Florida Senate - 2022                                    SB 1300
       
       
        
       By Senator Gruters
       
       
       
       
       
       23-00918-22                                           20221300__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to district school board meetings;
    3         amending s. 1001.372, F.S.; requiring all meetings of
    4         district school boards which are not exempt from
    5         certain public meeting requirements to be recorded by
    6         video and streamed live on a publicly accessible
    7         website; specifying requirements for district school
    8         board rules and policies governing the public’s
    9         opportunity to be heard; providing applicability;
   10         providing construction; amending s. 1014.04, F.S.;
   11         providing that parents have the right to be heard at
   12         district school board meetings, including the right to
   13         criticize individual district school board members;
   14         providing an effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Present subsections (3) and (4) of section
   19  1001.372, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (4)
   20  and (5), respectively, and a new subsection (3) and subsection
   21  (6) are added to that section, to read:
   22         1001.372 District school board meetings.—
   23         (3) MEETING RECORDINGS; STREAMING.—All meetings of the
   24  district school board which are not exempt from s. 286.011 must
   25  be recorded by video and streamed live on a publicly accessible
   26  website.
   27         (6) OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD.—
   28         (a) Rules or policies governing the public’s opportunity to
   29  be heard which are adopted by a district school board pursuant
   30  to s. 286.0114 must:
   31         1. Set aside at least 30 minutes of public comment at the
   32  beginning of each meeting. Individual members of the public or
   33  representatives of groups or factions may speak for at least 3
   34  minutes on any topic relating to the district school board
   35  during this time.
   36         2. Give individual members of the public or representatives
   37  of groups or factions at least 3 minutes of speaking time on
   38  each agenda item considered by the district school board. This
   39  speaking time is in addition to the speaking time under
   40  subparagraph 1.
   41         3. Allow speakers to criticize individual district school
   42  board members, provided that the speaker maintains orderly
   43  conduct and proper decorum.
   44         (b) This subsection applies only when the public has an
   45  opportunity to be heard and is not precluded from speaking by
   46  operation of s. 286.0114(3).
   47         (c) This subsection may not be construed to preclude a
   48  district school board from maintaining orderly conduct or proper
   49  decorum in a meeting.
   50         Section 2. Paragraph (k) is added to subsection (1) of
   51  section 1014.04, Florida Statutes, to read:
   52         1014.04 Parental rights.—
   53         (1) All parental rights are reserved to the parent of a
   54  minor child in this state without obstruction or interference
   55  from the state, any of its political subdivisions, any other
   56  governmental entity, or any other institution, including, but
   57  not limited to, all of the following rights of a parent of a
   58  minor child in this state:
   59         (k) In accordance with s. 1001.372(6), the right to be
   60  heard at district school board meetings, including the right to
   61  criticize individual district school board members.
   62         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.