Florida Senate - 2018 CS for SB 1644
By the Committee on Education; and Senators Lee, Baxley, Steube,
and Mayfield
581-03117-18 20181644c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to instructional materials; amending
3 s. 1006.283, F.S.; requiring district school board
4 rules to include a longer public review period for
5 student editions of recommended instructional
6 materials; requiring district school boards to
7 establish by rule a process by which certain persons
8 may recommend instructional materials for
9 consideration by district instructional materials
10 reviewers; requiring a district school board to
11 provide notification to certain publishers; amending
12 s. 1006.31, F.S.; requiring public access to and an
13 opportunity to comment on instructional materials
14 recommended for adoption; requiring certain comments
15 to be provided to the Commissioner of Education;
16 requiring specified virtual presentations to be posted
17 on the Department of Education’s website; authorizing
18 members of the public to recommend instructional
19 materials for consideration; requiring the Department
20 of Education to provide notification to certain
21 publishers; conforming a cross-reference; amending s.
22 1006.34, F.S.; exempting certain instructional
23 materials from certain public review procedures under
24 certain circumstances; authorizing district school
25 board members to initiate certain public review
26 procedures before instructional materials are adopted
27 under certain conditions; amending s. 1006.40, F.S.;
28 conforming a provision to changes made by the act;
29 providing an effective date.
30
31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
32
33 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
34 1006.283, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
35 1006.283 District school board instructional materials
36 review process.—
37 (2)
38 (b) District school board rules must also:
39 1. Identify, by subject area, a review cycle for
40 instructional materials.
41 2. Specify the qualifications for an instructional
42 materials reviewer and the process for selecting reviewers; list
43 a reviewer’s duties and responsibilities, including compliance
44 with the requirements of s. 1006.31; and provide that all
45 instructional materials recommended by a reviewer be accompanied
46 by the reviewer’s statement that the materials align with the
47 state standards pursuant to s. 1003.41 and the requirements of
48 s. 1006.31.
49 3. State the requirements for an affidavit to be made by
50 each district instructional materials reviewer which
51 substantially meet the requirements of s. 1006.30.
52 4. Comply with s. 1006.32, relating to prohibited acts.
53 5. Establish a process that certifies the accuracy of
54 instructional materials.
55 6. Incorporate applicable requirements of s. 1006.31, which
56 relates to the duties of instructional materials reviewers.
57 7. Incorporate applicable requirements of s. 1006.38,
58 relating to the duties, responsibilities, and requirements of
59 publishers of instructional materials.
60 8. Establish the process by which instructional materials
61 are adopted by the district school board, which must include:
62 a. A process to allow student editions of recommended
63 instructional materials to be accessed and viewed online by the
64 public at least 45 20 calendar days before the school board
65 hearing and public meeting as specified in this subparagraph.
66 This process must include reasonable safeguards against the
67 unauthorized use, reproduction, and distribution of
68 instructional materials considered for adoption.
69 b. An open, noticed school board hearing to receive public
70 comment on the recommended instructional materials.
71 c. An open, noticed public meeting to approve an annual
72 instructional materials plan to identify any instructional
73 materials that will be purchased through the district school
74 board instructional materials review process pursuant to this
75 section. This public meeting must be held on a different date
76 than the school board hearing.
77 d. Notice requirements for the school board hearing and the
78 public meeting that must specifically state which instructional
79 materials are being reviewed and the manner in which the
80 instructional materials can be accessed for public review. The
81 hearing must allow the parent of a public school student or a
82 resident of the county to proffer evidence that a recommended
83 instructional material does not meet the criteria provided in s.
84 1006.31(2), taking into consideration course expectations based
85 on the district’s comprehensive plan for student progression
86 under s. 1008.25(2) and course descriptions in the course code
87 directory.
88 9. Establish the process by which the district school board
89 shall receive public comment on, and review, the recommended
90 instructional materials.
91 10. Establish the process by which instructional materials
92 will be purchased, including advertising, bidding, and
93 purchasing requirements.
94 11. Establish the process by which the school district will
95 notify parents of their ability to access their children’s
96 instructional materials through the district’s local
97 instructional improvement system and by which the school
98 district will encourage parents to access the system. This
99 notification must be displayed prominently on the school
100 district’s website and provided annually in written format to
101 all parents of enrolled students.
102 12. Establish the process by which parents and residents of
103 the county, as defined in s. 1006.28(1)(b), may recommend
104 instructional materials for consideration by district
105 instructional materials reviewers. The district school board
106 must notify the publisher of any instructional material that is
107 recommended for consideration and provide the publisher with the
108 Florida Instructional Materials Adoption Schedule for the
109 current adoption cycle.
110 Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 1006.31, Florida
111 Statutes, is amended, and subsection (4) is added to that
112 section, to read:
113 1006.31 Duties of the Department of Education and school
114 district instructional materials reviewer.—The duties of the
115 instructional materials reviewer are:
116 (2) EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.—To use the
117 selection criteria listed in s. 1006.34(2)(c) s. 1006.34(2)(b)
118 and recommend for adoption only those instructional materials
119 aligned with the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards
120 provided for in s. 1003.41. Instructional materials recommended
121 by each reviewer shall be, to the satisfaction of each reviewer,
122 accurate, objective, balanced, noninflammatory, current, free of
123 pornography and material prohibited under s. 847.012, and suited
124 to student needs and their ability to comprehend the material
125 presented. Reviewers shall consider for recommendation materials
126 developed for academically talented students, such as students
127 enrolled in advanced placement courses. When recommending
128 instructional materials, each reviewer shall:
129 (a) Include only instructional materials that accurately
130 portray the ethnic, socioeconomic, cultural, religious,
131 physical, and racial diversity of our society, including men and
132 women in professional, career, and executive roles, and the role
133 and contributions of the entrepreneur and labor in the total
134 development of this state and the United States.
135 (b) Include only materials that accurately portray,
136 whenever appropriate, humankind’s place in ecological systems,
137 including the necessity for the protection of our environment
138 and conservation of our natural resources and the effects on the
139 human system of the use of tobacco, alcohol, controlled
140 substances, and other dangerous substances.
141 (c) Include materials that encourage thrift, fire
142 prevention, and humane treatment of people and animals.
143 (d) Require, when appropriate to the comprehension of
144 students, that materials for social science, history, or civics
145 classes contain the Declaration of Independence and the
146 Constitution of the United States. A reviewer may not recommend
147 any instructional materials that contain any matter reflecting
148 unfairly upon persons because of their race, color, creed,
149 national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, disability,
150 socioeconomic status, or occupation.
151 (4) PUBLIC ACCESS AND INPUT.—Members of the public must be
152 provided access to, and be given an opportunity to submit
153 comments on, instructional materials recommended for adoption by
154 state instructional materials reviewers. Any submitted comment
155 related to a specific recommended instructional material must be
156 provided to the commissioner as part of his or her consideration
157 of the instructional material pursuant to s. 1006.34(2)(a). Any
158 virtual presentation provided by a bidding instructional
159 material publisher or manufacturer must be posted on the
160 department’s website for public access until the adoption period
161 closes. Members of the public must also be allowed to recommend
162 any instructional material for consideration by state
163 instructional materials reviewers. The Department of Education
164 must notify the publisher of any instructional material that is
165 recommended for consideration and provide the publisher with the
166 Florida Instructional Materials Adoption Schedule for the
167 current adoption cycle.
168 Section 3. Present paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of
169 section 1006.34, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph
170 (c), and a new paragraph (b) is added to that subsection, to
171 read:
172 1006.34 Powers and duties of the commissioner and the
173 department in selecting and adopting instructional materials.—
174 (2) SELECTION AND ADOPTION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.—
175 (b) Instructional materials are not subject to public
176 review procedures under s. 1006.40(4)(b) if the materials are
177 found by the commissioner to, at a minimum, meet the Next
178 Generation Sunshine State Standards under s. 1003.41, are found
179 to comply with the adoption criteria and standards of paragraph
180 (c) and s. 1003.42, and are not prohibited by s. 847.012.
181 However, a district school board member may initiate the public
182 review procedures before the instructional materials are adopted
183 by the commissioner if he or she has evidence that the
184 instructional materials do not meet the criteria required by
185 this paragraph.
186 Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
187 1006.40, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
188 1006.40 Use of instructional materials allocation;
189 instructional materials, library books, and reference books;
190 repair of books.—
191 (4) Each district school board is responsible for the
192 content of all materials used in a classroom or otherwise made
193 available to students. Each district school board shall adopt
194 rules, and each district school superintendent shall implement
195 procedures, that:
196 (b) Except as provided in s. 1006.34(2)(b), provide a
197 process for public review of, public comment on, and the
198 adoption of instructional materials that satisfies the
199 requirements of s. 1006.283(2)(b)8., 9., and 11.
200 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.