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The Florida Senate

2021 Florida Statutes (Including 2021B Session)

Title XLVIII EARLY LEARNING-20 EDUCATION CODE
Chapter 1006 SUPPORT FOR LEARNING Entire Chapter
SECTION 60
Codes of conduct; disciplinary measures; rules or regulations.
F.S. 1006.60
1006.60 Codes of conduct; disciplinary measures; rules or regulations.—
(1) The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors, respectively, shall require each Florida College System institution to adopt, by rule, and each state university to adopt, by regulation, codes of conduct and appropriate penalties for violations of rules or regulations by students, to be administered by the institution. Such penalties, unless otherwise provided by law, may include: reprimand; restitution; fines; withholding of diplomas or transcripts pending compliance with rules or regulations, completion of any student judicial process or sanction, or payment of fines; restrictions on the use of or removal from campus facilities; community service; educational requirements; and the imposition of probation, suspension, dismissal, or expulsion.
(2) The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors, respectively, shall require each Florida College System institution to adopt, by rule, and each state university to adopt, by regulation, a code of conduct and appropriate penalties for violations of rules or regulations by student organizations, to be administered by the institution. Such penalties, unless otherwise provided by law, may include: reprimand; restitution; suspension, cancellation, or revocation of the registration or official recognition of a student organization; and restrictions on the use of, or removal from, campus facilities.
(3) The codes of conduct shall be published on the Florida College System institution’s or state university’s website, protect the rights of all students, and, at minimum, provide the following due process protections to students and student organizations:
(a) The right to timely written notice. The code must require that the institution or university provide a student or student organization with timely written notice of the student’s or student organization’s alleged violation of the code of conduct. The notice must include sufficient detail and be provided with sufficient time to prepare for any disciplinary proceeding.
1. The written notice must include the allegations to be investigated; the citation to the specific provision of the code of conduct at issue; the process to be used in determining whether a violation has occurred and associated rights; and the date, time, and location of the disciplinary proceeding.
2. The written notice is considered timely if it is provided at least 7 business days before the disciplinary proceeding and may be provided by delivery to the student’s institutional e-mail address and, if the student is under 18 years of age, to the student’s parent or to the student organization’s e-mail address.
3. At least 5 business days before the disciplinary proceeding, the institution or university must provide the student or student organization with:
a. A listing of all known witnesses 1who have provided, or will provide, information against the student or student organization.
b. All known information relating to the allegation, including inculpatory and exculpatory information.
(b) The right to a presumption that no violation occurred. The institution has the burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that a violation has taken place. Preponderance of the evidence means that the information presented supports the finding that it is more likely than not that the violation of the code of conduct was committed by the student or student organization.
(c) The right to an impartial hearing officer.
(d) The right against self-incrimination and the right to remain silent. Such silence may not be used against the student or student organization.
(e) The right to present relevant information and question witnesses.
(f) The right to an advisor or advocate who may not serve in any other role, including as an investigator, decider of fact, hearing officer, member of a committee or panel convened to hear or decide the charge, or any appeal.
(g) The right to have an advisor, advocate, or legal representative, at the student’s or student organization’s own expense, present at any proceeding, whether formal or informal. Such person may directly participate in all aspects of the proceeding, including the presentation of relevant information and questioning of witnesses.
(h) The right to appeal the final decision of the hearing officer, or any committee or panel, directly to the vice president of student affairs, or any other senior administrator designated by the code of conduct, who must hear the appeal and render a final decision. The vice president of student affairs or person designated by the code of conduct to hear the appeal may not have directly participated in any other proceeding related to the charged violation.
(i) The right to an accurate and complete record of every disciplinary proceeding relating to the charged violation of the code, including record of any appeal, to be made, preserved, and available for copying upon request by the charged student or student organization.
(j) A provision setting a time limit for charging a student or student organization with a violation of the code of conduct, and a description of those circumstances in which that time limit may be extended or waived.
(4) Sanctions authorized by such codes of conduct may be imposed only for acts or omissions in violation of rules or regulations adopted by the institution, including rules or regulations adopted under this section, rules of the State Board of Education, rules or regulations of the Board of Governors regarding the State University System, county and municipal ordinances, and the laws of this state, the United States, or any other state.
(5) Each Florida College System institution may establish and adopt, by rule, and each state university may establish and adopt, by regulation, codes of appropriate penalties for violations of rules or regulations governing student academic honesty. Such penalties, unless otherwise provided by law, may include: reprimand; reduction of grade; denial of academic credit; invalidation of university credit or of the degree based upon such credit; probation; suspension; dismissal; or expulsion. In addition to any other penalties that may be imposed, an individual may be denied admission or further registration, and the institution may invalidate academic credit for work done by a student and may invalidate or revoke the degree based upon such credit if it is determined that the student has made false, fraudulent, or incomplete statements in the application, residence affidavit, or accompanying documents or statements in connection with, or supplemental to, the application for admission to or graduation from the institution.
(6) Each Florida College System institution shall adopt rules and each state university shall adopt regulations for the lawful discipline of any student who intentionally acts to impair, interfere with, or obstruct the orderly conduct, processes, and functions of the institution. Said rules or regulations may apply to acts conducted on or off campus when relevant to such orderly conduct, processes, and functions.
History.—s. 330, ch. 2002-387; s. 106, ch. 2007-217; s. 17, ch. 2010-78; s. 80, ch. 2011-5; s. 5, ch. 2021-159.
1Note.—The word “who” was substituted by the editors for the word “that” to conform to context.