineligible to participate in a scholarship program 942
pursuant to this chapter may not transfer ownership or 943
management authority of the school to a relative in order to 944
participate in a scholarship program as the same school or a n ew 945
school. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term "relative" 946
means father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother, 947
brother, sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, nephew, niece, husband, 948
wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, 949
brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, 950
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stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half 951
sister. 952
953
The department shall suspend the payment of funds to a private 954
school that knowingly fails to comply with this subsection, and 955
shall prohibit the school from enrolling new scholarship 956
students, for 1 fiscal year and until the school complies. If a 957
private school fails to meet the requirements of this subsection 958
or has consecutive years of material exceptions listed in the 959
report required under paragraph (q), the commissioner may 960
determine that the private school is ineligible to participate 961
in a scholarship program. 962
Section 18. Subsection (4) of section 1002.71, Florida 963
Statutes, is amended to read: 964
1002.71 Funding; fina ncial and attendance reporting. — 965
(4) Notwithstanding s. 1002.53(3) and subsection (2): 966
(a) A child who, for any of the prekindergarten programs 967
listed in s. 1002.53(3), has not completed any of the 968
prekindergarten programs listed in s. 1002.53(3) more than 70 969
percent of the hours authorized to be reported for funding under 970
subsection (2), or has not expended more than 70 percent of the 971
funds authorized for the child under s. 1002.66, may withdraw 972
from the program for good cause and reenroll in one of th e 973
programs. The total funding for a child who reenrolls in one of 974
the programs for good cause may not exceed one full -time 975
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equivalent student. Funding for a child who withdraws and 976
reenrolls in one of the programs for good cause must shall be 977
issued in accordance with the department's uniform attendance 978
policy adopted pursuant to paragraph (6)(d). 979
(b) A child who has not substantially completed any of the 980
prekindergarten programs listed in s. 1002.53(3) may withdraw 981
from the program due to an extreme hard ship that is beyond the 982
child's or parent's control, reenroll in one of the summer 983
programs, and be reported for funding purposes as a full -time 984
equivalent student in the summer program for which the child is 985
reenrolled. 986
987
A child may reenroll only once in a prekindergarten program 988
under this section. A child who reenrolls in a prekindergarten 989
program under this subsection may not subsequently withdraw from 990
the program and reenroll, unless the child is granted a good 991
cause exemption under this subsection. Th e department shall 992
establish criteria specifying whether a good cause exists for a 993
child to withdraw from a program under paragraph (a) , whether a 994
child has substantially completed a program under paragraph (b), 995
and whether an extreme hardship exists which is beyond the 996
child's or parent's control under paragraph (b). 997
Section 19. Subsection (2) of section 1003.05, Florida 998
Statutes, is amended to read: 999
1003.05 Assistance to transitioning students from military 1000
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families.— 1001
(2) The Department of Educati on shall facilitate the 1002
development and implementation of memoranda of agreement between 1003
school districts and military installations which address 1004
strategies for assisting students who are the children of active 1005
duty military personnel in the transition to Florida schools. 1006
(a) The strategies developed by the department must 1007
include the development and implementation of a training module 1008
relating to facilitating and expediting the transfer of a K -12 1009
student's education records from an out -of-state school. 1010
(b) The department shall provide the training module 1011
required under paragraph (a) to each district school board to 1012
provide to each public and charter K -12 school within its 1013
district. The district school board shall make the training 1014
available to employee s who work directly with military students 1015
and families. 1016
Section 20. Subsection (3) of section 1003.41, Florida 1017
Statutes, is amended to read: 1018
1003.41 State academic standards. — 1019
(3) The Commissioner of Education shall, as deemed 1020
necessary, develop a nd submit proposed revisions to the 1021
standards for review and comment by Florida educators, school 1022
administrators, representatives of the Florida College System 1023
institutions and state universities who have expertise in the 1024
content knowledge and skills neces sary to prepare a student for 1025
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postsecondary education and careers, a representative from the 1026
Department of Commerce, business and industry leaders for in -1027
demand careers, and the public. The commissioner, after 1028
considering reviews and comments, shall submit the proposed 1029
revisions to the State Board of Education for adoption. New and 1030
revised standards documents submitted for approval to the state 1031
board must consist only of academic standards and benchmarks. 1032
The commissioner shall revise all currently approved standards 1033
documents based on the requirements of this subsection and 1034
submit all revised standards documents to the state board for 1035
approval no later than July 1, 2026. 1036
Section 21. Paragraph (o) of subsection (2) of section 1037
1003.42, Florida Statutes, i s amended to read: 1038
1003.42 Required instruction. — 1039
(2) Members of the instructional staff of the public 1040
schools, subject to the rules of the State Board of Education 1041
and the district school board, shall teach efficiently and 1042
faithfully, using the books and materials required that meet the 1043
highest standards for professionalism and historical accuracy, 1044
following the prescribed courses of study, and employing 1045
approved methods of instruction, the following: 1046
(o) Comprehensive age -appropriate and development ally 1047
appropriate K-12 instruction on: 1048
1. Health education that addresses concepts of community 1049
health, consumer health, environmental health, and family life, 1050
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including: 1051
a. Injury prevention and safety. 1052
b. Internet safety. 1053
c. Nutrition. 1054
d. Personal health. 1055
e. Prevention and control of disease. 1056
f. Substance use and abuse. 1057
g. Prevention of child sexual abuse, exploitation, and 1058
human trafficking. 1059
2. For students in grades 7 through 12, teen dating 1060
violence and abuse. This component must include, but not be 1061
limited to, the definition of dating violence and abuse, the 1062
warning signs of dating violence and abusive behavior, the 1063
characteristics of healthy relationships, measures to prevent 1064
and stop dating violence and abuse, and community res ources 1065
available to victims of dating violence and abuse. 1066
3. For students in grades 6 through 12, awareness of the 1067
benefits of sexual abstinence as the expected standard and the 1068
consequences of teenage pregnancy. 1069
4. Life skills that build confidence, s upport mental and 1070
emotional health, and enable students to overcome challenges, 1071
including: 1072
a. Self-awareness and self-management. 1073
b. Responsible decisionmaking. 1074
c. Resiliency. 1075
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d. Relationship skills and conflict resolution. 1076
e. Understanding and r especting other viewpoints and 1077
backgrounds. 1078
f. For grades 9 through 12, developing leadership skills, 1079
interpersonal skills, organization skills, and research skills; 1080
creating a résumé, including a digital résumé; exploring career 1081
pathways; using state ca reer planning resources; developing and 1082
practicing the skills necessary for employment interviews; 1083
workplace ethics and workplace law; managing stress and 1084
expectations; and self -motivation. 1085
5.a. For students in grades 6 through 12, the social, 1086
emotional, and physical effects of social media. This component 1087
must include, but need not be limited to, the negative effects 1088
of social media on mental health, including addiction; the 1089
distribution of misinformation on social media; how social media 1090
manipulates behavior; the permanency of sharing materials 1091
online; how to maintain personal security and identify 1092
cyberbullying, predatory behavior, and human trafficking on the 1093
Internet; and how to report suspicious behavior encountered on 1094
the Internet. 1095
b. The Department of Education shall make available online 1096
the instructional material being used pursuant to this 1097
subparagraph, and each district school board shall notify 1098
parents of its availability. 1099
6.a. For students in grades 6 through 12, health education 1100
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addressing human embryologic development must include: 1101
(I) A high-definition, medically accurate ultrasound 1102
video, at least 1 minute in duration, showing the development of 1103
the heart and other organs and movement of the limbs and head; 1104
and 1105
(II) A high-quality, medically accurate, computer -1106
generated rendering, animation, video, or other multimedia, at 1107
least 3 minutes in duration, showing and describing the process 1108
of fertilization and various stages of human development inside 1109
the uterus, noting significant marke rs in cell growth and organ 1110
development by week from conception until birth. 1111
b. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to 1112
implement this subparagraph. 1113
c. Any student whose parent makes a written request to the 1114
school principal shall be exempted from the teaching of human 1115
embryologic development. A student so exempted may not be 1116
penalized by reason of that exemption. Each school district 1117
shall, on the district's website homepage, notify parents of 1118
this right and the process to request an exemptio n. 1119
1120
Health education and life skills instruction and materials may 1121
not contradict the principles enumerated in subsection (3). 1122
1123
The State Board of Education is encouraged to adopt standards 1124
and pursue assessment of the requirements of this subsection. 1125
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Instructional programming that incorporates the values of the 1126
recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor and that is 1127
offered as part of a social studies, English Language Arts, or 1128
other schoolwide character building and veteran awareness 1129
initiative meets the requirements of paragraph (u). 1130
Section 22. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and subsection 1131
(3) of section 1003.4201, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1132
1003.4201 Comprehensive system of reading instruction. —1133
Each school district must implement a system of comprehensive 1134
reading instruction for students enrolled in prekindergarten 1135
through grade 12 and certain students who exhibit a substantial 1136
deficiency in early literacy. 1137
(2)(a) Components of the reading instruction plan may 1138
include the following: 1139
1. Additional time per day of evidence -based intensive 1140
reading instruction for kindergarten through grade 12 students, 1141
which may be delivered during or outside of the regular school 1142
day. 1143
2. Highly qualified reading coaches, who must be endor sed 1144
in reading, to specifically support classroom teachers in making 1145
instructional decisions based on progress monitoring data 1146
collected pursuant to s. 1008.25(9) and improve classroom 1147
teacher delivery of effective reading instruction, reading 1148
intervention, and reading in the content areas based on student 1149
need. 1150
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3. Professional learning to help instructional personnel 1151
and certified prekindergarten teachers funded in the Florida 1152
Education Finance Program earn a certification, a credential, an 1153
endorsement, or an advanced degree in scientifically researched 1154
and evidence-based reading instruction. 1155
4. Summer reading camps, using only classroom teachers or 1156
other district personnel who possess a micro -credential as 1157
specified in s. 1003.485 or are certified or e ndorsed in reading 1158
consistent with s. 1008.25(8)(b)3., for all students in 1159
kindergarten through grade 5 exhibiting a reading deficiency as 1160
determined by district and state assessments. 1161
5. Intensive reading interventions that must be delivered 1162
by instructional personnel who possess a micro -credential as 1163
provided in s. 1003.485 or are certified or endorsed in reading 1164
as provided in s. 1012.586 and must incorporate evidence -based 1165
strategies identified by the Just Read, Florida! Office pursuant 1166
to s. 1001.215(7). Instructional personnel who possess a micro -1167
credential as specified in s. 1003.485 and are delivering 1168
intensive reading interventions must be supervised by an 1169
individual certified or endorsed in reading. For the purposes of 1170
this subsection, the term " supervised" means the ability to 1171
communicate by way of telecommunication with or physical 1172
presence of the certified or endorsed personnel for consultation 1173
and direction of the actions of the personnel with the micro -1174
credential. Incentives for instructional personnel and certified 1175
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prekindergarten teachers funded in the Florida Education Finance 1176
Program who possess a reading certification or endorsement as 1177
specified in s. 1012.586 or micro-credential as specified in s. 1178
1003.485 and provide educational support to improve student 1179
literacy. 1180
6. Tutoring in reading. 1181
7. A description of how the district prioritizes the 1182
assignment of highly effective teachers, as identified in s. 1183
1012.34(2)(e), to students in kindergarten to grade 2. 1184
(3) Each school district sh all submit its approved reading 1185
instruction plan, including approved reading instruction plans 1186
for each charter school in the district, to the Department of 1187
Education for approval by August 1 of each fiscal year. 1188
Section 23. Section 1003.4202, Florida Statutes, is 1189
created to read: 1190
1003.4202 Comprehensive system of mathematics 1191
instruction.—Each school district must implement a system of 1192
comprehensive mathematics instruction for students enrolled in 1193
prekindergarten through grade 12 and certain students who 1194
exhibit a substantial deficiency in early mathematics skills 1195
under s. 1008.25(6). 1196
(1) As part of the reading instruction plan required under 1197
s. 1003.4201, each school district shall include a detailed 1198
mathematics instruction plan that outlines the co mponents of the 1199
district's comprehensive system of mathematics instruction. 1200
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(2) Components of the mathematics instruction plan may 1201
include the following: 1202
(a) Additional time per day of evidence -based intensive 1203
mathematics instruction for students in ki ndergarten through 1204
grade 12, which may be delivered during or outside of the 1205
regular school day. 1206
(b) Highly qualified mathematics coaches who hold a 1207
certification that aligns with the certification requirements 1208
for the courses of the teachers they suppor t and have at least 3 1209
consecutive years of a highly effective district evaluation 1210
pursuant to s. 1012.34, to specifically support classroom 1211
teachers in making instructional decisions based on progress 1212
monitoring data collected pursuant to s. 1008.25(9) and improve 1213
classroom teacher delivery of effective mathematics instruction 1214
and mathematics intervention. 1215
(c) Tutoring in mathematics. 1216
(3) For purposes of this section, the term "evidence -1217
based" means demonstrating a statistically significant effect on 1218
improving student outcomes or other relevant outcomes as 1219
provided in 20 U.S.C. s. 8101(21)(A)(i) . 1220
Section 24. Paragraph (h) of subsection (3) of section 1221
1003.4282, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1222
1003.4282 Requirements for a standard high school 1223
diploma.— 1224
(3) STANDARD HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA; COURSE AND ASSESSMENT 1225
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REQUIREMENTS.— 1226
(h) One-half credit in personal financial literacy. —1227
Beginning with students entering grade 9 in the 2023 -2024 school 1228
year, each student must earn one -half credit in person al 1229
financial literacy and money management. This instruction must 1230
include discussion of or instruction in all of the following: 1231
1. Types of bank accounts offered, opening and managing a 1232
bank account, and assessing the quality of a depository 1233
institution's services. 1234
2. Balancing a checkbook. 1235
3. Basic principles of money management, such as spending, 1236
credit, credit scores, and managing debt, including retail and 1237
credit card debt. 1238
4. Completing a loan application. 1239
5. Receiving an inheritance and rela ted implications. 1240
6. Basic principles of personal insurance policies. 1241
7. Computing federal income taxes. 1242
8. Local tax assessments. 1243
9. Computing interest rates by various mechanisms. 1244
10. Simple contracts. 1245
11. Contesting an incorrect billing statement. 1246
12. Types of savings and investments. 1247
13. State and federal laws concerning finance. 1248
14. Costs of postsecondary education, including the cost 1249
of attendance, completion of the Free Application for Federal 1250
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Student Aid, scholarships and grant s, and student loans. 1251
Section 25. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) and paragraph 1252
(a) of subsection (4) of section 1004.04, Florida Statutes, are 1253
amended to read: 1254
1004.04 Public accountability and state approval for 1255
teacher preparation programs. — 1256
(2) UNIFORM CORE CURRICULA AND CANDIDATE ASSESSMENT. — 1257
(b) The rules to establish uniform core curricula for each 1258
state-approved teacher preparation program must include, but are 1259
not limited to, the following: 1260
1. Candidate instruction and assessment in the Florida 1261
Educator Accomplished Practices across content areas. 1262
2. The use of state -adopted content standards to guide 1263
curricula and instruction. 1264
3. Scientifically researched and evidence -based reading 1265
instructional strategies grounded in the science of reading 1266
which improve reading performance for all students, including 1267
explicit, systematic, and sequential approaches to teaching 1268
phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and text 1269
comprehension and multisensory intervention strategies. The 1270
primary instructional strategy for teaching word reading is 1271
phonics instruction for decoding and encoding. Instructional 1272
strategies for foundational skills may not employ the three -1273
cueing system model of reading or visual memory as a basis for 1274
teaching word reading. Instructional strategies may include 1275
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visual information and strategies that improve background and 1276
experiential knowledge, add context, and increase oral language 1277
and vocabulary to support comprehension, but may not be used to 1278
teach word reading. 1279
4. Content in literacy and mathematics practices. 1280
5. Beginning with the 2026 -2027 school year, content in 1281
mathematics, including numbers and operations, fractions, 1282
algebraic reasoning, measurement, geometric reasoning, and data 1283
analysis and probability at the elementary level, for a minimum 1284
of 6 credit hours. 1285
6.5. Strategies appropriate for the instruction of English 1286
language learners. 1287
7.6. Strategies appropriate for the instruction of 1288
students with disabilities. 1289
8.7. Strategies to differentiate inst ruction based on 1290
student needs. 1291
9.8. Strategies and practices to support evidence -based 1292
content aligned to state standards and grading practices. 1293
10.9. Strategies appropriate for the early identification 1294
of a student in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge 1295
and the referral of such student to a mental health professional 1296
for support. 1297
11.10. Strategies to support the use of technology in 1298
education and distance learning. 1299
12.11. Strategies and practices to support effective, 1300
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research-based assessment and grading practices aligned to the 1301
state's academic standards. 1302
(4) CONTINUED PROGRAM APPROVAL. —Continued approval of a 1303
teacher preparation program shall be based upon evidence that 1304
the program continues to implement the requirements for initi al 1305
approval and upon significant, objective, and quantifiable 1306
measures of the program and the performance of the program 1307
completers. 1308
(a) The criteria for continued approval must include each 1309
of the following: 1310
1. Candidate readiness based on passage rat es on educator 1311
certification examinations under s. 1012.56, as applicable. 1312
2. Evidence of performance in each of the following areas: 1313
a. Performance of students in prekindergarten through 1314
grade 12 who are assigned to in -field program completers on 1315
statewide assessments using the results of the student learning 1316
growth formula adopted under s. 1012.34. 1317
b. Results of program completers' annual evaluations in 1318
accordance with the timeline as set forth in s. 1012.34. 1319
c. Workforce contributions, including placement of program 1320
completers in instructional positions in Florida public and 1321
private schools, with additional weight given to production of 1322
program completers in statewide high-demand critical teacher 1323
needs shortage areas as identified in s. 1012.07. 1324
3. Results of the program completers' survey measuring 1325
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their satisfaction with preparation for the realities of the 1326
classroom. 1327
4. Results of the employers' survey measuring satisfaction 1328
with the program and the program's responsiveness to local 1329
school districts. 1330
Section 26. Effective July 1, 2026, paragraph (a) of 1331
subsection (3) of section 1004.85, Florida Statutes, is amended 1332
to read: 1333
1004.85 Postsecondary educator preparation institutes. — 1334
(3) Educator preparation institutes approved pursuant to 1335
this section may offer competency -based certification programs 1336
specifically designed for noneducation major baccalaureate 1337
degree holders to enable program participants to meet the 1338
educator certification requirements of s. 1012.56. An educator 1339
preparation institute choosing to offer a competency -based 1340
certification program pursuant to the provisions of this section 1341
must implement a program developed by the institute and approved 1342
by the department for this purpose. Approved programs shall be 1343
available for use by other approved educator preparation 1344
institutes. 1345
(a) Within 90 days after receipt of a request for 1346
approval, the Department of Education shall approve a 1347
preparation program pursuant to the requirements of this 1348
subsection or issue a statement of the d eficiencies in the 1349
request for approval. The department shall approve a 1350
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certification program if the institute provides evidence of the 1351
institute's capacity to implement a competency -based program 1352
that instructs and assesses each candidate in the following : 1353
1.a. The Florida Educator Accomplished Practices approved 1354
by the state board. 1355
b. The state academic standards provided under s. 1003.41, 1356
including scientifically based reading instruction, content 1357
literacy, and mathematical practices, for each subjec t 1358
identified on the statement of status of eligibility or the 1359
temporary certificate. 1360
c. Scientifically researched and evidence -based reading 1361
instructional strategies grounded in the science of reading 1362
which improve reading performance for all students, i ncluding 1363
explicit, systematic, and sequential approaches to teaching 1364
phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and text 1365
comprehension and multisensory intervention strategies. The 1366
primary instructional strategy for teaching word reading is 1367
phonics instruction for decoding and encoding. Instructional 1368
strategies for foundational skills may not employ the three -1369
cueing system model of reading or visual memory as a basis for 1370
teaching word reading. Instructional strategies may include 1371
visual information a nd strategies which improve background and 1372
experiential knowledge, add context, and increase oral language 1373
and vocabulary to support comprehension, but may not be used to 1374
teach word reading. 1375
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d. Content in mathematics, including numbers and 1376
operations, fractions, algebraic reasoning, measurement, 1377
geometric reasoning, and data analysis and probability at the 1378
elementary level. 1379
2. An educational plan for each participant to meet 1380
certification requirements and demonstrate his or her ability to 1381
teach the subject area for which the participant is seeking 1382
certification, which is based on an assessment of his or her 1383
competency in the areas listed in subparagraph 1. 1384
3. Field experiences appropriate to the certification 1385
subject area specified in the educational p lan under the 1386
supervision of qualified educators. The state board shall 1387
determine in rule the amount of field experience necessary to 1388
serve as the teacher of record, beginning with candidates 1389
entering a program in the 2023 -2024 school year. 1390
4. A certification ombudsman to facilitate the process and 1391
procedures required for participants who complete the program to 1392
meet any requirements related to the background screening 1393
pursuant to s. 1012.32 and educator professional or temporary 1394
certification pursuant to s. 1012.56. 1395
Section 27. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 1396
1006.09, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1397
1006.09 Duties of school principal relating to student 1398
discipline and school safety. — 1399
(1)(a)1. Subject to law and to the rules of the State 1400
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Board of Education and the district school board, the principal 1401
in charge of the school or the principal's designee shall 1402
develop policies for delegating to any teacher or other member 1403
of the instructional staff or to any bus driver transporting 1404
students of the school responsibility for the control and 1405
direction of students. Each school principal shall fully support 1406
the authority of his or her teachers and school bus drivers to 1407
remove disobedient, disrespectful, violent, abusive, 1408
uncontrollable, or d isruptive students from the classroom and 1409
the school bus and, when appropriate and available, place such 1410
students in an alternative educational setting. The principal or 1411
the principal's designee must give full consideration to the 1412
recommendation for discip line made by a teacher, other member of 1413
the instructional staff, or a bus driver when making a decision 1414
regarding student referral for discipline. 1415
2. If the disobedient, disrespectful, violent, abusive, 1416
uncontrollable, or disruptive behavior continues, t he school 1417
principal shall refer the case to the school's child study team 1418
to schedule a meeting with the parent to identify potential 1419
remedies. 1420
3. If an initial meeting with the student's parent does 1421
not resolve the behavioral issues, the child study tea m shall 1422
implement the following: 1423
a. Frequent attempts by the school, including the 1424
student's teacher and a school administrator, at communicating 1425
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with the student's family. The attempts may be made in writing 1426
or by telephone, but must be documented. 1427
b. A student evaluation for alternative education 1428
programs. 1429
c. Behavior contracts. 1430
1431
The child study team may, but is not required to, implement 1432
other interventions, including referral to other agencies for 1433
family services or a recommendation for filing a p etition for a 1434
child in need of services pursuant to s. 984.15. 1435
Section 28. Subsection (3) of section 1006.13, Florida 1436
Statutes, is amended to read: 1437
1006.13 Policy of zero tolerance for crime and 1438
victimization.— 1439
(3)(a) Zero-tolerance policies must require students found 1440
to have committed one of the following offenses to be expelled, 1441
with or without continuing educational services, from the 1442
student's regular school for a period of not less than 1 full 1443
year, and to be referred to the criminal justice or juvenile 1444
justice system. 1445
1.(a) Bringing a firearm or weapon, as defined in chapter 1446
790, to school, to any school function, or onto any school -1447
sponsored transportation or possessing a firearm at school. 1448
2.(b) Making a threat or false report, as defined by ss. 1449
790.162 and 790.163, respectively, involving school or school 1450
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personnel's property, school transportation, or a school -1451
sponsored activity. 1452
(b) District school boards may assign the student to a 1453
disciplinary program for the purpose of continuing educational 1454
services during the period of expulsion. District school 1455
superintendents may consider the 1 -year expulsion requirement on 1456
a case-by-case basis and request the district school board to 1457
modify the requirement by as signing the student to a 1458
disciplinary program or second chance school if the request for 1459
modification is in writing and it is determined to be in the 1460
best interest of the student and the school system. If a student 1461
committing any of the offenses in this su bsection is a student 1462
who has a disability, the district school board shall comply 1463
with applicable State Board of Education rules. 1464
(c) Before the expiration of an expulsion period, the 1465
district school superintendent must determine, based upon the 1466
determination of the threat management team, whether the 1467
expulsion period should be extended and, if the expulsion period 1468
is extended, what educational services will be provided. A 1469
recommendation to extend the expulsion period must be provided 1470
to the student and his or her parents in accordance with s. 1471
1006.08(1). 1472
Section 29. Effective upon this act becoming a law, 1473
paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 1007.27, Florida 1474
Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (d) is added to subsection 1475
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(2) of that section, to read: 1476
1007.27 Articulated acceleration mechanisms. — 1477
(1) 1478
(b) The State Board of Education and the Board of 1479
Governors shall identify Florida College System institutions and 1480
state universities or a national consortium to develop courses 1481
that align with s. 1007.25 for students in secondary education 1482
and provide the training required under s. 1007.35(6). 1483
(2) 1484
(d) The department may join or establish a national 1485
consortium as an alternative method to develop and implement 1486
advanced courses that align with s. 1007.25. 1487
Section 30. Subsection (5), paragraph (j) of subsection 1488
(6), and subsection (8) of section 1007.35, Florida Statutes, 1489
are amended to read: 1490
1007.35 Florida Partnership for Minority and 1491
Underrepresented Student Achievement. — 1492
(5) Each public high school, including, but not limited 1493
to, schools and alternative sites and centers of the Department 1494
of Juvenile Justice, shall provide for the administration of the 1495
Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test 1496
(PSAT/NMSQT), the Classic Learning Test 10 (CLT10), or the 1497
PreACT to all enrolled 10th grade students. However, a written 1498
notice shall be provided to each parent which must include the 1499
opportunity to exempt his or her child from taking the 1500
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PSAT/NMSQT, CLT10, or the PreACT. 1501
(a) Test results will provide each high school with a 1502
database of student assessment data which certified school 1503
counselors will use to identify students who are prepared or who 1504
need additional work to be prepared to enroll and be successful 1505
in advanced high school courses. 1506
(b) Funding for the PSAT/NMSQT , CLT10, or the PreACT for 1507
all 10th grade students shall be contingent upon annual funding 1508
in the General Appropriations Act. 1509
(c) Public school districts must choose either the 1510
PSAT/NMSQT, CLT10, or the PreACT for districtwide 1511
administration. 1512
(6) The partnership shall: 1513
(j) Provide information to students, parents, teachers, 1514
counselors, administrators, districts, Florida College System 1515
institutions, and state universities regarding PSAT/NMSQT , 1516
CLT10, or the PreACT administration, including, but not limited 1517
to: 1518
1. Test administration dates and times. 1519
2. That participation in the PSAT/NMSQT , CLT10, or the 1520
PreACT is open to all 10th grade students. 1521
3. The value of such tests in providing diagnostic 1522
feedback on student skills. 1523
4. The value of student scores in predicting the 1524
probability of success on advanced course examinations. 1525
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(8)(a) By September 30 of each year, the partnership shall 1526
submit to the department a report that contains an evaluation of 1527
the effectiveness of the delivered services and activities. 1528
Activities and services must be evaluated on their effectiveness 1529
at raising student achievement and increasing the number of AP 1530
or other advanced course examinations in low -performing middle 1531
and high schools. Other indicators that must be addressed in the 1532
evaluation report include the number of middle and high school 1533
teachers trained; the effectiveness of the training; measures of 1534
postsecondary readiness of the students affected by the program; 1535
levels of participation in 10th grade PSAT/NMSQT , CLT10, or the 1536
PreACT testing; and measures of student, parent, and teacher 1537
awareness of and satisfaction with the services of the 1538
partnership. 1539
(b) The department shall contribute to the evaluation 1540
process by providing access, consistent with s. 119.071(5)(a), 1541
to student and teacher information necessary to match against 1542
databases containing teacher professional learning data and 1543
databases containing assessment data for the PSAT/NMSQT, SAT, 1544
ACT, PreACT, CLT, CLT10, AP, and other appropriate measures. The 1545
department shall also provide student -level data on student 1546
progress from middle school through high school and into college 1547
and the workforce, if available, in order to support 1548
longitudinal studies. The pa rtnership shall analyze and report 1549
student performance data in a manner that protects the rights of 1550
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students and parents as required in 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g and s. 1551
1002.22. 1552
Section 31. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (6) of 1553
section 1008.25, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1554
1008.25 Public school student progression; student 1555
support; coordinated screening and progress monitoring; 1556
reporting requirements. — 1557
(6) MATHEMATICS DEFICIENCY AND PARENTAL NOTIFICATION. — 1558
(a) Any student in a Voluntary P rekindergarten Education 1559
Program provided by a public school who exhibits a substantial 1560
deficiency in early mathematics skills and any student in 1561
kindergarten through grade 4 who exhibits a substantial 1562
deficiency in mathematics or the characteristics of dy scalculia 1563
based upon screening, diagnostic, progress monitoring, or 1564
assessment data; statewide assessments; or teacher observations 1565
must: 1566
1. Immediately following the identification of the 1567
mathematics deficiency, be provided systematic and explicit 1568
mathematics instruction to address his or her specific 1569
deficiencies through either: 1570
a. Daily targeted small group mathematics intervention 1571
based on student need; or 1572
b. Supplemental, evidence -based mathematics interventions 1573
before or after school, or both, d elivered by a highly qualified 1574
teacher of mathematics or a trained tutor , as defined by the 1575
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State Board of Education . 1576
2. The performance of a student receiving mathematics 1577
instruction under subparagraph 1. must be monitored, and 1578
instruction must be adjusted based on the student's need. 1579
3. The department shall provide a list of state examined 1580
and approved mathematics intervention programs, curricula, and 1581
high-quality supplemental materials that may be used to improve 1582
a student's mathematics deficien cies. In addition, the 1583
department shall work, at a minimum, with the Florida Center for 1584
Mathematics and Science Education Research established in s. 1585
1004.86 to disseminate information to school districts and 1586
teachers on effective evidence -based explicit mathematics 1587
instructional practices, strategies, and interventions. 1588
4. A school may not wait for a student to receive a 1589
failing grade at the end of a grading period or wait until a 1590
plan under paragraph (4)(b) is developed to identify the student 1591
as having a substantial mathematics deficiency and initiate 1592
intensive mathematics interventions. In addition, a school may 1593
not wait until an evaluation conducted pursuant to s. 1003.57 is 1594
completed to provide appropriate, evidence -based interventions 1595
for a student whose parent submits documentation from a 1596
professional licensed under chapter 490 which demonstrates that 1597
the student has been diagnosed with dyscalculia. Such 1598
interventions must be initiated upon receipt of the 1599
documentation and based on the student's spec ific areas of 1600
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difficulty as identified by the licensed professional. 1601
5. The mathematics proficiency of a student receiving 1602
additional mathematics supports must be monitored and the 1603
intensive interventions must continue until the student 1604
demonstrates grade level proficiency in a manner determined by 1605
the district, which may include achieving a Level 3 on the 1606
statewide, standardized Mathematics assessment. The State Board 1607
of Education shall identify by rule guidelines for determining 1608
whether a student in a V oluntary Prekindergarten Education 1609
Program has a deficiency in early mathematics skills or a 1610
student in kindergarten through grade 4 has a substantial 1611
deficiency in mathematics. 1612
1613
For the purposes of this subsection, a Voluntary Prekindergarten 1614
Education Program student is deemed to exhibit a substantial 1615
deficiency in mathematics skills based upon the results of the 1616
midyear or final administration of the coordinated screening and 1617
progress monitoring under subsection (9). 1618
(c) The parent of a student who exh ibits a substantial 1619
deficiency in mathematics, as described in paragraph (a), must 1620
be immediately notified in writing of the following: 1621
1. That his or her child has been identified as having a 1622
substantial deficiency in mathematics, including a descriptio n 1623
and explanation, in terms understandable to the parent, of the 1624
exact nature of the student's difficulty in learning and lack of 1625
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achievement in mathematics. 1626
2. A description of the current services that are provided 1627
to the child. 1628
3. A description of t he proposed intensive interventions 1629
and supports that will be provided to the child that are 1630
designed to remediate the identified area of mathematics 1631
deficiency. 1632
4. Strategies, including multisensory strategies and 1633
programming, through a home -based plan the parent can use in 1634
helping his or her child succeed in mathematics. The home -based 1635
plan must provide access to the resources identified in 1636
paragraph (d). 1637
5. Information about the student's eligibility for the New 1638
Worlds Scholarship Accounts under s. 1 002.411 and the school 1639
district's tutoring services provided by the New Worlds Tutoring 1640
Program under s. 1008.366. 1641
1642
After the initial notification, the school shall apprise the 1643
parent at least monthly of the student's progress in response to 1644
the intensive interventions and supports. Such communications 1645
must be in writing and must explain any additional interventions 1646
or supports that will be implemented to accelerate the student's 1647
progress if the interventions and supports already being 1648
implemented have not resulted in improvement. Upon the request 1649
of the parent, the teacher or school administrator shall meet to 1650
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discuss the student's progress. The parent may request more 1651
frequent notification of the student's progress, more frequent 1652
interventions or supports, and earlier implementation of the 1653
additional interventions or supports described in the initial 1654
notification. 1655
Section 32. Subsection (8) of section 1008.365, Florida 1656
Statutes, is amended to read: 1657
1008.365 Reading Achievement Initiative for Scholasti c 1658
Excellence Act.— 1659
(8) As part of the RAISE Program, the department shall 1660
establish a tutoring program and develop training in effective 1661
reading tutoring practices and content, based on evidence -based 1662
practices grounded in the science of reading and alig ned to the 1663
English Language Arts standards under s. 1003.41, which prepares 1664
eligible high school students to tutor students in kindergarten 1665
through grade 3 in schools identified under this section, 1666
instilling in those students a love of reading and improvi ng 1667
their literacy skills. 1668
(a) To be eligible to participate in the tutoring program, 1669
a high school student must be a rising junior or senior who has 1670
a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, has no 1671
history of out-of-school suspensions or expulsi ons, is on track 1672
to complete all core course requirements to graduate, and has 1673
written recommendations from at least two of his or her present 1674
or former high school teachers of record or extracurricular 1675
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activity sponsors. 1676
(b) School districts that wish t o participate in the 1677
tutoring program must recruit, train, and deploy eligible high 1678
school students using the materials developed under this 1679
section. Tutoring must occur during or after the school day on 1680
school district property in the presence and under t he 1681
supervision of instructional personnel who are school district 1682
employees. A parent must give written permission for his or her 1683
child to receive tutoring through the program. 1684
(c) Tutoring may be part of a service -learning course 1685
adopted pursuant to s. 1003.497. Students may earn up to three 1686
elective credits for high school graduation based on the 1687
verified number of hours the student spends tutoring under the 1688
program. The hours of volunteer service must be documented in 1689
writing, and the document must be signed by the student, the 1690
student's parent or guardian, and an administrator or designee 1691
of the school in which the tutoring occurred. The Unpaid hours 1692
that a high school student devotes to tutoring may be counted 1693
toward meeting community service requirem ents for high school 1694
graduation and community service requirements for participation 1695
in the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program as provided in 1696
s. 1003.497(3)(b). The department shall designate a high school 1697
student who provides at least 75 verified hours of tutoring 1698
under the program as a New Worlds Scholar and award the student 1699
with a pin indicating such designation. 1700
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(d) School districts participating in the tutoring program 1701
may provide a stipend to instructional personnel and high school 1702
students serving as tutors for after -school tutoring. 1703
Section 33. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and subsection 1704
(2) of section 1008.366, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1705
1008.366 The New Worlds Tutoring Program. — 1706
(1) The New Worlds Tutoring Program is created to support 1707
school districts and schools in improving student achievement in 1708
reading and mathematics by: 1709
(b) Providing best practice guidelines for mathematics 1710
tutoring in alignment with Florida's Benchmarks for Excellent 1711
Student Thinking (B.E. S.T.) Standards for mathematics in 1712
consultation with the Office of Mathematics and Sciences . 1713
(2) Annually, by August 31 July 1, the administrator of 1714
the New Worlds Tutoring Program shall provide to the President 1715
of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and 1716
the Commissioner of Education a report summarizing school 1717
district use of program funds and student academic outcomes as a 1718
result of the additional literacy or mathematics support 1719
provided under this section. 1720
Section 34. Sections 1011.58 and 1011.59, Florida 1721
Statutes, are repealed. 1722
Section 35. Paragraph (b) of subsection (5) of section 1723
1011.71, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1724
1011.71 District school tax. — 1725
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(5) A school district may expend, subject to s. 200.065, 1726
up to $200 per unweighted full -time equivalent student from the 1727
revenue generated by the millage levy authorized by subsection 1728
(2) to fund, in addition to expenditures authorized in 1729
paragraphs (2)(a)-(j), expenses for the following: 1730
(b) Payment of the cost of premiums, as defined in s. 1731
627.403, for property and casualty insurance necessary to insure 1732
school district educational and ancillary plants. As used in 1733
this paragraph, casualty insurance has the same meaning as in s. 1734
624.605(1)(b), (d), (f), (g), (h), and (m). Operating revenues 1735
that are made available through the payment of property and 1736
casualty insurance premiums from revenues generated under this 1737
subsection may be expended only for nonrecurring operational 1738
expenditures of the school district. 1739
Section 36. Section 1012.07, Florida Statutes, is amended 1740
to read: 1741
1012.07 Identification of high-demand critical teacher needs 1742
shortage areas.—The term "high-demand critical teacher needs 1743
shortage area" means high-need content areas and high -priority 1744
location areas identified by the State Board of Education. The 1745
State Board of Education shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 1746
120.536(1) and 120.54 necessary to annually identify high-demand 1747
critical teacher needs shortage areas. The state board must 1748
consider current and emerging educational requirements and 1749
workforce demands in determining high-demand critical teacher 1750
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needs shortage areas. School grade levels may also be designated 1751
critical teacher shortage areas. Individual district school 1752
boards may identify and sub mit other high-demand critical 1753
teacher needs shortage areas. Such submissions must be aligned 1754
to current and emerging educational requirements and workforce 1755
demands in order to be approved by the State Board of Education. 1756
High-priority location areas must be in high-density, low-1757
economic urban schools; low -density, low-economic rural schools; 1758
and schools that earned a grade of "F" or three consecutive 1759
grades of "D" pursuant to s. 1008.34. The State Board of 1760
Education shall develop strategies to address high-demand 1761
critical teacher needs shortage areas. 1762
Section 37. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 1763
1012.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1764
1012.22 Public school personnel; powers and duties of the 1765
district school board. —The district school board shall: 1766
(1) Designate positions to be filled, prescribe 1767
qualifications for those positions, and provide for the 1768
appointment, compensation, promotion, suspension, and dismissal 1769
of employees as follows, subject to the requirements of this 1770
chapter: 1771
(c) Compensation and salary schedules. — 1772
1. Definitions.—As used in this paragraph: 1773
a. "Adjustment" means an addition to the base salary 1774
schedule that is not a bonus and becomes part of the employee's 1775
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permanent base salary and shall be considered compens ation under 1776
s. 121.021(22). 1777
b. "Grandfathered salary schedule" means the salary 1778
schedule or schedules adopted by a district school board before 1779
July 1, 2014, pursuant to subparagraph 4. 1780
c. "Instructional personnel" means instructional personnel 1781
as defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a) -(d), excluding substitute 1782
teachers. 1783
d. "Performance salary schedule" means the salary schedule 1784
or schedules adopted by a district school board pursuant to 1785
subparagraph 5. 1786
e. "Salary schedule" means the schedule or schedules used 1787
to provide the base salary for district school board personnel. 1788
f. "School administrator" means a school administrator as 1789
defined in s. 1012.01(3)(c). 1790
g. "Supplement" means an annual addition to the base 1791
salary for the term of the negotiated supplemen t as long as the 1792
employee continues his or her employment for the purpose of the 1793
supplement. A supplement does not become part of the employee's 1794
continuing base salary but shall be considered compensation 1795
under s. 121.021(22). 1796
2. Cost-of-living adjustment.—A district school board may 1797
provide a cost-of-living salary adjustment if the adjustment: 1798
a. Does not discriminate among comparable classes of 1799
employees based upon the salary schedule under which they are 1800
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compensated. 1801
b. Does not exceed 50 percent o f the annual adjustment 1802
provided to instructional personnel rated as effective. 1803
3. Advanced degrees. —A district school board may use 1804
advanced degrees in setting a salary schedule for instructional 1805
personnel or school administrators if the advanced degree is 1806
held in the individual's area of certification. 1807
4. Grandfathered salary schedule. — 1808
a. The district school board shall adopt a salary schedule 1809
or salary schedules to be used as the basis for paying all 1810
school employees hired before July 1, 2014. Ins tructional 1811
personnel on annual contract as of July 1, 2014, shall be placed 1812
on the performance salary schedule adopted under subparagraph 5. 1813
Instructional personnel on continuing contract or professional 1814
service contract may opt into the performance salary schedule if 1815
the employee relinquishes such contract and agrees to be 1816
employed on an annual contract under s. 1012.335. Such an 1817
employee shall be placed on the performance salary schedule and 1818
may not return to continuing contract or professional service 1819
contract status. Any employee who opts into the performance 1820
salary schedule may not return to the grandfathered salary 1821
schedule. 1822
b. In determining the grandfathered salary schedule for 1823
instructional personnel, a district school board must base a 1824
portion of each employee's compensation upon performance 1825
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demonstrated under s. 1012.34 and shall provide differentiated 1826
pay for both instructional personnel and school administrators 1827
based upon district-determined factors, including, but not 1828
limited to, additional r esponsibilities, school demographics, 1829
high-demand teacher needs critical shortage areas, and level of 1830
job performance difficulties. 1831
5. Performance salary schedule. —By July 1, 2014, the 1832
district school board shall adopt a performance salary schedule 1833
that provides annual salary adjustments for instructional 1834
personnel and school administrators based upon performance 1835
determined under s. 1012.34. Employees hired on or after July 1, 1836
2014, or employees who choose to move from the grandfathered 1837
salary schedule to the performance salary schedule shall be 1838
compensated pursuant to the performance salary schedule once 1839
they have received the appropriate performance evaluation for 1840
this purpose. 1841
a. Base salary.—The base salary shall be established as 1842
follows: 1843
(I) The base salary for instructional personnel or school 1844
administrators who opt into the performance salary schedule 1845
shall be the salary paid in the prior year, including 1846
adjustments only. 1847
(II) Instructional personnel or school administrators new 1848
to the district, returning to the district after a break in 1849
service without an authorized leave of absence, or appointed for 1850
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the first time to a position in the district in the capacity of 1851
instructional personnel or school administrator shall be placed 1852
on the performance salary schedule. 1853
b. Salary adjustments. —Salary adjustments for highly 1854
effective or effective performance shall be established as 1855
follows: 1856
(I) The annual salary adjustment under the performance 1857
salary schedule for an employee rated as highly effective must 1858
be at least 25 percent greater than the highest annual salary 1859
adjustment available to an employee of the same classification 1860
through any other salary schedule adopted by the district. 1861
(II) The annual salary adjustment under the performance 1862
salary schedule for an employee rated as effective must be equal 1863
to at least 50 percent and no more than 75 percent of the annual 1864
adjustment provided for a highly effective employee of the same 1865
classification. 1866
(III) A salary schedule shall not provide an annual salary 1867
adjustment for an employee who receives a rating other than 1868
highly effective or effective for the year. 1869
c. Salary supplements. —In addition to the salary 1870
adjustments, each district school board shall provide for salary 1871
supplements for activities th at must include, but are not 1872
limited to: 1873
(I) Assignment to a Title I eligible school. 1874
(II) Assignment to a school that earned a grade of "F" or 1875
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three consecutive grades of "D" pursuant to s. 1008.34 such that 1876
the supplement remains in force for at leas t 1 year following 1877
improved performance in that school. 1878
(III) Certification and teaching in high-demand critical 1879
teacher needs shortage areas. Statewide high-demand critical 1880
teacher needs shortage areas shall be identified by the State 1881
Board of Education under s. 1012.07. However, the district 1882
school board may identify other areas of high-demand needs 1883
critical shortage within the school district for purposes of 1884
this sub-sub-subparagraph and may remove areas identified by the 1885
state board which do not apply within the school district. 1886
(IV) Assignment of additional academic responsibilities. 1887
1888
If budget constraints in any given year limit a district school 1889
board's ability to fully fund all adopted salary schedules, the 1890
performance salary schedule shall not b e reduced on the basis of 1891
total cost or the value of individual awards in a manner that is 1892
proportionally greater than reductions to any other salary 1893
schedules adopted by the district. Any compensation for 1894
longevity of service awarded to instructional pers onnel who are 1895
on any other salary schedule must be included in calculating the 1896
salary adjustments required by sub -subparagraph b. 1897
Section 38. Section 1012.315, Florida Statutes, is amended 1898
to read: 1899
1012.315 Screening standards. — 1900
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(1) A person is ineligible for educator certification or 1901
employment in any position that requires direct contact with 1902
students in a district school system, a charter school, or a 1903
private school that participates in a state scholarship program 1904
under chapter 1002, which includes being an owner or operator of 1905
a private school that participates in a scholarship program 1906
under chapter 1002, if the person: 1907
(a)(1) Is on the disqualification list maintained by the 1908
department under s. 1001.10(4)(b); 1909
(b)(2) Is registered as a sex of fender as described in 42 1910
U.S.C. s. 9858f(c)(1)(C); 1911
(c)(3) Is ineligible based on a security background 1912
investigation under s. 435.04(2). Beginning January 1, 2025, or 1913
a later date as determined by the Agency for Health Care 1914
Administration, The Agency for Health Care Administration shall 1915
determine the eligibility of employees in any position that 1916
requires direct contact with students in a district school 1917
system, a charter school, or a private school that participates 1918
in a state scholarship program under c hapter 1002; 1919
(d)(4) Would be ineligible for an exemption under s. 1920
435.07(4)(c); or 1921
(e)(5) Has been convicted or found guilty of, has had 1922
adjudication withheld for, or has pled guilty or nolo contendere 1923
to: 1924
1.(a) Any criminal act committed in another state or under 1925
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federal law which, if committed in this state, constitutes a 1926
disqualifying offense under s. 435.04(2). 1927
2.(b) Any delinquent act committed in this state or any 1928
delinquent or criminal act committed in another state or under 1929
federal law which, if committed in this state, qualifies an 1930
individual for inclusion on the Registered Juvenile Sex Offender 1931
List under s. 943.0435(1)(h)1.d. 1932
(2) Persons who apply for certification or employment are 1933
governed by the law and rules in effect at the time of 1934
application for issuance of the initial certificate or 1935
employment, provided that continuity of certificates or 1936
employment is maintained. 1937
Section 39. Effective July 1, 2026, paragraph (a) of 1938
subsection (8) of section 1012.56, Florida Statutes, is amende d 1939
to read: 1940
1012.56 Educator certification requirements. — 1941
(8) PROFESSIONAL LEARNING CERTIFICATION PROGRAM. — 1942
(a) The Department of Education shall develop and each 1943
school district, charter school, and charter management 1944
organization may provide a cohe sive competency-based 1945
professional learning certification program by which 1946
instructional staff may satisfy the mastery of professional 1947
preparation and education competence requirements specified in 1948
subsection (6) and rules of the State Board of Education. 1949
Participants must hold a state -issued temporary certificate. A 1950
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school district, charter school, or charter management 1951
organization that implements the program shall provide a 1952
competency-based certification program developed by the 1953
Department of Education o r developed by the district, charter 1954
school, or charter management organization and approved by the 1955
Department of Education. These entities may collaborate with 1956
other supporting agencies or educational entities for 1957
implementation. The program shall include the following: 1958
1. A teacher mentorship and induction component. 1959
a. Each individual selected by the district, charter 1960
school, or charter management organization as a mentor: 1961
(I) Must hold a valid professional certificate issued 1962
pursuant to this secti on; 1963
(II) Must have earned at least 3 years of teaching 1964
experience in prekindergarten through grade 12; 1965
(III) Must have completed training in clinical supervision 1966
and participate in ongoing mentor training provided through the 1967
coordinated system of professional learning under s. 1012.98(4); 1968
(IV) Must have earned an effective or highly effective 1969
rating on the prior year's performance evaluation; and 1970
(V) May be a peer evaluator under the district's 1971
evaluation system approved under s. 1012.34. 1972
b. The teacher mentorship and induction component must, at 1973
a minimum, provide routine opportunities for mentoring and 1974
induction activities, including ongoing professional learning as 1975
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described in s. 1012.98 targeted to a teacher's needs, 1976
opportunities for a t eacher to observe other teachers, co -1977
teaching experiences, and reflection and followup discussions. 1978
Professional learning must meet the criteria established in s. 1979
1012.98(3). Mentorship and induction activities must be provided 1980
for an applicant's first yea r in the program and may be provided 1981
until the applicant attains his or her professional certificate 1982
in accordance with this section. 1983
2. An assessment of teaching performance aligned to the 1984
district's, charter school's, or charter management 1985
organization's system for personnel evaluation under s. 1012.34 1986
which provides for: 1987
a. An initial evaluation of each educator's competencies 1988
to determine an appropriate individualized professional learning 1989
plan. 1990
b. A summative evaluation to assure successful compl etion 1991
of the program. 1992
3. Professional education preparation content knowledge, 1993
which must be included in the mentoring and induction activities 1994
under subparagraph 1., that includes, but is not limited to, the 1995
following: 1996
a. The state academic standards provided under s. 1003.41, 1997
including scientifically researched and evidence -based reading 1998
instructional strategies grounded in the science of reading, 1999
content literacy, and mathematical practices, for each subject 2000
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identified on the temporary certificate. R eading instructional 2001
strategies for foundational skills shall include phonics 2002
instruction for decoding and encoding as the primary 2003
instructional strategy for word reading. Instructional 2004
strategies may not employ the three -cueing system model of 2005
reading or visual memory as a basis for teaching word reading. 2006
Instructional strategies may include visual information and 2007
strategies which improve background and experiential knowledge, 2008
add context, and increase oral language and vocabulary to 2009
support comprehension, but may not be used to teach word 2010
reading. Content in mathematics shall include numbers and 2011
operations, fractions, algebraic reasoning, measurement, 2012
geometric reasoning, and data analysis and probability at the 2013
elementary level. 2014
b. The educator-accomplished practices approved by the 2015
state board. 2016
4. Required achievement of passing scores on the subject 2017
area and professional education competency examination required 2018
by State Board of Education rule. Mastery of general knowledge 2019
must be demonstrated as de scribed in subsection (3). 2020
5. Beginning with candidates entering a program in the 2021
2022-2023 school year, a candidate for certification in a 2022
coverage area identified pursuant to s. 1012.585(3)(f) must 2023
successfully complete all competencies for a reading 2024
endorsement, including completion of the endorsement practicum. 2025
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Section 40. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 2026
1012.586, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (3) is 2027
added to that section, to read: 2028
1012.586 Additions or changes to certi ficates; duplicate 2029
certificates; reading endorsement pathways ; mathematics 2030
endorsement pathways .— 2031
(2) 2032
(b) As part of adopting a pathway pursuant to paragraph 2033
(a), the department shall review the competencies for the 2034
reading endorsement and subject area examinations for educator 2035
certificates identified pursuant to s. 1012.585(3)(f) for 2036
alignment with evidence -based instructional and intervention 2037
strategies rooted in the science of reading and identified 2038
pursuant to s. 1001.215(7) and recommend changes to the State 2039
Board of Education. Recommended changes must address 2040
identification of the characteristics of conditions such as 2041
dyslexia or dyscalculia, implementation of evidence -based 2042
classroom instruction and interventions, including evidence -2043
based reading or mathematics instruction and interventions 2044
specifically for students with characteristics of dyslexia or 2045
dyscalculia, and effective progress monitoring. By July 1, 2023, 2046
each school district reading endorsement add -on program must be 2047
resubmitted for appro val by the department consistent with this 2048
paragraph. 2049
(3)(a) By the beginning of the 2027 -2028 school year, the 2050
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department shall adopt one or more statewide, competency -based 2051
pathways by which instructional personnel may earn a mathematics 2052
endorsement. A pathway adopted by the department must allow a 2053
candidate to complete coursework online and demonstrate mastery 2054
of each endorsement competency either in person or remotely. 2055
(b) As part of adopting a pathway pursuant to paragraph 2056
(a), the department shall establish the competencies for the 2057
mathematics endorsement and subject area examinations for 2058
educator certificates identified pursuant to s. 1012.585(3)(f) 2059
for alignment with evidence -based instructional and intervention 2060
strategies and recommend changes t o the State Board of 2061
Education. Established competencies for the mathematics 2062
endorsement must include competency to teach numbers and 2063
operations, fractions, algebraic reasoning, measurement, 2064
geometric reasoning, and data analysis and probability at the 2065
elementary or secondary level. 2066
Section 41. Section 1012.77, Florida Statutes, is amended 2067
to read: 2068
1012.77 Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Education 2069
Program.— 2070
(1) The Legislature recognizes that Florida continues to 2071
face teacher shortages and that fewer young people consider 2072
teaching as a career. It is the intent of the Legislature to 2073
promote the positive and rewarding aspects of being a teacher, 2074
to encourage more individuals to become teachers, and to provide 2075
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annual sabbatical support for outstandi ng Florida teachers to 2076
serve as goodwill ambassadors for education. The Legislature 2077
further wishes to honor the memory of Christa McAuliffe, who 2078
epitomized the challenge and inspiration that teaching can be. 2079
(2) The Christa McAuliffe Ambassador for Educa tion Program 2080
is established to provide salary, travel, and other related 2081
expenses annually for an outstanding Florida teacher to promote 2082
the positive aspects of teaching as a career. The goals of the 2083
program are to: 2084
(a) Enhance the stature of teachers an d the teaching 2085
profession. 2086
(b) Promote the importance of quality education and 2087
teaching for our future. 2088
(c) Inspire and attract talented people to become 2089
teachers. 2090
(d) Provide information regarding Florida's scholarship 2091
and loan programs related to t eaching. 2092
(e) Promote the teaching profession within community and 2093
business groups. 2094
(f) Provide information to retired military personnel and 2095
other individuals who might consider teaching as a second 2096
career. 2097
(g) Work with and represent the Department of Education, 2098
as needed. 2099
(h) Work with and encourage the efforts of school and 2100
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district teachers of the year. 2101
(i) Support the activities of the Florida Future Educator 2102
of America Program. 2103
(j) Represent Florida teachers at business, trade, 2104
education, and other conferences and meetings. 2105
(k) Promote the teaching profession in other ways related 2106
to the teaching responsibilities, background experiences, and 2107
aspirations of the Ambassador for Education. 2108
(3) The Teacher of the Year shall serve as the Amba ssador 2109
for Education. If the Teacher of the Year is unable to serve as 2110
the Ambassador for Education, the first runner -up shall serve in 2111
his or her place. The Department of Education shall establish 2112
application and selection procedures for determining an an nual 2113
teacher of the year. Applications and selection criteria shall 2114
be developed and distributed annually by the Department of 2115
Education to all eligible entities identified in subsection (4) 2116
school districts. The Commissioner of Education shall establish 2117
a selection committee which assures representation from teacher 2118
organizations, administrators, and parents to select the Teacher 2119
of the Year and Ambassador for Education from among the district 2120
teachers of the year. 2121
(4) Eligible entities to submit to the Department of 2122
Education a nominee for the Teacher of the Year and Ambassador 2123
for Education are: 2124
(a) Florida school districts, including lab schools as 2125
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defined in s. 1002.32. 2126
(b) Charter school consortia with at least 30 member 2127
schools and an approved p rofessional learning system on file 2128
with the department. 2129
(5)(a)(4)(a) The Commissioner of Education shall pay an 2130
annual salary, fringe benefits, travel costs, and other costs 2131
associated with administering the program. 2132
(b) The Ambassador for Education s hall serve for 1 year, 2133
from July 1 to June 30, and shall be assured of returning to his 2134
or her teaching position upon completion of the program. The 2135
ambassador will not have a break in creditable or continuous 2136
service or employment for the period of time i n which he or she 2137
participates in the program. 2138
Section 42. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 2139
act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon 2140
this act becoming a law, this act shall take effect July 1, 2141
2025. 2142