Senate Bill 2434c1

    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 2434

    By the Committee on Education and Senator Cowin





    304-1939-00

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; providing an

  3         exemption from public records requirements for

  4         certain records of an educator who successfully

  5         completes a recovery network treatment program;

  6         providing an expiration date; providing a

  7         finding of public necessity; providing a

  8         contingent effective date.

  9

10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

11

12         Section 1.  Upon successful completion of a treatment

13  program as provided in section 231.263(6)(c), Florida

14  Statutes, as amended by Committee Substitute for Senate Bill

15  2432, and full compliance with a deferred prosecution

16  agreement between an educator and the Department of Education,

17  entered into pursuant to that section, the medical records of

18  the educator which relate to treatment received are exempt

19  from disclosure provisions of Section 24(a) of Article I of

20  the State Constitution and section 119.07(1), Florida

21  Statutes. This exemption is subject to the Open Government

22  Sunset Review Act in accordance with section 119.15, Florida

23  Statutes, and expires on October 2, 2005, unless reviewed and

24  reenacted by the Legislature.

25         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that it is a public

26  necessity that the records described in section 1 of this act

27  be held confidential in order to promote the rehabilitation of

28  impaired educators. Furthermore, the Legislature finds that it

29  would encourage participation in the recovery network program

30  for educators and reduce the teacher shortage in the state if

31

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2000                           CS for SB 2434
    304-1939-00




  1  the confidentiality of records pertaining to participation in

  2  the program encouraged more participation in the program.

  3         Section 3.  This act shall take effect on the effective

  4  date of Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 2432 or similar

  5  legislation, relating to the network recovery treatment

  6  program, and shall not take effect if that legislation does

  7  not become a law.

  8

  9          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
10                             SB 2434

11

12  The Committee Substitute clarifies that the only records the
    bill will exempt are the medical records that relate to
13  treatment received under the deferred prosecution agreement.
    (Other medical records are exempt under other laws.) This
14  clarification also means that the only records that will be
    made public if an educator fails to keep the terms of the
15  deferred prosecution agreement, or fails in the treatment
    program, will be those records not otherwise exempt -- ie.:
16  the fact that the educator entered into the agreement and
    attempted but failed a treatment program.
17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

                                  2