Florida Senate - 2024                                      SB 24
       
       
        
       By Senator Rouson
       
       
       
       
       
       16-00141-24                                             202424__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to victims of reform school abuse;
    3         providing a short title; defining the term “victim of
    4         Florida reform school abuse”; requiring a person
    5         seeking certification as a victim of Florida reform
    6         school abuse to apply to the Department of State by a
    7         specified date; authorizing the estate, personal
    8         representative, next of kin, or lineal descendants of
    9         a decedent who was a victim of Florida reform school
   10         abuse to submit an application on behalf of the
   11         decedent; requiring that the application include
   12         certain information and documentation; requiring the
   13         department to review the application, notify the
   14         applicant of any errors or omissions, and request any
   15         additional information within a certain timeframe;
   16         providing that the applicant has 15 calendar days
   17         after such notification to complete the application;
   18         requiring the department to review and process a
   19         completed application within a certain timeframe;
   20         prohibiting the department from denying an application
   21         for specified reasons and under certain circumstances;
   22         requiring the department to notify the applicant of
   23         its determination within a certain timeframe;
   24         requiring the department to certify an applicant as a
   25         victim of Florida reform school abuse if the
   26         department determines the application meets the
   27         requirements of the act; requiring the department to
   28         submit a list of all certified victims of Florida
   29         reform school abuse to the Legislature by a specified
   30         date; providing exceptions from specified requirements
   31         for crime victim compensation eligibility for
   32         applications by victims of Florida reform school
   33         abuse; providing an effective date.
   34  
   35         WHEREAS, the Florida State Reform School, also known as the
   36  Florida Industrial School for Boys, the Florida School for Boys,
   37  the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, and most commonly called
   38  the Dozier School, was opened by the state in 1900 in Marianna
   39  to house children who had committed minor criminal offenses,
   40  such as incorrigibility, truancy, and smoking, as well as more
   41  serious offenses, such as theft and murder, and
   42         WHEREAS, reports of abuse, suspicious deaths, and threats
   43  of closure plagued the school throughout its history, and
   44         WHEREAS, many former students of the Dozier School have
   45  sworn under oath that they were beaten at a facility located on
   46  school grounds known as the White House, and
   47         WHEREAS, a psychologist employed at the Dozier School
   48  testified under oath at a 1958 United States Senate Judiciary
   49  Committee hearing that boys at the school were beaten by an
   50  administrator, that the blows were severe and were dealt with
   51  great force using a leather strap approximately 10 inches long
   52  brought down from a full-arm swing over the head, and that the
   53  beatings constituted “brutality,” and
   54         WHEREAS, a former Dozier School employee stated in
   55  interviews with law enforcement that in 1962, several employees
   56  of the school were removed from the facility based upon
   57  allegations that they made sexual advances toward boys at the
   58  facility, and
   59         WHEREAS, a forensic investigation funded by the Legislature
   60  and conducted from 2013 to 2016 by the University of South
   61  Florida found incomplete records regarding deaths and 45 burials
   62  that occurred at the Dozier School between 1900 and 1960 and
   63  found that families were often notified of the death after the
   64  child was buried or were denied access to their child’s remains
   65  at the time of burial, and
   66         WHEREAS, the excavations conducted as part of the forensic
   67  investigation revealed more burials than reported in official
   68  records, and
   69         WHEREAS, in 1955, the state opened a new reform school in
   70  Okeechobee called the Florida School for Boys at Okeechobee,
   71  referred to in this act as the Okeechobee School, to address
   72  overcrowding at the Dozier School, and staff members of the
   73  Dozier School were transferred to the Okeechobee School, where
   74  similar disciplinary practices were implemented, and
   75         WHEREAS, many former students of the Okeechobee School have
   76  sworn under oath that they were beaten at a facility on school
   77  grounds known as the Adjustment Unit, and
   78         WHEREAS, more than 500 former students of the Dozier School
   79  and the Okeechobee School have come forward with reports of
   80  physical, mental, and sexual abuse by school staff during the
   81  1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, resulting in trauma that they
   82  have endured throughout their lives, and
   83         WHEREAS, this is a unique and shameful chapter in the
   84  history of this state, during which time children placed in the
   85  custody of state employees were subjected to physical, mental,
   86  and sexual abuse rather than the guidance and compassion that
   87  children in state custody should receive, and
   88         WHEREAS, during the 2017 legislative session, the
   89  Legislature unanimously issued a formal apology to the victims
   90  of Florida reform school abuse with the passage of CS/SR 1440
   91  and CS/HR 1335, expressing regret for the treatment of boys who
   92  were sent to the Dozier School and the Okeechobee School;
   93  acknowledging that the treatment was cruel, unjust, and a
   94  violation of human decency; and expressing its commitment to
   95  ensure that children who have been placed in the state’s care
   96  will be protected from abuse and violations of human decency,
   97  NOW, THEREFORE,
   98  
   99  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
  100  
  101         Section 1. (1)This act may be known and cited as the
  102  “Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys and Okeechobee School Abuse
  103  Victim Certification Act.”
  104         (2)As used in this act, the term “victim of Florida reform
  105  school abuse” means a living person who was confined at the
  106  Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys or at the Okeechobee School at
  107  any time between 1940 and 1975 and who was subjected to mental,
  108  physical, or sexual abuse perpetrated by school personnel during
  109  the period of confinement.
  110         (3)(a)A person seeking to be certified as a victim of
  111  Florida reform school abuse must submit an application to the
  112  Department of State no later than September 1, 2024. The estate,
  113  personal representative, next of kin, or lineal descendants of a
  114  decedent who was a victim of Florida reform school abuse may
  115  submit an application on behalf of the decedent.
  116         (b)The application must include:
  117         1.An affidavit stating that the applicant was confined at
  118  the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys or at the Okeechobee
  119  School, including the beginning and ending dates of the
  120  confinement, and that the applicant was subjected to mental,
  121  physical, or sexual abuse perpetrated by school personnel during
  122  the period of confinement;
  123         2.Documentation from the Florida State Archives, the
  124  Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, the Okeechobee School, or any
  125  other source which shows that the applicant was confined at the
  126  school or schools for any length of time between 1940 and 1975;
  127  and
  128         3.Positive proof of identity, including a current form of
  129  photographic identification. This subparagraph does not apply if
  130  the application is submitted by the estate, personal
  131  representative, next of kin, or lineal descendent of the
  132  decedent.
  133         (c)Within 30 calendar days after receipt of an
  134  application, the Department of State shall review the
  135  application and notify the applicant of any errors or omissions
  136  or request any additional information relevant to the review of
  137  the application. The applicant has 15 calendar days after
  138  receiving such notification to complete the application by
  139  correcting any errors or omissions or submitting any additional
  140  information requested by the department. The department shall
  141  review and process each completed application within 90 calendar
  142  days after receipt of the application.
  143         (d)The Department of State may not deny an application due
  144  to the applicant’s failure to correct an error or omission or to
  145  submit any additional information requested by the department if
  146  the department failed to timely notify the applicant of such
  147  error or omission or timely request additional information as
  148  provided in paragraph (c).
  149         (e)The Department of State shall notify the applicant of
  150  its determination within 5 business days after reviewing and
  151  processing the application. If the department determines that an
  152  application meets the requirements of this section, the
  153  department must certify the applicant as a victim of Florida
  154  reform school abuse.
  155         (f)No later than December 31, 2024, the Department of
  156  State must review and process all applications that were
  157  submitted by September 1, 2024, and submit a list of all
  158  certified victims of Florida reform school abuse to the
  159  President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
  160  Representatives.
  161         Section 2. (1)Notwithstanding s. 960.03(3), Florida
  162  Statutes, for purposes of a claim under chapter 960, Florida
  163  Statutes, by a victim of Florida reform school abuse, as defined
  164  in section 1 of this act, or by an intervenor, as defined in s.
  165  960.03(9), Florida Statutes, the term “crime” means a felony or
  166  misdemeanor offense committed by an adult or a juvenile which
  167  results in a mental or physical injury or death to another
  168  person. A mental injury must be verified by a psychologist
  169  licensed under chapter 490, Florida Statutes; by a physician
  170  licensed under chapter 458, Florida Statutes, or chapter 459,
  171  Florida Statutes, who has completed an accredited residency in
  172  psychiatry; or by a physician licensed under chapter 458,
  173  Florida Statutes, or chapter 459, Florida Statutes, who has
  174  obtained certification as an expert witness pursuant to s.
  175  458.3175, Florida Statutes, or s. 459.0066, Florida Statutes.
  176         (2)Notwithstanding s. 960.065(2)(c) and (3), Florida
  177  Statutes, a victim of Florida reform school abuse or an
  178  intervenor may file a claim under chapter 960, Florida Statutes.
  179         (3)Notwithstanding s. 960.07, Florida Statutes, a victim
  180  of Florida reform school abuse or an intervenor may file a claim
  181  under chapter 960, Florida Statutes, within 1 year after the
  182  effective date of this act.
  183         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.