Florida Senate - 2023                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB 1320
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì2677068Î267706                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                  Floor: WD            .                                
             05/01/2023 06:58 PM       .                                
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       Senator Polsky moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 264 - 336
    4  and insert:
    5  an objection by a parent or a resident of the county to the use
    6  of a specific material, which clearly describes a process to
    7  handle all objections and provides for resolution. The objection
    8  form, as prescribed by State Board of Education rule, and the
    9  district school board’s process must be easy to read and
   10  understand and be easily accessible on the homepage of the
   11  school district’s website. The process must provide the parent
   12  or resident the opportunity to proffer evidence to the district
   13  school board that:
   14         a. An instructional material does not meet the criteria of
   15  s. 1006.31(2) or s. 1006.40(3)(d) if it was selected for use in
   16  a course or otherwise made available to students in the school
   17  district but was not subject to the public notice, review,
   18  comment, and hearing procedures under s. 1006.283(2)(b)8., 9.,
   19  and 11.
   20         b. Any material used in a classroom, made available in a
   21  school or classroom library, or included on a reading list
   22  contains content that:
   23         (I) Is pornographic or prohibited under s. 847.012;,
   24         (II)Depicts or describes sexual conduct as defined in s.
   25  847.001, unless such material is for a course required by s.
   26  1003.46 or s. 1003.42(2)(n)1.g. or identified by State Board of
   27  Education rule;
   28         (III) Is not suited to student needs and their ability to
   29  comprehend the material presented;, or
   30         (IV) Is inappropriate for the grade level and age group for
   31  which the material is used.
   32  
   33  Any material that is subject to an objection on the basis of
   34  sub-sub-subparagraph b.(I) or sub-sub-subparagraph b.(II) must
   35  be made unavailable to students until the objection is resolved.
   36  Parents have the right to read aloud at public meetings passages
   37  from material that is subject to an objection. If the district
   38  school board finds that an instructional material does not meet
   39  the criteria under sub-subparagraph a. or that any other
   40  material contains prohibited content under sub-subparagraph b.,
   41  the school district shall discontinue use of the material for
   42  any grade level or age group for which such use is inappropriate
   43  or unsuitable.
   44         3. Each district school board must establish a process by
   45  which the parent of a public school student or a resident of the
   46  county may contest the district school board’s adoption of a
   47  specific instructional material. The parent or resident must
   48  file a petition, on a form provided by the school board, within
   49  30 calendar days after the adoption of the instructional
   50  material by the school board. The school board must make the
   51  form available to the public and publish the form on the school
   52  district’s website. The form must be signed by the parent or
   53  resident, include the required contact information, and state
   54  the objection to the instructional material based on the
   55  criteria of s. 1006.31(2) or s. 1006.40(3)(d). Within 30 days
   56  after the 30-day period has expired, the school board must, for
   57  all petitions timely received, conduct at least one open public
   58  hearing before an unbiased and qualified hearing officer. The
   59  hearing officer may not be an employee or agent of the school
   60  district. The hearing is not subject to the provisions of
   61  chapter 120; however, the hearing must provide sufficient
   62  procedural protections to allow each petitioner an adequate and
   63  fair opportunity to be heard and present evidence to the hearing
   64  officer. The school board’s decision after convening a hearing
   65  is final and not subject to further petition or review.
   66         4. Meetings of committees convened for the purpose of
   67  ranking, eliminating, or selecting instructional materials for
   68  recommendation to the district school board must be noticed and
   69  open to the public in accordance with s. 286.011. Any committees
   70  convened for such purposes must include parents of district
   71  students who will have access to such materials.
   72         5.Meetings of committees convened for the purpose of
   73  resolving an objection by a parent to specific materials must be
   74  noticed and open to the public in accordance with s. 286.011.
   75  Any committees convened for such purpose must include parents of
   76  students who will have access to such materials.
   77  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   78  And the title is amended as follows:
   79         Delete lines 38 - 41
   80  and insert:
   81         website homepages; revising who may bring an
   82         objection; expanding the criteria for materials used
   83         in the classroom, available in the school library, or
   84         included on a reading list under which a parent may
   85         bring an objection;