CS/CS/HB 1287 2025
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to school district personnel and 2
volunteers; amending s. 435.12, F.S.; authorizing 3
certain volunteers to undergo a specified background 4
screening at the discretion of specified entities; 5
amending s. 1012.22, F.S.; requiring district school 6
boards to adopt a policy to temporarily remove 7
instructional personnel from the classroom under 8
certain circumstances; amending s. 1012.797, F.S.; 9
revising the offenses committed by certain educational 10
employees that law enforcement must report to 11
specified educational entities; amending s. 1012.799, 12
F.S.; requiring instructional personnel and 13
administrative personnel to self -report certain 14
arrests and final judgm ents within a specified time 15
period; providing an effective date. 16
17
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 18
19
Section 1. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (3) of 20
section 435.12, Florida Statutes, to read: 21
435.12 Care Provider B ackground Screening Clearinghouse. — 22
(3) 23
(c) An individual who volunteers for an entity listed in 24
paragraph (a) may be screened at the discretion of the entity. 25
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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
If the entity elects to conduct a background screening, the 26
screening may be conducted pursua nt to this section or s. 27
943.0542. 28
Section 2. Paragraph (j) is added to subsection (1) of 29
section 1012.22, Florida Statutes, to read: 30
1012.22 Public school personnel; powers and duties of the 31
district school board. —The district school board shall: 32
(1) Designate positions to be filled, prescribe 33
qualifications for those positions, and provide for the 34
appointment, compensation, promotion, suspension, and dismissal 35
of employees as follows, subject to the requirements of this 36
chapter: 37
(j) Temporary removal from the classroom. —The district 38
school board shall adopt a policy to temporarily remove 39
instructional personnel from the classroom within 24 hours after 40
notification by law enforcement or the instructional personnel 41
of any arrest for a felony or for a misdemeanor involving any 42
offense listed in s. 435.04(2). 43
Section 3. Section 1012.797, Florida Statutes, is amended 44
to read: 45
1012.797 Notification of certain charges against 46
employees.—Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 985.04(7) or any 47
other law to the contrary, a law enforcement agency shall, 48
within 48 hours, notify the appropriate district school 49
superintendent, charter school governing board, private school 50
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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
owner or administrator, president of the Florida School for the 51
Deaf and the Blind, or university lab schools director or 52
principal, as applicable, when its employee is arrested for a 53
felony or a misdemeanor involving any offense listed in s. 54
435.04(2), the abuse of a minor child , or the sale or possession 55
of a controlled substance . The notification must shall include 56
the specific charge for which the employee of the school 57
district was arrested. Notwithstanding ss. 1012.31(3)(a)1. and 58
1012.796(4), within 24 hours after such notification, the school 59
principal or designee shall notify parents of enrolled students 60
who had direct contact with the employee and include, at a 61
minimum, the name and specific charges against the employee. 62
Section 4. Section 1012.799, Florida Statutes, is amended 63
to read: 64
1012.799 Reporting certain offenses. — 65
(1) Instructional personnel or administrative personnel 66
having knowledge that a sexual battery has been committed by a 67
student upon another student must report the offense to a law 68
enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the school plant or 69
over the place where the sexual battery occurred if not on the 70
grounds of the school plant. 71
(2) Instructional personnel or administrative personnel 72
must self-report to a school district authority, as determined 73
by the district school superintendent: 74
(a) Within 48 hours after any arrest for a felony or for a 75
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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
misdemeanor involving any offense listed in s. 435.04(2). Such 76
notice shall not be considered an admission of guilt and such 77
notice shall not be admissible for any purpose in any civil, 78
criminal, administrative, judicial, investigatory, or 79
adjudicatory proceeding. 80
(b) Within 48 hours after a final judgment, any 81
conviction, finding of guilt, withholding of adjudication, 82
commitment to a pretrial diversion program, or entering a plea 83
of guilty or nolo contendere for any criminal offense other than 84
a traffic violation. When handling sealed and expunged records 85
disclosed pursuant to this paragraph, school district personnel 86
must comply with the confidentiality provisions in ss. 87
943.0585(4)(c) and 943.0 59(4)(c). 88
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 89