| 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 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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. |