HB 697

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to disability awareness; amending s.
3	1003.4205, F.S.; requiring district school boards to
4	provide disability history and awareness instruction in
5	all K-12 public schools during the first week in October;
6	requiring certified individuals in disability awareness or
7	teachers who specialize in exceptional student education
8	to provide the disability history and awareness
9	instruction; requiring the Governor's Commission on
10	Disabilities to initiate a study on training in disability
11	awareness to be conducted by a private nonprofit entity;
12	providing requirements for the study and requiring
13	submission of findings to the commission; requiring the
14	commission to oversee a statewide program for providers of
15	training in disability awareness; providing program
16	components to include requirements for approval of
17	providers and certification of individuals who provide
18	instruction in disability awareness; providing for the
19	payment of certain fees; requiring the commission to
20	promote training in disability awareness in all public
21	entities in the state; requiring the commission to
22	encourage those public entities to participate in
23	activities that provide instruction to expand knowledge,
24	understanding, and awareness of individuals who have
25	disabilities; requiring the commission to adopt rules;
26	providing an effective date.
27
28	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30	Section 1.  Section 1003.4205, Florida Statutes, is amended
31	to read:
32	1003.4205  Disability history and awareness instruction.-
33	(1)  Each district school board shall may provide
34	disability history and awareness instruction in all K-12 public
35	schools in the district during the first week 2 weeks in October
36	each year. The district school board shall designate this week
37	these 2 weeks as "Disability History and Awareness Week Weeks."
38	(2)(a)  During this 1-week 2-week period, students shall
39	may be provided intensive instruction to expand their knowledge,
40	understanding, and awareness of individuals with disabilities,
41	the history of disability, and the disability rights movement.
42	Disability history must may include the events and timelines of
43	the development and evolution of services to, and the civil
44	rights of, individuals with disabilities. Disability history
45	must may also include the contributions of specific individuals
46	with disabilities, including the contributions of acknowledged
47	national leaders.
48	(b)  The instruction shall may be integrated into the
49	existing school curriculum in ways including, but not limited
50	to, supplementing lesson plans, holding school assemblies, or
51	providing other school-related activities. Beginning with the
52	2012-2013 school year, the instruction must may be delivered by
53	individuals who are certified to provide instruction in
54	disability awareness qualified school personnel or by
55	knowledgeable guest speakers, with a particular focus on
56	including individuals who have with disabilities as instructors,
57	or by teachers who are currently employed at a school and who
58	specialize in exceptional student education at the school.
59	(3)  The goals of disability history and awareness
60	instruction include:
61	(a)  Better treatment for individuals who have with
62	disabilities, especially for youth in school, and increased
63	attention to preventing the bullying or harassment of students
64	who have with disabilities.
65	(b)  Encouragement to individuals who have with
66	disabilities to develop increased self-esteem, resulting in more
67	individuals who have with disabilities gaining pride in being an
68	individual with a disability, obtaining postsecondary education,
69	entering the workforce, and contributing to their communities.
70	(c)  Reaffirmation of the local, state, and federal
71	commitment to the full inclusion in society of, and the equal
72	opportunity for, all individuals who have with disabilities.
73	Section 2.  Disability awareness training standards,
74	protocol, and curriculum; certification.-
75	(1)  The Governor's Commission on Disabilities shall
76	initiate a study regarding training in disability awareness
77	beginning July 1, 2011, to be conducted by a private nonprofit
78	entity that promotes disability awareness in the classroom and
79	the community at large and provides training in disability
80	awareness. State agencies and programs shall cooperate with the
81	private nonprofit entity as it conducts the study to establish
82	training standards, protocol, and curriculum with regard to
83	disability awareness. Within the study, the private nonprofit
84	entity shall:
85	(a)  Evaluate and recommend to the commission standards and
86	criteria necessary for authorizing providers to conduct training
87	in disability awareness.
88	(b)  Establish guidelines and curriculum for a
89	certification program for disability awareness instructors.
90	(c)  Provide to the commission a summary of the current
91	trends in training in disability awareness.
92
93	The private nonprofit entity conducting the study shall submit
94	its findings to the commission by July 1, 2011.
95	(2)  Beginning July 1, 2012, the commission shall oversee a
96	statewide program for providers of training and certified
97	instructors in disability awareness which includes, but is not
98	limited to, the following components:
99	(a)  A training provider must meet all criteria established
100	and published by the commission in order to be approved to
101	conduct continuing education courses for certifying individuals
102	as instructors in disability awareness. A provider may charge a
103	service fee for the continuing education courses in an amount
104	that is sufficient to cover its costs in providing the courses.
105	(b)  In order to be approved by the commission, a provider
106	of training in disability awareness must have a minimum of 5
107	years of experience working in the field of disabilities, submit
108	an application to the commission to provide training in
109	disability awareness, pay an application or renewal fee set by
110	the commission not to exceed $200, and submit an annual report
111	to the commission which documents the provider's training
112	activities. An approved provider shall renew its approved status
113	with the commission every 3 years.
114	(c)  An approved provider shall use the commission's
115	approved training methods and curriculum materials for
116	conducting continuing education courses.
117	(d)  The commission shall publish and make available to the
118	public a list of providers approved to offer training for
119	certifying individuals as instructors in disability awareness.
120	(e)  An individual seeking certification to provide
121	instruction in disability awareness shall participate in
122	continuing education courses conducted by a commission-approved
123	provider. The commission shall certify an individual as an
124	instructor who successfully completes the required continuing
125	education courses in disability awareness. This individual shall
126	pay a certification or certification renewal fee set by the
127	commission not to exceed $100, and the certified individual
128	shall renew certification with the commission every 3 years.
129	(3)  The commission shall promote the inclusion in society
130	of, and the equal opportunity for, individuals who have
131	disabilities through training in disability awareness in all
132	public entities in the state. The commission shall encourage
133	those public entities to participate in activities that provide
134	instruction to expand knowledge, understanding, and awareness of
135	individuals who have disabilities, the history of disability
136	awareness, and the disability rights movement.
137	(4)  The commission shall adopt rules pursuant to ss.
138	120.536(1) and 120.54, Florida Statutes, to administer this
139	section.
140	Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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