HB 1171

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to student discipline in the public
3	schools; amending s. 1002.20, F.S., relating to student
4	and parent rights; prohibiting the use of corporal
5	punishment as a form of discipline; amending s. 1003.01,
6	F.S.; deleting the definition of corporal punishment for
7	purposes of the chapter; amending s. 1003.32, F.S.;
8	deleting authority of teachers to administer corporal
9	punishment; amending s. 1006.07, F.S.; revising district
10	school board duties and the code of student conduct
11	relating to the control and discipline of students;
12	amending s. 1012.28, F.S.; deleting authority of
13	principals to administer corporal punishment; amending ss.
14	414.1251, 1002.01, 1002.42, 1002.43, 1003.26, and 1003.52,
15	F.S.; conforming cross references; providing an effective
16	date.
17
18	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
19
20	Section 1.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) and paragraph
21	(c) of subsection (4) of section 1002.20, Florida Statutes, are
22	amended to read:
23	1002.20  K-12 student and parent rights.--Parents of public
24	school students must receive accurate and timely information
25	regarding their child's academic progress and must be informed
26	of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12
27	students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory
28	rights including, but not limited to, the following:
29	(2)  ATTENDANCE.--
30	(b)  Regular school attendance.--Parents of students who
31	have attained the age of 6 years by February 1 of any school
32	year but who have not attained the age of 16 years must comply
33	with the compulsory school attendance laws. Parents have the
34	option to comply with the school attendance laws by attendance
35	of the student in a public school; a parochial, religious, or
36	denominational school; a private school; a home education
37	program; or a private tutoring program, in accordance with the
38	provisions of s. 1003.01(12)(13).
39	(4)  DISCIPLINE.--
40	(c)  Corporal punishment.--In accordance with the
41	provisions of s. 1003.32, corporal punishment of A public school
42	student may not be disciplined by the use of corporal punishment
43	only be administered by a teacher or school principal within
44	guidelines of the school principal and according to district
45	school board policy. Another adult must be present and must be
46	informed in the student's presence of the reason for the
47	punishment. Upon request, the teacher or school principal must
48	provide the parent with a written explanation of the reason for
49	the punishment and the name of the other adult who was present.
50	Section 2.  Subsections (8) through (15) of section
51	1003.01, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsection (7)
52	through (14), respectively, and subsection (7) of said section
53	is amended to read:
54	1003.01  Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the term:
55	(7)  "Corporal punishment" means the moderate use of
56	physical force or physical contact by a teacher or principal as
57	may be necessary to maintain discipline or to enforce school
58	rule. However, the term "corporal punishment" does not include
59	the use of such reasonable force by a teacher or principal as
60	may be necessary for self-protection or to protect other
61	students from disruptive students.
62	Section 3.  Subsection (1) of section 1003.32, Florida
63	Statutes, is amended to read:
64	1003.32  Authority of teacher; responsibility for control
65	of students; district school board and principal
66	duties.--Subject to law and to the rules of the district school
67	board, each teacher or other member of the staff of any school
68	shall have such authority for the control and discipline of
69	students as may be assigned to him or her by the principal or
70	the principal's designated representative and shall keep good
71	order in the classroom and in other places in which he or she is
72	assigned to be in charge of students.
73	(1)  In accordance with this section and within the
74	framework of the district school board's code of student
75	conduct, teachers and other instructional personnel shall have
76	the authority to undertake any of the following actions in
77	managing student behavior and ensuring the safety of all
78	students in their classes and school and their opportunity to
79	learn in an orderly and disciplined classroom:
80	(a)  Establish classroom rules of conduct.
81	(b)  Establish and implement consequences, designed to
82	change behavior, for infractions of classroom rules.
83	(c)  Have disobedient, disrespectful, violent, abusive,
84	uncontrollable, or disruptive students removed from the
85	classroom for behavior management intervention.
86	(d)  Have violent, abusive, uncontrollable, or disruptive
87	students directed for information or assistance from appropriate
88	school or district school board personnel.
89	(e)  Assist in enforcing school rules on school property,
90	during school-sponsored transportation, and during school-
91	sponsored activities.
92	(f)  Request and receive information as to the disposition
93	of any referrals to the administration for violation of
94	classroom or school rules.
95	(g)  Request and receive immediate assistance in classroom
96	management if a student becomes uncontrollable or in case of
97	emergency.
98	(h)  Request and receive training and other assistance to
99	improve skills in classroom management, violence prevention,
100	conflict resolution, and related areas.
101	(i)  Press charges if there is a reason to believe that a
102	crime has been committed on school property, during school-
103	sponsored transportation, or during school-sponsored activities.
104	(j)  Use reasonable force, according to standards adopted
105	by the State Board of Education, to protect himself or herself
106	or others from injury.
107	(k)  Use corporal punishment according to school board
108	policy and at least the following procedures, if a teacher feels
109	that corporal punishment is necessary:
110	1.  The use of corporal punishment shall be approved in
111	principle by the principal before it is used, but approval is
112	not necessary for each specific instance in which it is used.
113	The principal shall prepare guidelines for administering such
114	punishment which identify the types of punishable offenses, the
115	conditions under which the punishment shall be administered, and
116	the specific personnel on the school staff authorized to
117	administer the punishment.
118	2.  A teacher or principal may administer corporal
119	punishment only in the presence of another adult who is informed
120	beforehand, and in the student's presence, of the reason for the
121	punishment.
122	3.  A teacher or principal who has administered punishment
123	shall, upon request, provide the student's parent with a written
124	explanation of the reason for the punishment and the name of the
125	other adult who was present.
126	Section 4.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and paragraph
127	(b) of subsection (2) of section 1006.07, Florida Statutes, are
128	amended to read:
129	1006.07  District school board duties relating to student
130	discipline and school safety.--The district school board shall
131	provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the
132	attendance and control of students at school, and for proper
133	attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the
134	welfare of students, including:
135	(1)  CONTROL OF STUDENTS.--
136	(a)  Adopt rules for the control, discipline, in-school
137	suspension, suspension, and expulsion of students and decide all
138	cases recommended for expulsion. Suspension hearings are
139	exempted from the provisions of chapter 120. Expulsion hearings
140	shall be governed by ss. 120.569 and 120.57(2) and are exempt
141	from s. 286.011. However, the student's parent must be given
142	notice of the provisions of s. 286.011 and may elect to have the
143	hearing held in compliance with that section. The district
144	school board shall adopt may prohibit the use of corporal
145	punishment, if the district school board adopts or has adopted a
146	written program of alternative control or discipline that may
147	include parent conference, revocation of student privileges,
148	work detail, community service, Saturday school, and in-school
149	restriction.
150	(2)  CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT.--Adopt a code of student
151	conduct for elementary schools and a code of student conduct for
152	middle and high schools and distribute the appropriate code to
153	all teachers, school personnel, students, and parents, at the
154	beginning of every school year. Each code shall be organized and
155	written in language that is understandable to students and
156	parents and shall be discussed at the beginning of every school
157	year in student classes, school advisory council meetings, and
158	parent and teacher association or organization meetings. Each
159	code shall be based on the rules governing student conduct and
160	discipline adopted by the district school board and shall be
161	made available in the student handbook or similar publication.
162	Each code shall include, but is not limited to:
163	(b)  Procedures to be followed for acts requiring
164	discipline, excluding the use of including corporal punishment.
165	Section 5.  Subsection (5) of section 1012.28, Florida
166	Statutes, is amended to read:
167	1012.28  Public school personnel; duties of school
168	principals.--
169	(5)  Each school principal shall perform such duties as may
170	be assigned by the district school superintendent, pursuant to
171	the rules of the district school board. Such rules shall
172	include, but are not limited to, rules relating to
173	administrative responsibility, instructional leadership in
174	implementing the Sunshine State Standards and the overall
175	educational program of the school to which the school principal
176	is assigned, submission of personnel recommendations to the
177	district school superintendent, administrative responsibility
178	for records and reports, administration of corporal punishment,
179	and student suspension.
180	Section 6.  Subsection (1) of section 414.1251, Florida
181	Statutes, is amended to read:
182	414.1251  Learnfare program.--
183	(1)  The department shall reduce the temporary cash
184	assistance for a participant's eligible dependent child or for
185	an eligible teenage participant who has not been exempted from
186	education participation requirements, if the eligible dependent
187	child or eligible teenage participant has been identified either
188	as a habitual truant, pursuant to s. 1003.01(7)(8), or as a
189	dropout, pursuant to s. 1003.01(8)(9). For a student who has
190	been identified as a habitual truant, the temporary cash
191	assistance must be reinstated after a subsequent grading period
192	in which the child's attendance has substantially improved. For
193	a student who has been identified as a dropout, the temporary
194	cash assistance must be reinstated after the student enrolls in
195	a public school, receives a high school diploma or its
196	equivalency, enrolls in preparation for the General Educational
197	Development Tests, or enrolls in other educational activities
198	approved by the district school board. Good cause exemptions
199	from the rule of unexcused absences include the following:
200	(a)  The student is expelled from school and alternative
201	schooling is not available.
202	(b)  No licensed day care is available for a child of teen
203	parents subject to Learnfare.
204	(c)  Prohibitive transportation problems exist (e.g., to
205	and from day care).
206
207	Within 10 days after sanction notification, the participant
208	parent of a dependent child or the teenage participant may file
209	an internal fair hearings process review procedure appeal, and
210	no sanction shall be imposed until the appeal is resolved.
211	Section 7.  Subsection (2) of section 1002.01, Florida
212	Statutes, is amended to read:
213	1002.01  Definitions.--
214	(2)  A "private school" is a nonpublic school defined as an
215	individual, association, copartnership, or corporation, or
216	department, division, or section of such organizations, that
217	designates itself as an educational center that includes
218	kindergarten or a higher grade or as an elementary, secondary,
219	business, technical, or trade school below college level or any
220	organization that provides instructional services that meet the
221	intent of s. 1003.01(12)(13) or that gives preemployment or
222	supplementary training in technology or in fields of trade or
223	industry or that offers academic, literary, or career training
224	below college level, or any combination of the above, including
225	an institution that performs the functions of the above schools
226	through correspondence or extension, except those licensed under
227	the provisions of chapter 1005. A private school may be a
228	parochial, religious, denominational, for-profit, or nonprofit
229	school. This definition does not include home education programs
230	conducted in accordance with s. 1002.41.
231	Section 8.  Subsection (7) of section 1002.42, Florida
232	Statutes, is amended to read:
233	1002.42  Private schools.--
234	(7)  ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS.--Attendance of a student at a
235	private, parochial, religious, or denominational school
236	satisfies the attendance requirements of ss. 1003.01(12)(13) and
237	1003.21(1).
238	Section 9.  Subsection (1) of section 1002.43, Florida
239	Statutes, is amended to read:
240	1002.43  Private tutoring programs.--
241	(1)  Regular school attendance as defined in s.
242	1003.01(12)(13) may be achieved by attendance in a private
243	tutoring program if the person tutoring the student meets the
244	following requirements:
245	(a)  Holds a valid Florida certificate to teach the
246	subjects or grades in which instruction is given.
247	(b)  Keeps all records and makes all reports required by
248	the state and district school board and makes regular reports on
249	the attendance of students in accordance with the provisions of
250	s. 1003.23(2).
251	(c)  Requires students to be in actual attendance for the
252	minimum length of time prescribed by s. 1011.60(2).
253	Section 10.  Paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section
254	1003.26, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
255	1003.26  Enforcement of school attendance.--The Legislature
256	finds that poor academic performance is associated with
257	nonattendance and that schools must take an active role in
258	enforcing attendance as a means of improving the performance of
259	many students. It is the policy of the state that each district
260	school superintendent be responsible for enforcing school
261	attendance of all students subject to the compulsory school age
262	in the school district. The responsibility includes recommending
263	to the district school board policies and procedures to ensure
264	that schools respond in a timely manner to every unexcused
265	absence, or absence for which the reason is unknown, of students
266	enrolled in the schools. District school board policies must
267	require each parent of a student to justify each absence of the
268	student, and that justification will be evaluated based on
269	adopted district school board policies that define excused and
270	unexcused absences. The policies must provide that schools track
271	excused and unexcused absences and contact the home in the case
272	of an unexcused absence from school, or an absence from school
273	for which the reason is unknown, to prevent the development of
274	patterns of nonattendance. The Legislature finds that early
275	intervention in school attendance matters is the most effective
276	way of producing good attendance habits that will lead to
277	improved student learning and achievement. Each public school
278	shall implement the following steps to enforce regular school
279	attendance:
280	(1)  CONTACT, REFER, AND ENFORCE.--
281	(f)1.  If the parent of a child who has been identified as
282	exhibiting a pattern of nonattendance enrolls the child in a
283	home education program pursuant to chapter 1002, the district
284	school superintendent shall provide the parent a copy of s.
285	1002.41 and the accountability requirements of this paragraph.
286	The district school superintendent shall also refer the parent
287	to a home education review committee composed of the district
288	contact for home education programs and at least two home
289	educators selected by the parent from a district list of all
290	home educators who have conducted a home education program for
291	at least 3 years and who have indicated a willingness to serve
292	on the committee. The home education review committee shall
293	review the portfolio of the student, as defined by s. 1002.41,
294	every 30 days during the district's regular school terms until
295	the committee is satisfied that the home education program is in
296	compliance with s. 1002.41(1)(b). The first portfolio review
297	must occur within the first 30 calendar days of the
298	establishment of the program. The provisions of subparagraph 2.
299	do not apply once the committee determines the home education
300	program is in compliance with s. 1002.41(1)(b).
301	2.  If the parent fails to provide a portfolio to the
302	committee, the committee shall notify the district school
303	superintendent. The district school superintendent shall then
304	terminate the home education program and require the parent to
305	enroll the child in an attendance option that meets the
306	definition of "regular school attendance" under s.
307	1003.01(12)(13)(a), (b), (c), or (e), within 3 days. Upon
308	termination of a home education program pursuant to this
309	subparagraph, the parent shall not be eligible to reenroll the
310	child in a home education program for 180 calendar days. Failure
311	of a parent to enroll the child in an attendance option as
312	required by this subparagraph after termination of the home
313	education program pursuant to this subparagraph shall constitute
314	noncompliance with the compulsory attendance requirements of s.
315	1003.21 and may result in criminal prosecution under s.
316	1003.27(2). Nothing contained herein shall restrict the ability
317	of the district school superintendent, or the ability of his or
318	her designee, to review the portfolio pursuant to s.
319	1002.41(1)(b).
320	Section 11.  Subsection (4) of section 1003.52, Florida
321	Statutes, is amended to read:
322	1003.52  Educational services in Department of Juvenile
323	Justice programs.--
324	(4)  Educational services shall be provided at times of the
325	day most appropriate for the juvenile justice program. School
326	programming in juvenile justice detention, commitment, and
327	rehabilitation programs shall be made available by the local
328	school district during the juvenile justice school year, as
329	defined in s. 1003.01(10)(11). In addition, students in juvenile
330	justice education programs shall have access to Florida Virtual
331	School courses. The Department of Education and the school
332	districts shall adopt policies necessary to ensure such access.
333	Section 12.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

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