Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 1692 By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator McClain 591-02558-25 20251692c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to material that is harmful to minors; 3 amending 1006.28, F.S.; defining the term harmful to 4 minors; revising the list of materials used in a 5 classroom which are subject to the objection process 6 by parents or residents; reenacting s. 1014.05(1)(c), 7 F.S., relating to school district notifications on 8 parental rights, to incorporate the amendment made to 9 s. 1006.28, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an 10 effective date. 11 12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13 14 Section 1.Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection 15 (2) of section 1006.28, Florida Statutes, is amended to read 16 1006.28Duties of district school board, district school 17 superintendent; and school principal regarding K-12 18 instructional materials. 19 (1)DEFINITIONS. 20 (a)As used in this section, the term: 21 1.Adequate instructional materials means a sufficient 22 number of student or site licenses or sets of materials that are 23 available in bound, unbound, kit, or package form and may 24 consist of hardbacked or softbacked textbooks, electronic 25 content, consumables, learning laboratories, manipulatives, 26 electronic media, and computer courseware or software that serve 27 as the basis for instruction in the core subject areas of 28 mathematics, language arts, social studies, science, reading, 29 and literature. 30 2.Harmful to minors means any reproduction, imitation, 31 characterization, description, exhibition, presentation, or 32 representation, of whatever kind or form, depicting nudity, 33 sexual conduct, or sexual excitement when it: 34 a.Predominantly appeals to prurient, shameful, or morbid 35 interest; and 36 b.Is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the 37 adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable 38 material or conduct for minors. 39 3.2.Instructional materials has the same meaning as in 40 s. 1006.29(2). 41 4.3.Library media center means any collection of books, 42 ebooks, periodicals, or videos maintained and accessible on the 43 site of a school, including in classrooms. 44 (b)As used in this section and s. 1006.283, the term 45 resident means a person who has maintained his or her 46 residence in this state for the preceding year, has purchased a 47 home that is occupied by him or her as his or her residence, or 48 has established a domicile in this state pursuant to s. 222.17. 49 (c)As used in this section and ss. 1006.283, 1006.32, 50 1006.35, 1006.37, 1006.38, 1006.40, and 1006.42, the term 51 purchase includes purchase, lease, license, and acquire. 52 (2)DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD.The district school board has 53 the constitutional duty and responsibility to select and provide 54 adequate instructional materials for all students in accordance 55 with the requirements of this part. The district school board 56 also has the following specific duties and responsibilities: 57 (a)Courses of study; adoption.Adopt courses of study, 58 including instructional materials, for use in the schools of the 59 district. 60 1.Each district school board is responsible for the 61 content of all instructional materials and any other materials 62 used in a classroom, made available in a school or classroom 63 library, or included on a reading list, whether adopted and 64 purchased from the state-adopted instructional materials list, 65 adopted and purchased through a district instructional materials 66 program under s. 1006.283, or otherwise purchased or made 67 available. 68 2.Each district school board must adopt a policy regarding 69 an objection by a parent or a resident of the county to the use 70 of a specific material, which clearly describes a process to 71 handle all objections and provides for resolution. The objection 72 form, as prescribed by State Board of Education rule, and the 73 district school boards process must be easy to read and 74 understand and be easily accessible on the homepage of the 75 school districts website. The objection form must also identify 76 the school district point of contact and contact information for 77 the submission of an objection. The process must provide the 78 parent or resident the opportunity to proffer evidence to the 79 district school board that: 80 a.An instructional material does not meet the criteria of 81 s. 1006.31(2) or s. 1006.40(3)(c) if it was selected for use in 82 a course or otherwise made available to students in the school 83 district but was not subject to the public notice, review, 84 comment, and hearing procedures under s. 1006.283(2)(b)8., 9., 85 and 11. 86 b.Any material used in a classroom, made available in a 87 school or classroom library, or included on a reading list 88 contains content which: 89 (I)Is pornographic or prohibited under s. 847.012; 90 (II)Is considered harmful to minors as defined by this 91 section or depicts or describes sexual conduct as defined in s. 92 847.001(19), unless such material is specifically authorized as 93 part of a health education course required under s. 1003.46; as 94 part of comprehensive health education required under s. 95 1003.42(2)(o)1.g. or 3.; or as approved through for a course 96 required by s. 1003.46 or s. 1003.42(2)(o)1.g. or 3., or 97 identified by State Board of Education rule for specific 98 educational purposes. 99 (A)Upon receipt of an objection under this sub-sub 100 subparagraph regarding material that is harmful to minors, the 101 material must be removed within 5 school days; the material must 102 remain unavailable throughout the objection review process; and 103 the school board may not consider potential literary, artistic, 104 political, or scientific value as a basis for retaining the 105 material. 106 (B)The State Board of Education shall monitor district 107 compliance with the requirements of this sub-sub-subparagraph 108 through regular audits and reporting. Upon finding that a 109 district has failed to comply with these requirements, the State 110 Board of Education must provide written notice of noncompliance 111 to the district and require the district to submit a corrective 112 action plan within 30 days after receiving such notice; may 113 withhold the transfer of state funds, discretionary grant funds, 114 discretionary lottery funds, or any other funds specified by the 115 Legislature until the school district complies with the 116 requirements; and may impose additional sanctions or 117 requirements as conditions for the continued receipt of state 118 funds; 119 (III)Is not suited to student needs and their ability to 120 comprehend the material presented; or 121 (IV)Is inappropriate for the grade level and age group for 122 which the material is used. 123 124 A resident of the county who is not the parent or guardian of a 125 student with access to school district materials may not object 126 to more than one material per month. The State Board of 127 Education may adopt rules to implement this provision. Any 128 material that is subject to an objection on the basis of sub 129 sub-subparagraph b.(I) or sub-sub-subparagraph b.(II) must be 130 removed within 5 school days after receipt of the objection and 131 remain unavailable to students of that school until the 132 objection is resolved. Parents shall have the right to read 133 passages from any material that is subject to an objection. If 134 the school board denies a parent the right to read passages due 135 to content that meets the requirements under sub-sub 136 subparagraph b.(I), the school district shall discontinue the 137 use of the material in the school district. If the district 138 school board finds that any material meets the requirements 139 under sub-subparagraph a. or that any other material contains 140 prohibited content under sub-sub-subparagraph b.(I), the school 141 district shall discontinue use of the material. If the district 142 school board finds that any other material contains prohibited 143 content under sub-sub-subparagraphs b.(II)-(IV), the school 144 district shall discontinue use of the material for any grade 145 level or age group for which such use is inappropriate or 146 unsuitable. 147 3.Each district school board must establish a process by 148 which the parent of a public school student or a resident of the 149 county may contest the district school boards adoption of a 150 specific instructional material. The parent or resident must 151 file a petition, on a form provided by the school board, within 152 30 calendar days after the adoption of the instructional 153 material by the school board. The school board must make the 154 form available to the public and publish the form on the school 155 districts website. The form must be signed by the parent or 156 resident, include the required contact information, and state 157 the objection to the instructional material based on the 158 criteria of s. 1006.31(2) or s. 1006.40(3)(c). Within 30 days 159 after the 30-day period has expired, the school board must, for 160 all petitions timely received, conduct at least one open public 161 hearing before an unbiased and qualified hearing officer. The 162 hearing officer may not be an employee or agent of the school 163 district. The hearing is not subject to the provisions of 164 chapter 120; however, the hearing must provide sufficient 165 procedural protections to allow each petitioner an adequate and 166 fair opportunity to be heard and present evidence to the hearing 167 officer. The school boards decision after convening a hearing 168 is final and not subject to further petition or review. 169 4.Meetings of committees convened for the purpose of 170 ranking, eliminating, or selecting instructional materials for 171 recommendation to the district school board must be noticed and 172 open to the public in accordance with s. 286.011. Any committees 173 convened for such purposes must include parents of students who 174 will have access to such materials. 175 5.Meetings of committees convened for the purpose of 176 resolving an objection by a parent or resident to specific 177 materials must be noticed and open to the public in accordance 178 with s. 286.011. Any committees convened for such purposes must 179 include parents of students who will have access to such 180 materials. 181 6.If a parent disagrees with the determination made by the 182 district school board on the objection to the use of a specific 183 material, a parent may request the Commissioner of Education to 184 appoint a special magistrate who is a member of The Florida Bar 185 in good standing and who has at least 5 years experience in 186 administrative law. The special magistrate shall determine facts 187 relating to the school districts determination, consider 188 information provided by the parent and the school district, and 189 render a recommended decision for resolution to the State Board 190 of Education within 30 days after receipt of the request by the 191 parent. The State Board of Education must approve or reject the 192 recommended decision at its next regularly scheduled meeting 193 that is more than 7 calendar days and no more than 30 days after 194 the date the recommended decision is transmitted. The costs of 195 the special magistrate shall be borne by the school district. 196 The State Board of Education shall adopt rules, including forms, 197 necessary to implement this subparagraph. 198 Section 2.For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 199 made by this act to section 1006.28, Florida Statutes, in a 200 reference thereto, paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 201 1014.05, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 202 1014.05School district notifications on parental rights. 203 (1)Each district school board shall, in consultation with 204 parents, teachers, and administrators, develop and adopt a 205 policy to promote parental involvement in the public school 206 system. Such policy must include: 207 (c)Procedures, pursuant to s. 1006.28(2)(a)2., for a 208 parent to object to instructional materials and other materials 209 used in the classroom. Such objections may be based on beliefs 210 regarding morality, sex, and religion or the belief that such 211 materials are harmful. For purposes of this section, the term 212 instructional materials has the same meaning as in s. 213 1006.29(2) and may include other materials used in the 214 classroom, including workbooks and worksheets, handouts, 215 software, applications, and any digital media made available to 216 students. 217 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.