Florida Senate - 2014                              CS for SB 648
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Senator Montford
       
       
       
       
       585-02890-14                                           2014648c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to a review under the Open Government
    3         Sunset Review Act; amending s. 1002.221, F.S.,
    4         relating to an exemption from public records
    5         requirements for K-12 education records; saving the
    6         exemption from repeal under the Open Government Sunset
    7         Review Act; deleting provisions to conform; providing
    8         an effective date.
    9          
   10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   11  
   12         Section 1. Section 1002.221, Florida Statutes, is amended
   13  to read:
   14         1002.221 K-12 education records; public records exemption.—
   15         (1) Education records, as defined in the Family Educational
   16  Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g, and the
   17  federal regulations issued pursuant thereto, are confidential
   18  and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State
   19  Constitution.
   20         (2)(a) An agency or institution, as defined in s. 1002.22
   21  1002.22(1)(a), or a public school, center, institution, or other
   22  entity that is part of Florida’s education system under s.
   23  1000.04(1), (3), or (4), may not release a student’s education
   24  records without the written consent of the student or parent to
   25  any individual, agency, or organization, except in accordance
   26  with and as permitted by the FERPA.
   27         (b) Education records released by an agency or institution,
   28  as defined in s. 1002.22 1002.22(1)(a), or by a public school,
   29  center, institution, or other entity that is part of Florida’s
   30  education system under s. 1000.04(1), (3), or (4), to the
   31  Auditor General or the Office of Program Policy Analysis and
   32  Government Accountability, which are necessary for such agencies
   33  to perform their official duties and responsibilities, must
   34  shall be used and maintained by the Auditor General and the
   35  Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
   36  in accordance with the FERPA.
   37         (c)(b) In accordance with FERPA and the federal regulations
   38  issued pursuant to FERPA, an agency or institution, as defined
   39  in s. 1002.22, or a public school, center, institution, or other
   40  entity that is part of Florida’s education system under s.
   41  1000.04(1), (3), or (4) may release a student’s education
   42  records without written consent of the student or parent to
   43  parties to an interagency agreement among the Department of
   44  Juvenile Justice, the school, law enforcement authorities, and
   45  other signatory agencies. The purpose of such an agreement and
   46  information sharing is to reduce juvenile crime, especially
   47  motor vehicle theft, by promoting cooperation and collaboration
   48  and the sharing of appropriate information in a joint effort to
   49  improve school safety, to reduce truancy and in-school and out
   50  of-school suspensions, and to support alternatives to in-school
   51  and out-of-school suspensions and expulsions, which provide
   52  structured and well-supervised educational programs supplemented
   53  by a coordinated overlay of other appropriate services designed
   54  to correct behaviors that lead to truancy, suspensions, and
   55  expulsions and that support students in successfully completing
   56  their education. Information provided in furtherance of an
   57  interagency agreement is intended solely for use in determining
   58  the appropriate programs and services for each juvenile or the
   59  juvenile’s family, or for coordinating the delivery of the
   60  programs and services, and as such is inadmissible in any court
   61  proceeding before a dispositional hearing unless written consent
   62  is provided by a parent or other responsible adult on behalf of
   63  the juvenile.
   64         (3) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset
   65  Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed
   66  on October 2, 2014, unless reviewed and saved from repeal
   67  through reenactment by the Legislature.
   68         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2014.