House Bill hb0769c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 2002              CS/HB 769

        By the Committee on General Education and Representatives
    Alexander and McGriff





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to public records; amending s.

  3         229.57, F.S.; providing an exemption from

  4         public records requirements for personal

  5         identifying information regarding teachers held

  6         by the Department of Education; providing for

  7         disclosure of such information to the State

  8         Board of Education; providing for retroactive

  9         application; providing for future review and

10         repeal; providing a finding of public

11         necessity; providing an effective date.

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13         WHEREAS, beginning with the full implementation of an

14  annual assessment of student learning gains, the assessment of

15  teachers must primarily use information and indicators of

16  improvement in student performance, and

17         WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Legislature to

18  permanently and completely protect the privacy of individual

19  teacher records at the state level, and

20         WHEREAS, information identifying teachers and

21  estimating the effects of instruction by such teachers on a

22  student's year-to-year achievement, or lack thereof, in the

23  possession of the Department of Education or the State Board

24  of Education must be held confidential and exempt from public

25  records requirements, NOW, THEREFORE,

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

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29         Section 1.  The catchline of section 229.57, Florida

30  Statutes, is amended, and subsection (17) is added to said

31  section, to read:

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






    Florida House of Representatives - 2002              CS/HB 769

    185-738A-02






  1         229.57  Student assessment program; public records

  2  exemption.--

  3         (17)  PUBLIC RECORDS EXEMPTION.--All personal

  4  identifying information regarding a teacher, as defined in s.

  5  228.041(9)(a), contained in records held by the Department of

  6  Education pursuant to subsections (8) and (11) is confidential

  7  and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State

  8  Constitution.  However, such information may be disclosed to

  9  the State Board of Education in the course of its duties and

10  responsibilities, and the State Board of Education shall

11  maintain the confidential and exempt status of such

12  information as provided herein. This exemption applies to

13  personal identifying information regarding teachers held by

14  the Department of Education before, on, or after the effective

15  date of this exemption.  This subsection is subject to the

16  Open Government Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with

17  s. 119.15, and shall stand repealed on October 2, 2007, unless

18  reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the

19  Legislature.

20         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that the exemption

21  provided by this act is a public necessity because personal

22  identifying information regarding teachers is of a sensitive,

23  personal nature. The collection of such information by the

24  Department of Education is crucial to the effective

25  administration of the statewide assessment program. However,

26  if a teacher's personal identifying information were released,

27  a teacher might not be as willing to fully participate in

28  certain programs.  While those programs are intended to

29  improve the quality of teachers, the release of personal

30  identifying information may lower, instead of increase, a

31  teacher's motivation towards excellence.  The release of such

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002              CS/HB 769

    185-738A-02






  1  information could also result in discriminatory practices

  2  against certain teachers.  In addition, qualified persons may

  3  be discouraged from entering the field of teaching by the

  4  threat of such release of their personal information obtained

  5  through the assessment program.  Therefore, the release of

  6  such information would result in harm that far outweighs any

  7  possible public benefit of such release.

  8         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

  9  law.

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