Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1516 By Senator Jones 35-01534-22 20221516__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to required instruction in the history 3 of African Americans; amending s. 1003.42, F.S.; 4 providing that instructional staff of public schools 5 are encouraged to include the history of local 6 African-American cemeteries in the study of the 7 history of African Americans when practicable; 8 providing an effective date. 9 10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 11 12 Section 1. Paragraph (h) of subsection (2) of section 13 1003.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 14 1003.42 Required instruction.— 15 (2) Members of the instructional staff of the public 16 schools, subject to the rules of the State Board of Education 17 and the district school board, shall teach efficiently and 18 faithfully, using the books and materials required that meet the 19 highest standards for professionalism and historical accuracy, 20 following the prescribed courses of study, and employing 21 approved methods of instruction, the following: 22 (h) The history of African Americans, including the history 23 of African peoples before the political conflicts that led to 24 the development of slavery, the passage to America, the 25 enslavement experience, abolition, and the contributions of 26 African Americans to society. Instructional materials shall 27 include the contributions of African Americans to American 28 society. Members of the instructional staff are encouraged to 29 include the history of local African-American cemeteries in the 30 study of the history of African Americans when practicable. 31 32 The State Board of Education is encouraged to adopt standards 33 and pursue assessment of the requirements of this subsection. A 34 character development program that incorporates the values of 35 the recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor and that is 36 offered as part of a social studies, English Language Arts, or 37 other schoolwide character building and veteran awareness 38 initiative meets the requirements of paragraphs (s) and (t). 39 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.