Senate Bill sb1644e1

    SB 1644                                        First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to education; amending s.

  3         231.262, F.S.; requiring school districts to

  4         institute policies regarding complaints against

  5         teachers and administrators; providing

  6         penalties for noncompliance; authorizing the

  7         district school superintendent to temporarily

  8         suspend a certificateholder from regularly

  9         assigned duties until completion of certain

10         proceedings; providing an effective date.

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

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14         Section 1.  Subsection (1) of section 231.262, Florida

15  Statutes, is amended, present subsections (5), (6), (7), and

16  (8) of that section are redesignated as subsections (6), (7),

17  (8), and (9), respectively, and a new subsection (5) is added

18  to that section, to read:

19         231.262  Complaints against teachers and

20  administrators; procedure; penalties.--

21         (1)(a)  The Department of Education shall cause to be

22  investigated expeditiously any complaint filed before it or

23  otherwise called to its attention which, if legally

24  sufficient, contains grounds for the revocation or suspension

25  of a certificate or any other appropriate penalty as set forth

26  in subsection (6). The complaint is legally sufficient if it

27  contains the ultimate facts which show a violation has

28  occurred as provided in s. 231.2615. The department may

29  investigate or continue to investigate and take appropriate

30  action in a complaint even though the original complainant

31  withdraws the complaint or otherwise indicates a desire not to


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    SB 1644                                        First Engrossed



  1  cause it to be investigated or prosecuted to completion. The

  2  department may investigate or continue to investigate and take

  3  action on a complaint filed against a person whose teaching

  4  certificate has expired if the act or acts which are the basis

  5  for the complaint were allegedly committed while that person

  6  possessed a teaching certificate.

  7         (b)  When an investigation is undertaken, the

  8  department shall notify the certificateholder and the

  9  superintendent of schools in the district in which the

10  certificateholder is employed and shall inform the

11  certificateholder of the substance of any complaint which has

12  been filed against that certificateholder, unless the

13  department determines that such notification would be

14  detrimental to the investigation, in which case the department

15  may withhold notification.

16         (c)  Each school district shall file in writing with

17  the department all legally sufficient complaints within 30

18  days after the date on which subject matter of the complaint

19  comes to the attention of the school district. The school

20  district shall include all information relating to the

21  complaint which is known to the school district at the time of

22  filing. Each district school board shall develop policies and

23  procedures to comply with this reporting requirement. The

24  policies and procedures must include appropriate penalties for

25  nonreporting for all personnel of the district school board

26  and procedures for promptly informing the superintendent of

27  schools of each legally sufficient complaint. The

28  superintendent of schools is charged with knowledge of these

29  policies and procedures. If the superintendent of schools has

30  knowledge of a legally sufficient complaint and does not

31  report the legally sufficient complaint, or if the


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    SB 1644                                        First Engrossed



  1  superintendent fails to enforce the policies and procedures of

  2  the district school board and fails to comply with the

  3  requirements of this subsection, in addition to other actions

  4  against a certificateholder authorized by law, the

  5  superintendent is subject to the penalties specified in s.

  6  230.33(13). This paragraph does not limit or restrict the

  7  power and duty of the department to investigate complaints as

  8  provided in paragraphs (a) and (b), regardless of the school

  9  district's untimely filing, or failure to file, complaints and

10  followup reports.

11         (5)  When deemed necessary to protect the health,

12  safety, and welfare of a student, the district school

13  superintendent in consultation with the school principal may,

14  and upon the request of the Commissioner of Education shall,

15  temporarily suspend a certificateholder from the

16  certificateholder's regularly assigned duties, with pay, and

17  reassign the suspended certificateholder to a position that

18  does not require direct contact with students in the district

19  school system. Such suspension shall continue until the

20  completion of the proceedings and the determination of

21  sanctions, if any, pursuant to this section and s. 231.2615.

22         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.

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