Florida Senate - 2026                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS/HB 1073, 1st Eng.
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
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       Senator Leek moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 1001.366, Florida Statutes, is created
    6  to read:
    7         1001.366 District School Board Members’ Bill of Rights.—A
    8  member of a district school board has the right to:
    9         (1)Upon request, be given free and timely access to all
   10  school district documents necessary to fulfill the duties and
   11  responsibilities required under the State Constitution and the
   12  Florida Early Learning-20 Education Code. Access to documents
   13  that are confidential or exempt from public disclosure must be
   14  provided in compliance with applicable law. A request not
   15  related to a matter on a publicly noticed meeting of the
   16  district school board must be fulfilled within 10 business days
   17  after receipt of such request. Any document provided to a
   18  district school board member must be offered to all board
   19  members.
   20         (2) Consult with the school district’s chief financial
   21  officer on general matters related to the budget and sources and
   22  uses of school district funds, and have reasonable access, upon
   23  request, to any detail or line item in any proposed or approved
   24  budget or in any financial transaction by the school district.
   25         (3) Request any document or information, except for
   26  documents or information that the member would be prohibited by
   27  law from accessing, from school district staff with the
   28  permission of the superintendent or other members of the
   29  administration where such permission may not be unreasonably
   30  withheld.
   31         (4) Comment publicly during or outside of district school
   32  board meetings on any matter of district school board business,
   33  except for student and employee disciplinary hearings that are
   34  specifically addressed in ss. 1006.07 and 1012.34, respectively,
   35  or other matters prohibited by law.
   36         Section 2. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (1) of
   37  section 1001.42, Florida Statutes, to read:
   38         1001.42 Powers and duties of district school board.—The
   39  district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all
   40  powers and perform all duties listed below:
   41         (1) REQUIRE MINUTES AND RECORDS TO BE KEPT.—Require the
   42  district school superintendent, as secretary, to keep such
   43  minutes and records as are necessary to set forth clearly all
   44  actions and proceedings of the school board.
   45         (c) Other records.Other documents, including attachments
   46  for agenda items, such as vendor contracts or budget documents,
   47  must be kept as a public record with the minutes of each
   48  meeting.
   49         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
   50  1012.22, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (k) is
   51  added to that subsection, to read:
   52         1012.22 Public school personnel; powers and duties of the
   53  district school board.—The district school board shall:
   54         (1) Designate positions to be filled, prescribe
   55  qualifications for those positions, and provide for the
   56  appointment, compensation, promotion, suspension, and dismissal
   57  of employees as follows, subject to the requirements of this
   58  chapter:
   59         (a) Positions, qualifications, and appointments.—
   60         1. The district school board shall act upon written
   61  recommendations submitted by the district school superintendent
   62  for positions to be filled, for minimum qualifications for
   63  personnel for the various positions, and for the persons
   64  nominated to fill such positions.
   65         2. The district school board may reject for good cause any
   66  employee nominated.
   67         3. If the third nomination by the district school
   68  superintendent for any position is rejected for good cause, if
   69  the district school superintendent fails to submit a nomination
   70  for initial employment within a reasonable time as prescribed by
   71  the district school board, or if the district school
   72  superintendent fails to submit a nomination for reemployment
   73  within the time prescribed by law, the district school board may
   74  proceed on its own motion to fill such position.
   75         4. The district school board’s decision to reject a
   76  person’s nomination does not give that person a right of action
   77  to sue over the rejection and may not be used as a cause of
   78  action by the nominated employee.
   79         5. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “good
   80  cause” means the district school board has determined any of the
   81  following:
   82         a. That the nominated employee fabricated or materially
   83  exaggerated his or her credentials or background.
   84         b. That the nominated employee does not meet the minimum
   85  requirements for the position.
   86         c. That the nominated employee’s educator certificate has
   87  been revoked by another state.
   88         (k) Nondisclosure or confidentiality.A school district
   89  employee may not be required or otherwise incentivized to sign a
   90  nondisclosure agreement or confidentiality agreement. A school
   91  district may not impose conditions on employment to circumvent
   92  this paragraph.
   93         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.
   94  
   95  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   96  And the title is amended as follows:
   97         Delete everything before the enacting clause
   98  and insert:
   99                        A bill to be entitled                      
  100         An act relating to public education; creating s.
  101         1001.366, F.S.; providing members of a district school
  102         board with specified rights; amending s. 1001.42,
  103         F.S.; requiring that certain documents from district
  104         school board meetings be kept as public records;
  105         amending s. 1012.22, F.S.; defining the term “good
  106         cause”; providing that a school district employee may
  107         not be required or incentivized to sign a
  108         nondisclosure agreement or confidentiality agreement;
  109         prohibiting a school district from imposing certain
  110         conditions on employment; providing an effective date.