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Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 1726 By the Appropriations Committee on Higher Education; and Senator Calatayud 608-03463-25 20251726c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to higher education; creating s. 3 20.701, F.S.; requiring members of a state university 4 board of trustees and members of the Board of 5 Governors to be United States citizens and either 6 residents of this state or graduates of a state 7 university beginning on a specified date; providing 8 that specified offices are deemed vacant under certain 9 circumstances; amending s. 112.3144, F.S.; requiring 10 certain members of the Board of Governors to comply 11 with specified financial disclosure requirements 12 beginning on a specified date; amending s. 1001.01, 13 F.S.; revising term limits for members and the chair 14 of the State Board of Education; amending s. 1001.61, 15 F.S.; providing term limits for members and the chairs 16 of the Florida College System institution boards of 17 trustees; authorizing trustees to serve until the 18 appointment of a successor; amending s. 1001.64, F.S.; 19 providing that certain actions related to the 20 president of a Florida College System institution are 21 not subject to approval by the State Board of 22 Education; requiring that a presidential search 23 committee be appointed to make the appointment of such 24 president; providing requirements for such committee; 25 requiring that such president be recommended by the 26 committee; authorizing the renewal of a presidential 27 contract for a specified period; amending s. 1001.70, 28 F.S.; providing term limits for appointed members of 29 the Board of Governors; amending s. 1001.706, F.S.; 30 requiring the Board of Governors to adopt regulations 31 regarding state university public opinion survey 32 research; requiring the Board of Governors to review 33 the admission criteria of state universities; 34 requiring that state university program admission 35 criteria be posted on state university websites; 36 providing that the president of a state university is 37 appointed by the university board of trustees; 38 requiring that a presidential search committee be 39 appointed to make the appointment of such president; 40 providing requirements for such committee; requiring 41 that such president be recommended by the committee; 42 authorizing the renewal of a presidential contract for 43 a specified period; deleting a requirement that the 44 Board of Governors confirm the selection and 45 reappointment of such president; revising the 46 requirements for certain state university capital 47 outlay projects to be included on a specified list; 48 amending s. 1001.71, F.S.; providing term limits for 49 appointed members of university boards of trustees; 50 deleting obsolete language and a certain consideration 51 for appointed members; authorizing appointed members 52 to serve until a successor is appointed; amending s. 53 1004.085, F.S.; defining the terms syllabus or 54 syllabi and term; adding certain materials to 55 lists of textbooks and instructional materials; 56 requiring that the current syllabi for specified 57 courses be posted as a hyperlink in a specified system 58 and include specified information; amending s. 59 1004.098, F.S.; defining the term final group of 60 applicants; amending s. 1007.25, F.S.; prohibiting a 61 Florida College System institution or state university 62 from imposing a certain graduation requirement; 63 amending s. 1011.47, F.S.; authorizing a university 64 board of trustees to approve the transfer of 65 unreserved cash from one auxiliary enterprise to 66 support another auxiliary enterprise under certain 67 conditions; providing effective dates. 68 69 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 70 71 Section 1.Section 20.701, Florida Statutes, is created to 72 read: 73 20.701Residency requirements.Notwithstanding any other 74 law: 75 (1)Effective January 6, 2027, each member of a state 76 university board of trustees must be a United States citizen and 77 either a resident of this state or a graduate of the university, 78 the administration of which is overseen by the board. The office 79 of any member who does not meet the requirements of this 80 subsection is automatically deemed vacant. 81 (2)Effective January 6, 2027, each member of the Board of 82 Governors must be a United States citizen and either a resident 83 of this state or a graduate of a state university, as defined in 84 s. 1000.21. The office of any member of the Board of Governors 85 who does not meet the requirements of this subsection is 86 automatically deemed vacant. 87 Section 2.Paragraph (f) is added to subsection (1) of 88 section 112.3144, Florida Statutes, to read: 89 112.3144Full and public disclosure of financial 90 interests. 91 (1) 92 (f)Beginning January 1, 2026, each citizen member of the 93 Board of Governors of the State University System must comply 94 with the financial disclosure requirements of this section and 95 s. 8, Art. II of the State Constitution. 96 Section 3.Subsections (1) and (2) of section 1001.01, 97 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 98 1001.01State Board of Education; generally. 99 (1)The State Board of Education is established as a body 100 corporate. The state board shall be a citizen board consisting 101 of seven members who are residents of the state appointed by the 102 Governor to staggered 4-year terms, subject to confirmation by 103 the Senate. Members of the state board shall serve without 104 compensation but shall be entitled to reimbursement of travel 105 and per diem expenses in accordance with s. 112.061. Members may 106 only serve two be reappointed by the Governor for additional 107 terms not to exceed 8 years of consecutive service. 108 (2)The State Board of Education shall select a chair and a 109 vice chair from its appointed members. The chair shall serve a 110 single 2-year term and may be reselected for one additional 111 consecutive term. 112 Section 4.Subsections (2) and (4) of section 1001.61, 113 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 114 1001.61Florida College System institution boards of 115 trustees; membership. 116 (2)Trustees shall be appointed by the Governor to 117 staggered 4-year terms, subject to confirmation by the Senate in 118 regular session. A trustee may continue to serve until a 119 successor is appointed. Trustees may be reappointed by the 120 Governor for one additional term, not to exceed 8 consecutive 121 years of service. 122 (4)At its first regular meeting after July 1 of each year, 123 each Florida College System institution board of trustees shall 124 organize by electing a chair, whose duty as such is to preside 125 at all meetings of the board, to call special meetings thereof, 126 and to attest to actions of the board, and a vice chair, whose 127 duty as such is to act as chair during the absence or disability 128 of the elected chair. It is the further duty of the chair of 129 each board of trustees to notify the Governor, in writing, 130 whenever a board member fails to attend three consecutive 131 regular board meetings in any one fiscal year, which absences 132 may be grounds for removal. The chair shall serve a single 2 133 year term. 134 Section 5.Subsection (19) of section 1001.64, Florida 135 Statutes, is amended to read: 136 1001.64Florida College System institution boards of 137 trustees; powers and duties. 138 (19)Each board of trustees shall appoint, suspend, or 139 remove the president of the Florida College System institution. 140 Such appointments, reappointments, suspensions, and extensions 141 of a president, including associated contracts, are not subject 142 to approval or confirmation by the State Board of Education. In 143 appointing a permanent president, the chair of the institutions 144 board of trustees shall appoint a presidential search committee. 145 The presidential search committee shall be composed of at least 146 two members of the board of trustees and may include persons 147 from the institutions faculty, student body, foundation board, 148 financing corporation board, if applicable, alumni, donors, and 149 members from the community the institution serves. However, none 150 of the persons appointed to serve on the presidential search 151 committee may hold positions that report directly to the 152 president. The Commissioner of Education or a member of the 153 State Board of Education may not serve on a presidential search 154 committee. The permanent president appointed by the 155 institutions board of trustees must be recommended by the 156 presidential search committee The board of trustees may appoint 157 a search committee. The board of trustees shall conduct annual 158 evaluations of the president in accordance with rules of the 159 State Board of Education and submit such evaluations to the 160 State Board of Education for review. The evaluation must address 161 the achievement of the performance goals established by the 162 accountability process implemented pursuant to s. 1008.45. A 163 presidential contract may be renewed for a term exceeding 1 164 year, but not exceeding the term of the original contract. 165 Section 6.Subsection (1) of section 1001.70, Florida 166 Statutes, is amended to read: 167 1001.70Board of Governors of the State University System. 168 (1)Pursuant to s. 7(d), Art. IX of the State Constitution, 169 the Board of Governors is established as a body corporate 170 composed comprised of 17 members as follows: 14 citizen members 171 appointed by the Governor subject to confirmation by the Senate; 172 the Commissioner of Education; the chair of the advisory council 173 of faculty senates or the equivalent; and the president of the 174 Florida student association or the equivalent. The appointed 175 members may only shall serve a single staggered 7-year term 176 terms. In order to achieve staggered terms, beginning July 1, 177 2003, of the initial appointments, 4 members shall serve 2-year 178 terms, 5 members shall serve 3-year terms, and 5 members shall 179 serve 7-year terms. 180 Section 7.Paragraph (a) of subsection (5), paragraph (a) 181 of subsection (6), and paragraph (c) of subsection (12) of 182 section 1001.706, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph 183 (k) is added to subsection (3) of that section, to read: 184 1001.706Powers and duties of the Board of Governors. 185 (3)POWERS AND DUTIES RELATING TO ORGANIZATION AND 186 OPERATION OF STATE UNIVERSITIES. 187 (k)The Board of Governors shall adopt regulations 188 prohibiting universities that conduct public opinion survey 189 research from polling activities related to candidates for any 190 federal, state, or local office. A university may conduct survey 191 research to measure opinions and inform the public about social, 192 political, and economic issues unrelated to candidate 193 preference. 194 (5)POWERS AND DUTIES RELATING TO ACCOUNTABILITY. 195 (a)1.The Legislature intends that the Board of Governors 196 shall align the missions of each constituent university with the 197 academic success of its students; the existing and emerging 198 economic development needs of the state; the national reputation 199 of its faculty and its academic and research programs; the 200 quantity of externally generated research, patents, and 201 licenses; and the strategic and accountability plans required in 202 paragraphs (b) and (c). The Board of Governors shall 203 periodically review the mission of each constituent university 204 and make updates or revisions as needed. Upon completion of a 205 review of the mission, the board shall review existing academic 206 programs, including admission criteria, for alignment with the 207 mission. The board shall include in its review a directive to 208 each constituent university regarding its programs for any 209 curriculum or admission criteria that violates s. 1000.05 or 210 that is based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, 211 oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of 212 the United States and were created to maintain social, 213 political, and economic inequities. The mission alignment and 214 strategic plan must consider peer institutions at the 215 constituent universities. The mission alignment and strategic 216 plan must acknowledge that universities that have a national and 217 international impact have the greatest capacity to promote the 218 states economic development through: new discoveries, patents, 219 licenses, and technologies that generate state businesses of 220 global importance; research achievements through external grants 221 and contracts that are comparable to nationally recognized and 222 ranked universities; the creation of a resource rich academic 223 environment that attracts high-technology business and venture 224 capital to the state; and this generations finest minds 225 focusing on solving the states economic, social, environmental, 226 and legal problems in the areas of life sciences, water, 227 sustainability, energy, and health care. A nationally recognized 228 and ranked university that has a global perspective and impact 229 must be afforded the opportunity to enable and protect the 230 universitys competitiveness on the global stage in fair 231 competition with other institutions of other states in the 232 highest Carnegie Classification. 233 2.To assist the Board of Governors in its review of 234 admission criteria, each constituent university shall post 235 program admission criteria on its website. 236 (6)POWERS AND DUTIES RELATING TO PERSONNEL. 237 (a)The Board of Governors, or the boards designee, shall 238 establish the personnel program for all employees of a state 239 university, except the president. The board of trustees of a 240 state university shall select and reappoint the university 241 president. In appointing a permanent president, the chair of the 242 university board of trustees shall appoint a presidential search 243 committee. The presidential search committee shall be composed 244 of 15 members, of whom at least three must be members of the 245 board of trustees, and may include persons from the universitys 246 faculty, the student body, the universitys foundation board, 247 the universitys financing corporation board, if applicable, 248 alumni, donors, and members from the community in which the 249 university serves. However, none of the persons appointed to 250 serve on the presidential search committee may hold positions 251 that report directly to the president. The Chancellor of the 252 State University System or a member of the Board of Governors 253 may not serve on the presidential search committee. The 254 permanent president selected by the board of trustees must have 255 been recommended by the presidential search committee. 256 Selections, reappointments, and extensions of a president, 257 including associated contracts, are not subject to approval or 258 confirmation by the Board of Governors. A presidential contract 259 may be renewed for a term exceeding 1 year, but not exceeding 260 the term of the original contract. The Board of Governors shall 261 confirm the presidential selection and reappointment by a 262 university board of trustees as a means of acknowledging that 263 system cooperation is expected. 264 (12)PUBLIC EDUCATION CAPITAL OUTLAY.The Board of 265 Governors shall submit the prioritized list as required by s. 266 1013.64(4). Projects considered for prioritization shall be 267 chosen from a preliminary selection group which shall include 268 the list of projects maintained pursuant to paragraph (d) and 269 the top two priorities of each state university. 270 (c)A new construction, remodeling, or renovation project 271 that has not received an appropriation in a previous year may 272 shall not be considered for inclusion on the prioritized list 273 required by s. 1013.64(4), unless: 274 1.A plan is provided to reserve funds in an escrow 275 account, specific to the project, into which shall be deposited 276 each year an amount of funds equal to 1 percent of the total 277 value of the building for future maintenance; 278 2.There exists sufficient capacity within the cash and 279 bonding estimate of funds by the Revenue Estimating Conference 280 to accommodate the project within the 3-year Public Education 281 Capital Outlay funding cycle; and 282 3.The project has been recommended pursuant to s. 1013.31. 283 Section 8.Subsection (1) of section 1001.71, Florida 284 Statutes, is amended to read: 285 1001.71University boards of trustees; membership. 286 (1)Pursuant to s. 7(c), Art. IX of the State Constitution, 287 each local constituent university shall be administered by a 288 university board of trustees composed comprised of 13 members as 289 follows: 6 citizen members appointed by the Governor subject to 290 confirmation by the Senate; 5 citizen members appointed by the 291 Board of Governors subject to confirmation by the Senate; the 292 chair of the faculty senate or the equivalent; and the president 293 of the student body of the university. The appointed members 294 shall serve staggered 5-year terms. Appointed members may be 295 reappointed for one additional term, not to exceed 10 years of 296 consecutive service. In order to achieve staggered terms, 297 beginning July 1, 2003, of the initial appointments by the 298 Governor, 2 members shall serve 2-year terms, 3 members shall 299 serve 3-year terms, and 1 member shall serve a 5-year term and 300 of the initial appointments by the Board of Governors, 2 members 301 shall serve 2-year terms, 2 members shall serve 3-year terms, 302 and 1 member shall serve a 5-year term. There shall be no state 303 residency requirement for university board members, but The 304 Governor and the Board of Governors shall consider diversity and 305 regional representation when appointing members. An appointed 306 board member may continue to serve until a successor is 307 appointed. Beginning July 2, 2020, For purposes of this 308 subsection, regional representation includes shall include the 309 chair of a campus board established pursuant to s. 1004.341. 310 Section 9.Subsections (1) and (5) of section 1004.085, 311 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 312 1004.085Textbook and instructional materials affordability 313 and transparency. 314 (1)As used in this section, the term:, 315 (a)The term Instructional materials means educational 316 materials for use within a course which may be available in 317 printed or digital format. 318 (b)Syllabus or syllabi means the course syllabus or 319 syllabi developed by the instructor assigned to the course. 320 (c)Term includes the fall, spring, and summer terms. 321 (5)(a)Each Florida College System institution and state 322 university shall post prominently in the course registration 323 system and on its website a hyperlink to lists of required and 324 recommended textbooks and instructional materials for at least 325 95 percent of all courses and course sections offered at the 326 institution during the upcoming term. The lists must include the 327 International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for each required and 328 recommended textbook and instructional material or other 329 identifying information, which must include, at a minimum, all 330 of the following: the title, all authors listed, publishers, 331 edition number, copyright date, published date, and other 332 relevant information necessary to identify the specific 333 textbooks or instructional materials required and recommended 334 for each course. The lists must include those materials that are 335 open access or an open educational resource for which there is 336 no cost, must include a unique identifier, if available, and 337 must include any relevant information necessary to identify the 338 specific resource. The State Board of Education and the Board of 339 Governors shall include in the policies, procedures, and 340 guidelines adopted under subsection (6) certain limited 341 exceptions to this notification requirement for classes added 342 after the notification deadline. 343 (b)The lists of required and recommended textbooks and 344 instructional materials required in paragraph (a) must be, to 345 the maximum extent possible, based on a list submitted by the 346 instructor and must: 347 1.Be posted as early as is feasible but at least 45 days 348 before the first day of class for each term. 349 2.Remain posted for at least 5 academic years. 350 3.Be searchable by the general education status, the 351 course subject, the course section, the course number, the 352 course title, the name of the instructor of the course, the 353 title of each assigned textbook or instructional material, and 354 each author of an assigned textbook or instructional material. 355 4.Include the duration of any license allowing access to 356 the textbook or instructional material for which students must 357 purchase or pay for access. 358 5.4.Be easily downloadable by current and prospective 359 students. 360 (c)To maximize informed student choice, courses If a 361 course subject to paragraphs (a) and (b) must include the 362 current is a general education core course option identified 363 pursuant to s. 1007.25, course syllabi posted in the same 364 location as the postings of required and recommended textbooks 365 and instructional materials at least 10 business days before the 366 start of the term. Individualized courses, such as directed 367 individual studies, thesis, dissertation defense, and 368 performance, are exempt from this requirement. Each syllabus 369 must contain syllabi information containing sufficient detail to 370 inform students of all of the following must be included: 371 1.The course curriculum, including the required and 372 recommended textbooks and instructional materials regardless of 373 cost or whether the materials are open access or an open 374 educational resource. 375 2.Specific The goals, objectives, and student expectations 376 of the course. 377 3.How student performance will be evaluated, including the 378 grading scale and methodology measured. 379 Section 10.Present subsections (1), (2), and (3) of 380 section 1004.098, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 381 subsections (2), (3), and (4), respectively, a new subsection 382 (1) is added to that section, and paragraph (a) of present 383 subsection (2) of that section is amended, to read: 384 1004.098Applicants for president of a state university or 385 Florida College System institution; public records exemption; 386 public meetings exemption. 387 (1)For the purposes of this section, the term final group 388 of applicants means no fewer than three applicants who will 389 receive final consideration for president of a state university 390 or Florida College System institution. 391 (3)(a)(2)(a)Any portion of a meeting held for the purpose 392 of identifying or vetting applicants for president of a state 393 university or a Florida College System institution, including 394 any portion of a meeting which would disclose personal 395 identifying information of such applicants which is otherwise 396 confidential and exempt under subsection (2) (1), is exempt from 397 s. 286.011 and s. 24(b), Art. I of the State Constitution. 398 Section 11.Subsection (15) is added to section 1007.25, 399 Florida Statutes, to read: 400 1007.25General education courses; common prerequisites; 401 other degree requirements. 402 (15)A Florida College System institution or state 403 university may not impose an institution-wide or university-wide 404 graduation requirement that includes a course in conflict with 405 paragraph (3)(c). 406 Section 12.Subsection (1) of section 1011.47, Florida 407 Statutes, is amended to read: 408 1011.47Auxiliary enterprises; contracts, grants, and 409 donations.As used in s. 19(f)(3), Art. III of the State 410 Constitution, the term: 411 (1)(a)Auxiliary enterprises includes activities that 412 directly or indirectly provide a product or a service, or both, 413 to a university or its students, faculty, or staff and for which 414 a charge is made. These auxiliary enterprises are business 415 activities of a university which require no support from the 416 General Revenue Fund, and include activities such as housing, 417 bookstores, student health services, continuing education 418 programs, food services, college stores, operation of vending 419 machines, specialty shops, day care centers, golf courses, 420 student activities programs, data center operations, and 421 intercollegiate athletics programs. 422 (b)Each university board of trustees may determine whether 423 its auxiliary enterprises, including intercollegiate athletics 424 programs, will be self-supporting on an individual or collective 425 basis. A university board of trustees may approve the transfer 426 of unreserved cash from one auxiliary enterprise to support 427 another auxiliary enterprise as long as such transfer does not 428 reduce revenues necessary to cover all expenditures of the 429 auxiliary enterprise, violate any bond covenants, or impact debt 430 service payments and required reserves. Transfers made under 431 this paragraph must be reported to the Board of Governors 432 annually. This paragraph expires June 30, 2030. 433 Section 13.Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 434 act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon 435 becoming a law, this act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
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