Florida Senate - 2026 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1620
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RS .
02/11/2026 .
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The Committee on Judiciary (Leek) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 60 - 257
4 and insert:
5 school district documents, except for documents that the member
6 would be prohibited by law from accessing. Access must include
7 documents that are not public records, including, but not
8 limited to, notes, invoices, correspondences, memoranda, and
9 internal legal opinions.
10 2. Request any document or information from the district
11 school superintendent or the superintendent’s staff, except for
12 documents or information that the member would be prohibited by
13 law from accessing.
14 (b) Consult with the school district’s chief financial
15 officer on general matters related to the budget, and sources
16 and uses of school district funds, and have reasonable access,
17 upon request, to any detail or line item in any proposed or
18 approved budget or in any financial transaction by the school
19 district.
20 (c) Seek information from school district staff without the
21 permission of the superintendent or other members of the
22 administration.
23 (d) Confidentially use any school district electronic or
24 communications device, such as a cellular telephone or laptop
25 computer, without the school district monitoring its use. This
26 paragraph may not be construed to violate any public records
27 law.
28 (e) Keep confidential the content of all communications or
29 discussions relating to union contracts of school district
30 employees, unless otherwise advised by an attorney employed by
31 the school district.
32 (f) Comment publicly during or outside of district school
33 board meetings on any matter of district school board business,
34 except for student and employee disciplinary hearings that are
35 specifically addressed in ss. 1006.07 and 1012.34, respectively.
36 (3) In any legal action brought against an individual
37 school board member related to his or her official position and
38 conduct, the school board may authorize an attorney, who is
39 employed by the school district, to provide legal
40 representation.
41 Section 3. Subsection (5) is added to section 1001.372,
42 Florida Statutes, to read:
43 1001.372 District school board meetings.—
44 (5) COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT AGENDA ITEMS.—A member of the
45 district school board may have communications or discussions
46 relating to any item or action scheduled to be heard or likely
47 to be heard at a future school board meeting with the district
48 school superintendent, an attorney employed by the school
49 district, or district staff, if an attorney employed by the
50 school district pursuant to s. 1001.42(5)(c) has advised the
51 school board member that such communications or discussions
52 would not violate s. 24(b), Art. I of the State Constitution.
53 Section 4. Subsection (6) of section 1001.42, Florida
54 Statutes, is amended, paragraph (c) is added to subsection (1)
55 of that section, paragraph (c) is added to subsection (5) of
56 that section, and paragraph (c) is added to subsection (24) of
57 that section, to read:
58 1001.42 Powers and duties of district school board.—The
59 district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all
60 powers and perform all duties listed below:
61 (1) REQUIRE MINUTES AND RECORDS TO BE KEPT.—Require the
62 district school superintendent, as secretary, to keep such
63 minutes and records as are necessary to set forth clearly all
64 actions and proceedings of the school board.
65 (c) Other records.—Other documents, including attachments
66 for agenda items, such as vendor contracts or budget documents,
67 must be kept as a public record with the minutes of each
68 meeting.
69 (5) PERSONNEL.—
70 (c) During a regular school board meeting, approve the
71 employment of an additional attorney, to be employed by the
72 school district solely to represent the district school board,
73 who was recommended for employment by an attorney currently
74 employed by the school district. During the meeting, the
75 district school board must provide both of the following:
76 1. The purpose of hiring an additional attorney.
77 2. The costs of such representation. Any payment to the
78 additional attorney must be noticed and approved by the district
79 school board.
80 (6) STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT.—Adopt policies
81 establishing standards of ethical conduct for educational
82 support employees, instructional personnel, administrative
83 personnel, and school officers. The policies must require all
84 educational support employees, instructional personnel,
85 administrative personnel, and school officers, as defined in s.
86 1012.01, to complete training on the standards, including
87 training for school officers in compliance with s. 24(b), Art. I
88 of the State Constitution; establish the duty of educational
89 support employees, instructional personnel, administrative
90 personnel, and school officers to report, and procedures for
91 reporting, alleged misconduct by other educational support
92 employees, instructional or administrative personnel, and school
93 officers which affects the health, safety, or welfare of a
94 student, including misconduct that involves engaging in or
95 soliciting sexual, romantic, or lewd conduct with a student;
96 require the district school superintendent to report to law
97 enforcement misconduct by educational support employees,
98 instructional personnel, or school administrators that would
99 result in disqualification from educator certification or
100 employment as provided in s. 1012.315; and include an
101 explanation of the liability protections provided under ss.
102 39.203 and 768.095. A district school board, or any of its
103 employees or personnel, may not enter into a confidentiality
104 agreement regarding terminated or dismissed educational support
105 employees, instructional or administrative personnel, or school
106 officers who resign in lieu of termination, based in whole or in
107 part on misconduct that affects the health, safety, or welfare
108 of a student, and may not provide educational support employees,
109 instructional personnel, administrative personnel, or school
110 officers with employment references or discuss the employees’,
111 personnel’s, or officers’ performance with prospective employers
112 in another educational setting, without disclosing the
113 employees’, personnel’s, or officers’ misconduct. Any part of an
114 agreement or contract that has the purpose or effect of
115 concealing misconduct by educational support employees,
116 instructional personnel, administrative personnel, or school
117 officers which affects the health, safety, or welfare of a
118 student is void, is contrary to public policy, and may not be
119 enforced.
120 (24) EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS.—
121 (c) A school board member may not publicly disclose
122 proposed terms of collective bargaining agreements unless
123 advised by an attorney employed pursuant to paragraph (5)(c).
124 Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
125 1011.035, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
126 1011.035 School district fiscal transparency.—
127 (2) Each district school board shall post on its website a
128 plain language version of each proposed, tentative, and official
129 budget which describes each budget item in terms that are easily
130 understandable to the public and includes:
131 (a) Graphical representations, for each public school
132 within the district and for the school district, of the
133 following:
134 1. Summary financial efficiency data.
135 2. Fiscal trend information for the previous 3 years on:
136 a. The ratio of full-time equivalent students to full-time
137 equivalent instructional personnel.
138 b. The ratio of full-time equivalent students to full-time
139 equivalent administrative personnel.
140 c. The total operating expenditures per full-time
141 equivalent student.
142 d. The total instructional expenditures per full-time
143 equivalent student.
144 e. The general administrative expenditures as a percentage
145 of total budget.
146 f. The rate of change in the general fund’s ending fund
147 balance not classified as restricted.
148 g. Full line-item budget items.
149
150 This information must be prominently posted on the school
151 district’s website in a manner that is readily accessible to the
152 public.
153 Section 6. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
154 1012.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
155 1012.22 Public school personnel; powers and duties of the
156 district school board.—The district school board shall:
157 (1) Designate positions to be filled, prescribe
158 qualifications for those positions, and provide for the
159 appointment, compensation, promotion, suspension, and dismissal
160 of employees as follows, subject to the requirements of this
161 chapter:
162 (a) Positions, qualifications, and appointments.—
163 1. The district school board shall act upon written
164 recommendations submitted by the district school superintendent
165 for positions to be filled, for minimum qualifications for
166 personnel for the various positions, and for the persons
167 nominated to fill such positions.
168 2. The district school board may reject for good cause any
169 employee nominated.
170 3. If the third nomination by the district school
171 superintendent for any position is rejected for good cause, if
172 the district school superintendent fails to submit a nomination
173 for initial employment within a reasonable time as prescribed by
174 the district school board, or if the district school
175 superintendent fails to submit a nomination for reemployment
176 within the time prescribed by law, the district school board may
177 proceed on its own motion to fill such position.
178 4. The district school board’s decision to reject a
179 person’s nomination does not give that person a right of action
180 to sue over the rejection and may not be used as a cause of
181 action by the nominated employee.
182 5. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term “good
183 cause” means the district school board has determined any of the
184 following:
185 a. That the nominated employee received his or her
186 nomination due to nepotism, as defined by the district school
187 board.
188 b. That the nominated employee fabricated or materially
189 exaggerated his or her credentials or background.
190 c. That the nominated employee does not meet the minimum
191 requirements for the position.
192 d. That the nominated employee’s educator certificate has
193 been revoked by another state.
194 Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 1015.03, Florida
195 Statutes, is amended to read:
196 1015.03 Rights of employment.—
197 (1)(a) Pursuant to s. 447.301 and s. 6., Art. I of the
198 State Constitution, the right of public employees, including
199 teachers, to work may not be denied or abridged on account of
200 membership or nonmembership in any labor union.
201 (b) A school district employee may not be required or
202 otherwise incentivized to sign a nondisclosure agreement or
203 confidentiality agreement. A school district may not impose
204 conditions on employment to circumvent this paragraph.
205
206 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
207 And the title is amended as follows:
208 Delete lines 9 - 29
209 and insert:
210 rights; amending s. 1001.372, F.S.; authorizing a
211 district school board to have specified discussions
212 after being advised by an attorney; amending s.
213 1001.42, F.S.; requiring that certain documents from
214 district school board meetings be kept as public
215 records; providing that a district school board has
216 the power to approve an additional attorney to be
217 employed by the school district; providing
218 requirements for such approval; requiring school
219 officers to receive specified training; prohibiting a
220 school board member from publicly disclosing proposed
221 terms of a collective bargaining agreement unless
222 advised by an attorney; amending s. 1011.035, F.S.;
223 requiring that full line-item budget items be posted
224 on a school district’s website; amending s. 1012.22,
225 F.S.; defining the term “good cause”; amending s.
226 1015.03, F.S.; providing that a school district
227 employee may not be required or incentivized to sign a
228 nondisclosure agreement or confidentiality agreement;
229 prohibiting a school district from imposing certain
230 conditions on employment;