Florida Senate - 2022                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1386
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/02/2022           .                                
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       The Committee on Education (Diaz) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Present subsection (4) of section 800.101,
    6  Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (5), new
    7  subsection (4) is added to that section, and subsection (3) of
    8  that section is amended, to read:
    9         800.101 Offenses against students by authority figures.—
   10         (3) A person who violates subsection (2) this section
   11  commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in
   12  s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   13         (4)(a)A person who is required to make a report regarding
   14  an incident of sexual misconduct with a student which could
   15  impact an educator’s inclusion on the disqualification list
   16  maintained by the Department of Education pursuant to s.
   17  1001.10(4)(b) and who knowingly or willfully fails to make such
   18  report, or knowingly or willfully prevents another person from
   19  doing so, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable
   20  as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   21         (b)A person who knowingly or willfully submits inaccurate,
   22  incomplete, or untruthful information with respect to a report
   23  regarding an incident of sexual misconduct with a student which
   24  could impact an educator’s inclusion on the disqualification
   25  list maintained by the Department of Education pursuant to s.
   26  1001.10(4)(b) commits a misdemeanor of the first degree,
   27  punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   28         (c)A person who knowingly or willfully coerces or
   29  threatens any other person with the intent to alter testimony or
   30  a written report regarding an incident of sexual misconduct with
   31  a student which could impact an educator’s inclusion on the
   32  disqualification list maintained by the Department of Education
   33  pursuant to s. 1001.10(4)(b) commits a misdemeanor of the first
   34  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   35         Section 2. Subsection (2) and paragraph (b) of subsection
   36  (3) of section 1012.32, Florida Statutes, are amended, and
   37  subsection (4) is added to that section, to read:
   38         1012.32 Qualifications of personnel.—
   39         (2)(a) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are
   40  hired or contracted to fill positions that require direct
   41  contact with students in any district school system or
   42  university lab school must, upon employment or engagement to
   43  provide services, undergo background screening as required under
   44  s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever is applicable.
   45         (b)1. Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are
   46  hired or contracted to fill positions in a charter school other
   47  than a school of hope as defined in s. 1002.333, and members of
   48  the governing board of such charter school, in compliance with
   49  s. 1002.33(12)(g), upon employment, engagement of services, or
   50  appointment, shall undergo background screening as required
   51  under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever is applicable, by
   52  filing with the employing entity district school board for the
   53  school district in which the charter school is located a
   54  complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law
   55  enforcement agency or an employee of the school or school
   56  district who is trained to take fingerprints.
   57         2. Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are
   58  hired or contracted to fill positions in a school of hope as
   59  defined in s. 1002.333, and members of the governing board of
   60  such school of hope, shall file with the school of hope a
   61  complete set of fingerprints taken by an authorized law
   62  enforcement agency, by an employee of the school of hope or
   63  school district who is trained to take fingerprints, or by any
   64  other entity recognized by the Department of Law Enforcement to
   65  take fingerprints.
   66         (c) Instructional and noninstructional personnel who are
   67  hired or contracted to fill positions that require direct
   68  contact with students in an alternative school that operates
   69  under contract with a district school system must, upon
   70  employment or engagement to provide services, undergo background
   71  screening as required under s. 1012.465 or s. 1012.56, whichever
   72  is applicable, by filing with the alternative school district
   73  school board for the school district to which the alternative
   74  school is under contract a complete set of fingerprints taken by
   75  an authorized law enforcement agency or an employee of the
   76  school or school district who is trained to take fingerprints.
   77         (d) Student teachers and persons participating in a field
   78  experience pursuant to s. 1004.04(5) or s. 1004.85 in any
   79  district school system, lab school, or charter school must, upon
   80  engagement to provide services, undergo background screening as
   81  required under s. 1012.56.
   82  
   83  Required fingerprints must be submitted to the Department of Law
   84  Enforcement for statewide criminal and juvenile records checks
   85  and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for federal criminal
   86  records checks. A person subject to this subsection who is found
   87  ineligible for employment under s. 1012.315, or otherwise found
   88  through background screening to have been convicted of any crime
   89  involving moral turpitude as defined by rule of the State Board
   90  of Education, may shall not be employed, engaged to provide
   91  services, or serve in any position that requires direct contact
   92  with students. Probationary persons subject to this subsection
   93  who are terminated because of their criminal record have the
   94  right to appeal such decisions. Except for a person’s
   95  ineligibility for employment as provided in this section, an
   96  employing entity has the sole authority for determining a
   97  person’s employment eligibility. The cost of the background
   98  screening may be borne by the employing entity district school
   99  board, the charter school, the employee, the contractor, or a
  100  person subject to this subsection. A district school board shall
  101  reimburse a charter school the cost of background screening if
  102  it does not notify the charter school of the eligibility of a
  103  governing board member or instructional or noninstructional
  104  personnel within the earlier of 14 days after receipt of the
  105  background screening results from the Florida Department of Law
  106  Enforcement or 30 days of submission of fingerprints by the
  107  governing board member or instructional or noninstructional
  108  personnel.
  109         (3)
  110         (b) The Department of Law Enforcement shall search all
  111  arrest fingerprints received under s. 943.051 against the
  112  fingerprints retained in the statewide automated biometric
  113  identification system under paragraph (a). Any arrest record
  114  that is identified with the retained fingerprints of a person
  115  subject to the background screening under this section must
  116  shall be reported to the employing entity or contracting school
  117  district or the school district with which the person is
  118  affiliated. Each employing entity school district is required to
  119  participate in this search process by payment of an annual fee
  120  to the Department of Law Enforcement and by informing the
  121  Department of Law Enforcement of any change in the affiliation,
  122  employment, or contractual status or place of affiliation,
  123  employment, or contracting of its instructional and
  124  noninstructional personnel whose fingerprints are retained under
  125  paragraph (a). The Department of Law Enforcement shall adopt a
  126  rule setting the amount of the annual fee to be imposed upon
  127  each employing entity school district for performing these
  128  searches and establishing the procedures for the retention of
  129  instructional and noninstructional personnel fingerprints and
  130  the dissemination of search results. The fee may be borne by the
  131  employing entity district school board, the contractor, or the
  132  person fingerprinted.
  133         (4)For purposes of this section, the term “employing
  134  entity” means a district school board, charter school,
  135  alternative school, or any other entity that requires employees
  136  to complete a background screening pursuant to this section.
  137         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
  138  1012.34, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  139         1012.34 Personnel evaluation procedures and criteria.—
  140         (1) EVALUATION SYSTEM APPROVAL AND REPORTING.—
  141         (a) For the purpose of increasing student academic
  142  performance by improving the quality of instructional,
  143  administrative, and supervisory services in the public schools
  144  of this the state, the district school superintendent shall
  145  establish procedures for evaluating the performance of duties
  146  and responsibilities of all instructional, administrative, and
  147  supervisory personnel employed by the school district. The
  148  procedures established by the district school superintendent set
  149  the standards of service to be offered to the public within the
  150  meaning of s. 447.209 and are not subject to the collective
  151  bargaining process. The district school superintendent shall
  152  provide instructional personnel the opportunity to review their
  153  class rosters for accuracy and to correct any mistakes. The
  154  district school superintendent shall report accurate class
  155  rosters for the purpose of calculating district and statewide
  156  student performance and annually report the evaluation results
  157  of instructional personnel and school administrators to the
  158  Department of Education in addition to the information required
  159  under subsection (5).
  160         Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
  161  
  162  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  163  And the title is amended as follows:
  164         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  165  and insert:
  166                        A bill to be entitled                      
  167         An act relating to school personnel; amending s.
  168         800.101, F.S.; prohibiting a person who is required to
  169         make certain reports concerning sexual misconduct with
  170         a student from knowingly or willfully failing to make
  171         such report or knowingly or willfully preventing
  172         another person from doing so; prohibiting a person
  173         from knowingly or willfully submitting inaccurate,
  174         incomplete, or untruthful information with respect to
  175         a report concerning sexual misconduct with a student;
  176         prohibiting a person from knowingly or willfully
  177         coercing or threatening any other person with the
  178         intent to alter testimony or a written report
  179         concerning sexual misconduct with a student; providing
  180         criminal penalties; amending s. 1012.32, F.S.;
  181         specifying that certain instructional and
  182         noninstructional personnel must file fingerprints with
  183         the employing entity or alternative school, as
  184         applicable, rather than the district school board;
  185         conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
  186         providing that an employing entity has the sole
  187         authority for determining the employment eligibility
  188         of certain personnel; providing an exception;
  189         requiring the Department of Law Enforcement to report
  190         the results from background screenings to the
  191         employing entity; defining the term “employing
  192         entity”; amending s. 1012.34, F.S.; providing that
  193         certain procedures established by district school
  194         superintendents set the standards of service to be
  195         offered to the public within the meaning of a
  196         specified provision and are not subject to the
  197         collective bargaining process; providing an effective
  198         date.