Florida Senate - 2025 CS for CS for SB 1546 By the Committees on Rules; and Criminal Justice; and Senator Grall 595-03370-25 20251546c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to background screening of athletic 3 coaches; amending s. 943.0438, F.S.; making a 4 technical change; revising the date by which an 5 independent sanctioning authority is required to 6 conduct certain background screenings of athletic 7 coaches; providing that an independent sanctioning 8 authority shall be considered a qualified entity for 9 the purpose of participating in the Care Provider 10 Background Screening Clearinghouse no later than a 11 specified date; prohibiting an independent sanctioning 12 authority from allowing certain persons to act as 13 athletic coaches beginning on a specified date; 14 authorizing a person who has not undergone certain 15 background screening to act as an athletic coach if he 16 or she is under the direct supervision of an athletic 17 coach who meets certain background screening 18 requirements; providing an effective date. 19 20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21 22 Section 1.Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and paragraphs 23 (a) and (b) of subsection (2) of section 943.0438, Florida 24 Statutes, are amended, and subsection (5) is added to that 25 section, to read: 26 943.0438Athletic coaches for independent sanctioning 27 authorities. 28 (1)As used in this section, the term: 29 (a)Athletic coach means a person who: 30 1.Is authorized by an independent sanctioning authority to 31 work as a coach, an assistant coach, a manager, or a referee, 32 whether for compensation or as a volunteer, for a youth athletic 33 team based in this state; and 34 2.Has direct contact with one or more minors on the youth 35 athletic team. 36 (2)An independent sanctioning authority shall: 37 (a)No later than July 1, 2026: 38 1.Effective January 1, 2025, Conduct a level 2 background 39 screening under s. 435.04 of each current and prospective 40 athletic coach. The authority may not delegate this 41 responsibility to an individual team and may not authorize any 42 person to act as an athletic coach unless a level 2 background 43 screening is conducted and does not result in disqualification 44 under subparagraph 3 paragraph (b). 45 2.(b)1.Be considered a Before January 1, 2026, or a later 46 date as determined by the Agency for Health Care Administration 47 for the participation of qualified entity for purposes of 48 participating entities in the Care Provider Background Screening 49 Clearinghouse under s. 435.12, disqualify any person from acting 50 as an athletic coach as provided in s. 435.04. The authority may 51 allow a person disqualified under this subparagraph to act as an 52 athletic coach if it determines that the person meets the 53 requirements for an exemption from disqualification under s. 54 435.07. 55 3.2.On or after January 1, 2026, or a later date as 56 determined by the Agency for Health Care Administration, Not 57 allow a any person to act as an athletic coach if he or she does 58 not pass the background screening qualifications in s. 435.04. 59 The authority may allow a person disqualified under this 60 subparagraph to act as an athletic coach if the person has 61 successfully completed the exemption from the disqualification 62 process under s. 435.07. 63 (5)Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(a), a person who has not 64 undergone background screening pursuant to this section may act 65 as an athletic coach if he or she is under the direct 66 supervision of an athletic coach who meets the background 67 screening requirements of this section. 68 Section 2.This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.