1 | A bill to be entitled |
2 | An act relating to public school instruction; amending s. |
3 | 1002.23, F.S.; requiring Department of Education |
4 | guidelines for the school district parent guide to include |
5 | information regarding required parental permission for |
6 | certain instruction; authorizing a school district to |
7 | include a parental consent form in the parent guide; |
8 | amending s. 1003.42, F.S.; revising required instruction |
9 | relating to comprehensive health education; specifying |
10 | that a student needs parental permission to be taught |
11 | reproductive health or sexually transmitted disease |
12 | education; amending ss. 1002.20 and 1006.148, F.S.; |
13 | conforming provisions and a cross-reference to changes |
14 | made by the act; providing an effective date. |
15 |
|
16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
17 |
|
18 | Section 1. Subsections (2) and (7) of section 1002.23, |
19 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
20 | 1002.23 Family and School Partnership for Student |
21 | Achievement Act.- |
22 | (2) To facilitate meaningful parent and family |
23 | involvement, the Department of Education shall develop |
24 | guidelines for a parent guide to successful student achievement |
25 | which describes what parents need to know about their child's |
26 | educational progress and how they can help their child to |
27 | succeed in school. The guidelines shall include, but need not be |
28 | limited to: |
29 | (a) Parental information regarding: |
30 | 1. Requirements for their child to be promoted to the next |
31 | grade, as provided for in s. 1008.25; |
32 | 2. Progress of their child toward achieving state and |
33 | district expectations for academic proficiency; |
34 | 3. Assessment results, including report cards and progress |
35 | reports; |
36 | 4. Qualifications of their child's teachers; and |
37 | 5. School entry requirements, including required |
38 | immunizations and the recommended immunization schedule; |
39 | (b) Services available for parents and their children, |
40 | such as family literacy services; mentoring, tutorial, and other |
41 | academic reinforcement programs; college planning, academic |
42 | advisement, and student counseling services; and after-school |
43 | programs; |
44 | (c) Opportunities for parental participation, such as |
45 | parenting classes, adult education, school advisory councils, |
46 | and school volunteer programs; |
47 | (d) Opportunities for parents to learn about rigorous |
48 | academic programs that may be available for their child, such as |
49 | honors programs, dual enrollment, advanced placement, |
50 | International Baccalaureate, International General Certificate |
51 | of Secondary Education (pre-AICE), Advanced International |
52 | Certificate of Education, Florida Virtual High School courses, |
53 | and accelerated access to postsecondary education; |
54 | (e) Educational choices, as provided for in s. 1002.20(6), |
55 | and Florida tax credit scholarships, as provided for in s. |
56 | 1002.395; |
57 | (f) Classroom and test accommodations available for |
58 | students with disabilities; |
59 | (g) School board rules, policies, and procedures for |
60 | student promotion and retention, academic standards, student |
61 | assessment, courses of study, instructional materials, and |
62 | contact information for school and district offices; and |
63 | (h) Resources for information on student health and other |
64 | available resources for parents; and |
65 | (i) Notification that parental permission is required for |
66 | student participation in reproductive health or sexually |
67 | transmitted disease education, including HIV/AIDS instruction. |
68 | (7) Each school district shall develop and disseminate a |
69 | parent guide to successful student achievement, consistent with |
70 | the guidelines of the Department of Education, which addresses |
71 | what parents need to know about their child's educational |
72 | progress and how parents can help their child to succeed in |
73 | school. The guide may include a consent form by which a parent |
74 | gives permission for his or her child to participate in |
75 | reproductive health or sexually transmitted disease education, |
76 | including HIV/AIDS instruction, as required in s. 1003.42(3). |
77 | The guide must: |
78 | (a) Be understandable to students and parents; |
79 | (b) Be distributed to all parents, students, and school |
80 | personnel at the beginning of each school year; |
81 | (c) Be discussed at the beginning of each school year in |
82 | meetings of students, parents, and teachers; |
83 | (d) Include information concerning services, |
84 | opportunities, choices, academic standards, and student |
85 | assessment; and |
86 | (e) Provide information on the importance of student |
87 | health and available immunizations and vaccinations, including, |
88 | but not limited to: |
89 | 1. A recommended immunization schedule in accordance with |
90 | United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
91 | recommendations. |
92 | 2. Detailed information regarding the causes, symptoms, |
93 | and transmission of meningococcal disease and the availability, |
94 | effectiveness, known contraindications, and appropriate age for |
95 | the administration of any required or recommended vaccine |
96 | against meningococcal disease, in accordance with the |
97 | recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization |
98 | Practices of the United States Centers for Disease Control and |
99 | Prevention. |
100 |
|
101 | The parent guide may be included as a part of the code of |
102 | student conduct that is required in s. 1006.07(2). |
103 | Section 2. Paragraphs (j) through (t) of subsection (2) |
104 | and subsection (3) of section 1003.42, Florida Statutes, are |
105 | amended to read: |
106 | 1003.42 Required instruction.- |
107 | (2) Members of the instructional staff of the public |
108 | schools, subject to the rules of the State Board of Education |
109 | and the district school board, shall teach efficiently and |
110 | faithfully, using the books and materials required that meet the |
111 | highest standards for professionalism and historic accuracy, |
112 | following the prescribed courses of study, and employing |
113 | approved methods of instruction, the following: |
114 | (j) The true effects of all alcoholic and intoxicating |
115 | liquors and beverages and narcotics upon the human body and |
116 | mind. |
117 | (j)(k) Kindness to animals. |
118 | (k)(l) The history of the state. |
119 | (l)(m) The conservation of natural resources. |
120 | (m)(n) Comprehensive health education that addresses the |
121 | importance of nutrition, physical fitness, and the destructive |
122 | effects of substance abuse and alcohol; emphasizes the |
123 | interconnection between physical well-being and mental and |
124 | emotional health; and addresses concepts of community health; |
125 | consumer health; environmental health; family life, including an |
126 | awareness of the benefits of sexual abstinence as the expected |
127 | standard and the consequences of teenage pregnancy; mental and |
128 | emotional health; injury prevention and safety; nutrition; |
129 | personal health; prevention and control of disease; and |
130 | substance use and abuse. The health education curriculum for |
131 | students in grades 7 through 12 shall include a teen dating |
132 | violence and abuse component that includes, but is not limited |
133 | to, the definition of dating violence and abuse, the warning |
134 | signs of dating violence and abusive behavior, the |
135 | characteristics of healthy relationships, measures to prevent |
136 | and stop dating violence and abuse, and community resources |
137 | available to victims of dating violence and abuse. |
138 | (n)(o) Such additional materials, subjects, courses, or |
139 | fields in such grades as are prescribed by law or by rules of |
140 | the State Board of Education and the district school board in |
141 | fulfilling the requirements of law. |
142 | (o)(p) The study of Hispanic contributions to the United |
143 | States. |
144 | (p)(q) The study of women's contributions to the United |
145 | States. |
146 | (q)(r) The nature and importance of free enterprise to the |
147 | United States economy. |
148 | (r)(s) A character-development program in the elementary |
149 | schools, similar to Character First or Character Counts, which |
150 | is secular in nature. Beginning in school year 2004-2005, the |
151 | character-development program shall be required in kindergarten |
152 | through grade 12. Each district school board shall develop or |
153 | adopt a curriculum for the character-development program that |
154 | shall be submitted to the department for approval. The |
155 | character-development curriculum shall stress the qualities of |
156 | patriotism; responsibility; citizenship; kindness; respect for |
157 | authority, life, liberty, and personal property; honesty; |
158 | charity; self-control; racial, ethnic, and religious tolerance; |
159 | and cooperation. |
160 | (s)(t) In order to encourage patriotism, the sacrifices |
161 | that veterans have made in serving our country and protecting |
162 | democratic values worldwide. Such instruction must occur on or |
163 | before Veterans' Day and Memorial Day. Members of the |
164 | instructional staff are encouraged to use the assistance of |
165 | local veterans when practicable. |
166 |
|
167 | The State Board of Education is encouraged to adopt standards |
168 | and pursue assessment of the requirements of this subsection. |
169 | (3) Each Any student must be given parental permission to |
170 | be taught whose parent makes written request to the school |
171 | principal shall be exempted from the teaching of reproductive |
172 | health or sexually transmitted any disease education, including |
173 | HIV/AIDS instruction, its symptoms, development, and treatment. |
174 | A student who does not receive parental permission so exempted |
175 | may not be penalized by reason of lack of permission that |
176 | exemption. In order to ensure adequate notification to a parent, |
177 | a school district may include a parental consent form in the |
178 | district parent guide required pursuant to s. 1002.23(7). Course |
179 | descriptions for comprehensive health education shall not |
180 | interfere with the local determination of appropriate curriculum |
181 | which reflects local values and concerns. |
182 | Section 3. Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section |
183 | 1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
184 | 1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.-Parents of public |
185 | school students must receive accurate and timely information |
186 | regarding their child's academic progress and must be informed |
187 | of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12 |
188 | students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory |
189 | rights including, but not limited to, the following: |
190 | (3) HEALTH ISSUES.- |
191 | (d) Reproductive health and disease education.-A public |
192 | school student must be given parental permission to be taught |
193 | whose parent makes written request to the school principal shall |
194 | be exempted from the teaching of reproductive health or sexually |
195 | transmitted any disease education, including HIV/AIDS |
196 | instruction, in accordance with the provisions of s. 1003.42(3). |
197 | Section 4. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section |
198 | 1006.148, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
199 | 1006.148 Dating violence and abuse prohibited.- |
200 | (1) Each district school board shall adopt and implement a |
201 | dating violence and abuse policy. The policy shall: |
202 | (c) Define dating violence and abuse and provide for a |
203 | teen dating violence and abuse component in the health education |
204 | curriculum, according to s. 1003.42(2)(m)(n), with emphasis on |
205 | prevention education. |
206 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |