Legislative Update, Jan. 31-Feb. 4, 2022
Overview
The Florida Legislature completed the third week of its 60-day Legislative Session. Bills related to education continue to feature prominently (see Bill Activity below).
A bill (HB 1467) that would eliminate regular salaries for newly elected district school board members and replace them with per-meeting pay (capped at $4,800 per year) was approved Monday by the House Appropriations Committee. The bill also creates new rules for choosing which books and other instructional materials schools make available to students, including making meetings related to choosing instructional materials open to the public. The bill was approved 15-10 and goes next to the full House for approval.
A bill (HB 1193) expanding the state’s “progress monitoring system” for students cleared a House committee on Wednesday, but drew some opposition over an amendment to the bill that would change the way school grades are calculated. The bill was approved on a 12-4 vote in the House Early Learning & Elementary Education Subcommittee, its first of four assigned committee stops. Some members of the committee questioned whether the more difficult grading scale would punish already struggling schools that might not receive adequate resources to meet the new requirements.
The Chairman of the House Pre-K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee proposed stripping a total of $200 million from 12 school districts that required students to wear masks when they returned to school last fall, including Orange County Public Schools. The money would come out of the salaries of about 1,600 non-teaching school employees in those districts who make over $100,000 annually and would be spread among the 55 school districts that did not impose mask mandates. Under the proposal, OCPS would lose $16,555,960.
The Week Ahead
House Calendar - House released the agenda calendar for February 4, 2022. It contains agendas for meetings through February 7, 2022.
Senate Calendar - Senate released the agenda calendar for February 7, 2022. It contains agendas for meetings through February 9, 2022.
Committee Activity
The following legislative committees held meetings this week on education-related matters:
House: Early Learning and Elementary Education Subcommittee
Consideration of Bills on Agenda:
• HB 0277: Early Childhood Music Education Incentive Pilot Program (Clemons)
• HB 1193: K-12 Assessments and Accountability (Plasencia)
• HB 1199: Funding for the School Readiness Program (Grall)
• HB 1219: Instructional Personnel (Bartleman)
View a video recording of the Subcommittee meeting.
House: Education and Employment Committee
Consideration of Bills on Agenda:
• HB 0235: Restraint of Students with Disabilities in Public Schools (Plasencia)
• HB 0447: Required Instruction in the History of African Americans (Trabulsy)
• HB 1203: Education (Fetterhoff)
View a video recording of the Committee meeting.
House: Post-Secondary Education and Lifelong Learning Subcommittee
Consideration of Bills and PCBs on Agenda:
• HB 1407: Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program (Valdes)
• PEL1: Postsecondary Education (Subcommittee)
Presentations on postsecondary nursing education programs
View a video recording of the Subcommittee meeting.
House: PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee
Consideration of Bills and PCB on Agenda
• HB 0015: Children with Developmental Delays (Tant)
• HB 0989: Sparsity Supplement Funds Within the FEFP (Shoaf)
• PKA1: Education (PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee)
Chair’s Budget Proposal for FY 2022-2023
View a video recording of the Subcommittee meeting.
House: Secondary Education and Career Development Subcommittee
Consideration of Bills on Agenda:
• HB 0173: Care of Students with Epilepsy or Seizure Disorders (Duran)
• HB 0229: Guidance Services on Academic and Career Planning (Arrington)
• HB 1317: Individual Education Plans (Tant)
• HB 1421: School Safety (Hawkins)
View a video recording of the Subcommittee meeting.
Senate: Appropriations Subcommittee on Education
Review and Discussion of Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Budget
Senate: Education Committee
Consideration of Bills on Agenda:
• SB 0390: Restraint of Students with Disabilities in Public Schools (Book)
• SB 0600: Upgrades to Education Facilities as Emergency Shelters (Berman)
• SB 0706: School Concurrency (Perry)
• SB 0896: Educator Certification Pathways for Veterans (Burgess)
• SB 1068: Certificates of Completion (Jones)
• SB 1126: Exemption from Taxation for Educational Properties (Harrell)
• SB 1226: Virtual Learning (Brandes)
• SB 1240: Mental Health of Students (Harrell)
• SB 1284: Florida Postsecondary Student Assistance Grant Program (Gruters)
• SB 1386: School Personnel (Diaz)
• SB 1404: School Counselors (Jones)
• SB 1690: Charter School Revolving Loan Program (Diaz)
Bill Activity
Below are education-related bills that received legislative action this week.
HB 0007 Individual Freedom by Avila
Individual Freedom: Provides that subjecting individuals to specified concepts under certain circumstances constitutes discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin; revises provisions relating to required instruction; prohibits instructional materials reviewers from recommending instructional materials that contain any matter that contradicts certain principles; requires DOE to review school district professional development systems for compliance with certain provisions of law. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Education & Employment Committee
Actions
02/04/2022 HOUSE On Committee agenda - Education & Employment Committee, 02/08/22, 3:30 pm, 17 H
Compare HB 0057 Racial and Sexual Discrimination (Fine)
SB 0242 Racial and Sexual Discrimination (Gruters)
Similar SB 0148 Individual Freedom (Diaz)
HB 0173 Care of Students with Epilepsy or Seizure Disorders by Duran
Care of Students with Epilepsy or Seizure Disorders: Requires school to provide epilepsy or seizure disorder care to student; provides for creation & implementation of individualized seizure action plan for students with epilepsy or seizure disorders to receive health care at school; provides requirements for DOE, schools, school nurses & certain other school employees, & such plans. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Education & Employment Committee
Actions
02/04/2022 HOUSE On Committee agenda - Education & Employment Committee, 02/08/22, 3:30 pm, 17 H
Similar SB 0340 Care of Students with Epilepsy or Seizure Disorders (Garcia)
HB 0443 Interscholastic and Intrascholastic Activities by Beltran
Interscholastic and Intrascholastic Activities: Provides for approval of athletic associations that meet certain requirements; provides requirements for such athletic associations, SBE, & certain schools; provides that private schools & traditional public schools are considered high schools for specified purposes; authorizes certain students to participate or continue participating in interscholastic & intrascholastic activities at certain schools & revises & provides requirements therefor. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Education & Employment Committee
Actions
02/04/2022 HOUSE On Committee agenda - Education & Employment Committee, 02/08/22, 3:30 pm, 17 H
Compare SB 0738 Athletic Associations (Hutson)
HB 0851 School Concurrency by McClain
School Concurrency: Revises provisions specifying when school concurrency is satisfied; specifies proportionate-share mitigation may be set aside & not spent if improvement has not been identified. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Education & Employment Committee
Actions
02/04/2022 HOUSE On Committee agenda - Education & Employment Committee, 02/08/22, 3:30 pm, 17 H
Similar SB 0706 School Concurrency (Perry)
HB 0865 Charter Schools by Rizo
Charter Schools: Creates Charter School Review Commission within DOE; provides requirements for commission; authorizes commission to approve charter school applications; provides for oversight of such charter schools; revises provisions relating to reporting requirements & charter renewal & nonrenewal & charter school facilities; requires OPPAGA to conduct specified study & provide report. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee
Actions
02/04/2022 HOUSE On Committee agenda - PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, 02/08/22, 1:00 pm, 102 H
Similar SB 0758 Education (Diaz)
HB 0045 Educational Opportunities for Disabled Veterans by Morales
Educational Opportunities for Disabled Veterans: Provides that disabled veterans receiving certain federal educational assistance benefits are eligible to receive waiver for tuition & fees at certain institutions; provides calculation for waiver amount; requires amount awarded by state to be contingent on application of specified federal benefits; requires institutions to submit annual report to Board of Governors & State Board of Education; requires boards to adopt regulations & rules. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee
Actions
02/04/2022 HOUSE On Committee agenda - Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, 02/08/22, 10:30 am, 404 H
Identical SB 0554 Educational Opportunities for Disabled Veterans (Cruz)
HB 0991 Workforce Education Postsecondary Student Fees by Shoaf
Workforce Education Postsecondary Student Fees: Authorizes district school boards & FCS institutions to implement plan for differential out-of-state fee for specified purposes; requires district school boards & FCS institutions to prioritize enrollment of certain students in specified programs of study; & provides reporting requirements. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee
Actions
02/04/2022 HOUSE On Committee agenda - Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, 02/08/22, 10:30 am, 404 H
Similar SB 1122 Student Fees (Gainer)
SB 0410 Photographic Enforcement of School Zone Speed Limits by Rodriguez (A)
Photographic Enforcement of School Zone Speed Limits; Authorizing counties and municipalities to enforce school speed zones through the use of speed detection systems; authorizing counties and municipalities to install, or contract with a vendor to install, speed detection systems; requiring counties and municipalities that install speed detection systems to provide certain notification to the public; authorizing counties and municipalities to authorize traffic infraction enforcement officers to issue certain traffic citations, etc. Effective Date: Upon becoming a law
Current Committee of Reference: Senate Appropriations
Actions
02/04/2022 SENATE On Committee agenda - Appropriations, 02/09/22, 9:00 am, 412 K
Compare HB 0797 Photographic Enforcement of School Zone Speed Limits (Overdorf)
Identical HB 0189 Photographic Enforcement of School Zone Speed Limits (Duran)
SB 1048 Student Assessments by Diaz
Student Assessments; Revising the grade levels for which the coordinated screening and monitoring program measures student progress in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program; revising requirements for the statewide, standardized comprehensive assessments program, beginning with a specified school year; requiring that progress monitoring include both a web-based and mobile device-compatible option; requiring 2022-2023 school and school district grades to serve as an informal baseline for schools and school districts; providing that school improvement ratings will not be calculated for a certain school year, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2022
Current Committee of Reference: Senate Appropriations
Actions
02/04/2022 SENATE On Committee agenda - Appropriations, 02/09/22, 9:00 am, 412 K
Compare HB 1193 K-12 Assessments and Accountability (Plasencia)
HB 0015 Children with Developmental Delays by Tant
Children with Developmental Delays: Revises definition of term "exceptional student" to include additional students with developmental delays. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Education & Employment Committee
Actions
02/03/2022 HOUSE Now in Education & Employment Committee
Identical SB 0236 Children with Developmental Delays (Jones)
HB 1203 Education by Fetterhoff
Education: Revises provisions relating to offenses against students by authority figures, teacher preparation programs, & background screenings & employment of certain educational personnel.Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Education & Employment Committee
Actions
02/03/2022 HOUSE Committee Substitute Text (C2) Filed
Compare SB 1386 School Personnel (Diaz)
HB 1505 Background Screenings (Trabulsy)
SB 1830 Background Screenings (Brodeur)
HB 0573 Educator Certification Pathways for Veterans by Snyder
Educator Certification Pathways for Veterans: Authorizes DOE to issue temporary certificate to specified military servicemembers who meet certain criteria; requires teacher mentorship for specified military servicemembers who hold temporary certificate; specifies duration & issuance of temporary certificate for specified military servicemembers. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Local Administration & Veterans Affairs Subcommittee
Actions
02/03/2022 HOUSE On Committee agenda - Local Administration & Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, 02/07/22, 1:30 pm, 404 H
Similar SB 0896 Educator Certification Pathways for Veterans (Burgess)
HB 1199 Funding for the School Readiness Program by Grall
Funding for the School Readiness Program: Revises provisions relating to funding calculations for school readiness program & duties of Early Learning Programs Estimating Conference. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Early Learning & Elementary Education Subcommittee
Actions
02/03/2022 HOUSE Committee Substitute Text (C2) Filed
Compare SB 1700 School Readiness Program Funding (Gruters)
SB 0892 Charter School Charters by Burgess
Charter School Charters; Requiring a request for a consolidation of multiple charters to be approved or denied within a specified timeframe; requiring a charter school sponsor to provide to the charter school specified information relating to a denial of a request for a consolidation within a certain timeframe; providing for the automatic renewal of a charter under certain circumstances, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2022
Current Committee of Reference: Senate Community Affairs
Actions
02/03/2022 SENATE On Committee agenda - Community Affairs, 02/08/22, 3:00 pm, 37 S
Similar HB 0225 Charter School Charters (Hawkins)
HB 1421 School Safety by Hawkins
School Safety: Revises provisions relating to FortifyFL, Commissioner of Education oversight of enforcement of school safety and security requirements, Office of Safe Schools, certain emergency drills, family reunification plans, threat assessment teams, safe-school officers, DOE responsibilities, & Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Secondary Education & Career Development Subcommittee
Actions
02/03/2022 HOUSE Committee Substitute Text (C2) Filed
Similar SB 0802 School Safety (Gruters)
HB 1467 K-12 Education by Garrison
K-12 Education: Revises provisions relating to district school board members' salaries & revises provisions relating to selection of instructional materials & other materials. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: No Current Committee
Actions
02/03/2022 HOUSE Bill added to Special Order Calendar (2/9/2022)
Compare HB 1409 Education in Public Schools Concerning Human Sexuality (Eskamani)
Similar SB 1300 District School Boards (Gruters)
SB 0896 Educator Certification Pathways for Veterans by Burgess
Educator Certification Pathways for Veterans; Authorizing the Department of Education to issue a temporary certificate to specified military servicemembers who meet certain criteria; requiring a teacher mentorship for specified military servicemembers who hold a temporary certificate; specifying the duration and issuance of a temporary certificate for specified military servicemembers, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2022
Current Committee of Reference: Senate Rules
Actions
02/02/2022 SENATE Now in Rules
Similar HB 0573 Educator Certification Pathways for Veterans (Snyder)
SB 0706 School Concurrency by Perry
School Concurrency; Revising provisions specifying when school concurrency is deemed satisfied; specifying that proportionate-share mitigation must be set aside and not spent if an improvement has not been identified, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2022
Current Committee of Reference: Senate Rules
Actions
02/02/2022 SENATE Now in Rules
Similar HB 0851 School Concurrency (McClain)
SB 0702 Photographic Enforcement of School Bus Safety by Burgess
Photographic Enforcement of School Bus Safety; Defining the terms “school bus” and “side stop signal arm enforcement system”; authorizing school districts to install and operate side stop signal arm enforcement systems on school buses; requiring school districts to enter into interlocal agreements with certain law enforcement agencies for certain purposes; providing that recorded images evidencing a violation of the act are admissible in any judicial or administrative proceeding for a certain purpose; specifying requirements of and prohibitions on the use of recorded video and still images captured by the side stop signal arm enforcement system, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2022
Current Committee of Reference: Senate Appropriations
Actions
02/02/2022 SENATE Now in Appropriations
Similar HB 0179 Photographic Enforcement of School Bus Safety (Altman)
SB 1240 Mental Health of Students by Harrell
Mental Health of Students; Revising data the Department of Children and Families is required to analyze when creating its annual report on the initiation of certain involuntary examinations; requiring charter schools to be in compliance with laws relating to reporting involuntary examinations; requiring the Department of Education, by a specified date, to share with the Department of Children and Families data received from school districts relating to involuntary examinations; revising requirements for plans relating to mental health assistance allocations, etc. Effective Date: 7/1/2022
Current Committee of Reference: Senate Rules
Actions
02/02/2022 SENATE Now in Rules
Identical HB 0899 Mental Health of Students (Hunschofsky)
HB 0899 Mental Health of Students by Hunschofsky
Mental Health of Students: Revises data DCF is required to analyze when creating its annual report on initiation of involuntary examinations; requires charter schools to be in compliance with involuntary reporting laws; requires DOE to share certain data with DCF; revises requirements for plans relating to mental health assistance allocations. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Education & Employment Committee
Actions
02/01/2022 HOUSE Now in Education & Employment Committee
Identical SB 1240 Mental Health of Students (Harrell)
HB 0447 Required Instruction in the History of African Americans by Trabulsy
Required Instruction in the History of African Americans: Provides instructional staff of public schools are encouraged to include history of local African-American cemeteries in study of history of African Americans. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: No Current Committee
Actions
02/01/2022 HOUSE Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading
Identical SB 1516 Required Instruction in the History of African Americans (Jones)
HB 0235 Restraint of Students with Disabilities in Public Schools by Plasencia
Restraint of Students with Disabilities in Public Schools: Prohibits school personnel from using mechanical restraint on students with disabilities. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: No Current Committee
Actions
02/01/2022 HOUSE Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading
Identical SB 0390 Restraint of Students with Disabilities in Public Schools (Book)
HB 0599 Upgrades to Education Facilities as Emergency Shelters by Casello
Upgrades to Education Facilities as Emergency Shelters: Exempts certain costs associated with certain upgrades to education facilities from being included in certain cost per student station calculations; specifies eligible upgrades that may be made; requires costs associated with certain upgrades to be consistent with prevailing market costs in area where education facility is located. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Education & Employment Committee
Actions
01/31/2022 HOUSE Now in Education & Employment Committee
Identical SB 0600 Upgrades to Education Facilities as Emergency Shelters (Berman)
HB 0609 Florida Institute for Charter School Innovation by Borrero
Florida Institute for Charter School Innovation: Requires DOE to collaborate with Florida Institute for Charter School Innovation in developing sponsor evaluation framework for charter schools; establishes institute at Miami Dade College; provides purpose & duties of institute; authorizes institute to apply for & receive certain grants; requires District Board of Trustees of Miami Dade College to establish certain policies. Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Current Committee of Reference: House Education & Employment Committee
Actions
01/31/2022 HOUSE Now in Education & Employment Committee
Similar SB 0622 Florida Institute for Charter School Innovation (Diaz)