Last-second bartering yielded two education omnibus bills
Sneads High School is in Jackson County in the Panhandle. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix)
Two bills contained the bulk of education policy that passed through both legislative chambers, negotiated until the final hours of the scheduled regular session on Friday.
Lawmakers couldn't agree to lift the secrecy of university presidential searches, lift labor restrictions for minors, or to implement a full ban on cellphones in high schools, although they did find common ground on requiring parental consent for corporal punishment.
HB 1255 and HB 1105 served as the main vehicles for education policy, combining several shorter proposals from throughout the session.
Florida made headlines as the first state to ban cellphone use during instructional time in 2023. The Legislature extended that policy this session, banning cellphone use for elementary and middle school students from the beginning of the school day to the end. Lawmakers approved a state pilot study in six counties to evaluate a bell-to-bell ban in high schools.
Pending the governor's signature, students would no longer be allowed to earn certificates of completion. These state certificates are for students who earn the credits to graduate but too low a grade point average or fail required math and reading assessments. Lawmakers applauded junking these certificates through legislation filed by Rep. Susan Valdes for raising the bar for student achievement.
The certificate of completion is less prestigious than a diploma and can carry little, if any, weight in landing a student a job, lawmakers said.
Students with autism may have a better chance to secure work if the governor signs the bill, too.
HB 1105 would create a workforce credential for students with autism to prove to employers they are proficient in certain skills, particularly workplace safety.
'Persons with autism are on time, they have a great work ethic, and they can perform work requirements proficiently, especially repetitive skills,' Sen. Don Gaetz said in February. 'There's a place for employees with autism in the workforce in productive jobs, but a major stumbling block is safety.'
The program would task the Department of Education to create badges, which would be verified by special education staff, to document a student's abilities.
HB 1105, which passed the Senate 26-5 and the House 85-14, would also allow students who participate in two years of marching band to count them toward the one-credit physical education requirement. Existing law allows two full seasons of varsity or junior varsity sports to count toward the physical education requirement.
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Lawmakers agreed to require parental consent for corporal punishment, a practice that some lawmakers said they were not aware still existed in Florida but, during the 2023-2024 school year, 17 school districts reported 516 instances of corporal punishment, according to Department of Education data.
Principals are responsible for developing corporal punishment policy. State law does require that more than one adult be present when corporal punishment is being inflicted.
HB 1255 would allow law enforcement officers to arrest someone for trespassing on a school bus, a measure aiming to protect not just students but bus drivers, too.
Democrats often pushed back against GOP bills addressing how charter schools function, leading to some of the most heated debates of the legislative session.
In the final packages were provisions lowering the threshold needed to turn a low-performing traditional public school into a 'job-engine' charter school — one meant to attract jobs to a community— and another that includes charter schools as recipients of local government infrastructure surtaxes.
Existing law requires more than 50% of teachers and parents both to vote to convert a traditional public school into a job-engine charter school. The Legislature voted, over Democrats' protests, to eliminate the need teacher approval and rely on parent approval instead.
The legislation renames Hillsborough Community College as Hillsborough College; requires high schoolers to learn about the costs of postsecondary education and how to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, plus how to apply for scholarships, grants, and student loans; and makes charter school teachers eligible for teacher of the year awards, a proposal Gov. Ron DeSantis made.
HB 1225 would have lifted several state laws protecting minors in the workplace. That bill passed the House but died in the Senate after it received just one committee hearing.
SB 1692 would have revised the state definition of material that can be considered harmful to minors. Its companion HB 1539 passed the House but, like lifting labor restrictions, made little progress in the Senate.
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