Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1072
By Senator Jones
35-00123-22 20221072__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to school discipline report cards;
3 amending s. 1001.212, F.S.; requiring the Office of
4 Safe Schools, beginning with a certain school year, to
5 develop and publish on its website school discipline
6 report cards based on data collected through school
7 environmental safety incident reports; specifying
8 requirements for the reports; amending ss. 1001.10,
9 1006.1493, and 1006.07, F.S.; conforming cross
10 references; providing an effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. Present subsections (9) through (15) of section
15 1001.212, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (10)
16 through (16), respectively, a new subsection (9) is added to
17 that section, and present subsection (13) of that section is
18 amended, to read:
19 1001.212 Office of Safe Schools.—There is created in the
20 Department of Education the Office of Safe Schools. The office
21 is fully accountable to the Commissioner of Education. The
22 office shall serve as a central repository for best practices,
23 training standards, and compliance oversight in all matters
24 regarding school safety and security, including prevention
25 efforts, intervention efforts, and emergency preparedness
26 planning. The office shall:
27 (9) Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, develop and
28 publish on its website school discipline report cards based on
29 data collected through school environmental safety incident
30 reports pursuant to subsection (8). The report cards must show
31 data at the school, school district, and state levels and must
32 do all the following:
33 (a) Allow data to be broken down by type of incident or
34 type of discipline imposed.
35 (b) Allow data to be broken down by sex, race, English
36 language learner status, and disability.
37 (c) Allow comparison of a school’s demographic data with
38 the demographic data of the school district in which the school
39 is located and the demographic data of this state.
40 (d) Allow comparison of data by school, school district,
41 and state levels.
42 (14)(13) Establish the Statewide Threat Assessment Database
43 Workgroup, composed of members appointed by the department, to
44 complement the work of the department and the Department of Law
45 Enforcement associated with the centralized integrated data
46 repository and data analytics resources initiative and make
47 recommendations regarding the development of a statewide threat
48 assessment database. The database must allow authorized public
49 school personnel to enter information related to any threat
50 assessment conducted at their respective schools using the
51 instrument developed by the office pursuant to subsection (13)
52 (12), and must provide such information to authorized personnel
53 in each school district and public school and to appropriate
54 stakeholders. By December 31, 2019, the workgroup shall provide
55 a report to the office with recommendations that include, but
56 need not be limited to:
57 (a) Threat assessment data that should be required to be
58 entered into the database.
59 (b) School district and public school personnel who should
60 be allowed to input student records to the database and view
61 such records.
62 (c) Database design and functionality, to include data
63 security.
64 (d) Restrictions and authorities on information sharing,
65 including:
66 1. Section 1002.22 and other applicable state laws.
67 2. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA),
68 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g, 42 C.F.R. part 2; the Health Insurance
69 Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 42 U.S.C. s. 1320d6,
70 45 C.F.R. part 164, subpart E; and other applicable federal
71 laws.
72 3. The appropriateness of interagency agreements that will
73 allow law enforcement to view database records.
74 (e) The cost to develop and maintain a statewide online
75 database.
76 (f) An implementation plan and timeline for the workgroup
77 recommendations.
78 Section 2. Subsection (9) of section 1001.10, Florida
79 Statutes, is amended to read:
80 1001.10 Commissioner of Education; general powers and
81 duties.—
82 (9) The commissioner shall review the report of the School
83 Hardening and Harm Mitigation Workgroup regarding hardening and
84 harm mitigation strategies and recommendations submitted by the
85 Office of Safe Schools, pursuant to s. 1001.212(12) s.
86 1001.212(11). By September 1, 2020, the commissioner shall
87 submit a summary of such recommendations to the Governor, the
88 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
89 Representatives.
90 Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 1006.1493, Florida
91 Statutes, is amended to read:
92 1006.1493 Florida Safe Schools Assessment Tool.—
93 (2) The FSSAT must help school officials identify threats,
94 vulnerabilities, and appropriate safety controls for the schools
95 that they supervise, pursuant to the security risk assessment
96 requirements of s. 1006.07(6).
97 (a) At a minimum, the FSSAT must address all of the
98 following components:
99 1. School emergency and crisis preparedness planning;
100 2. Security, crime, and violence prevention policies and
101 procedures;
102 3. Physical security measures;
103 4. Professional development training needs;
104 5. An examination of support service roles in school
105 safety, security, and emergency planning;
106 6. School security and school police staffing, operational
107 practices, and related services;
108 7. School and community collaboration on school safety; and
109 8. A return on investment analysis of the recommended
110 physical security controls.
111 (b) The department shall require by contract that the
112 security consulting firm:
113 1. Generate written automated reports on assessment
114 findings for review by the department and school and district
115 officials;
116 2. Provide training to the department and school officials
117 in the use of the FSSAT and other areas of importance identified
118 by the department;
119 3. Advise in the development and implementation of
120 templates, formats, guidance, and other resources necessary to
121 facilitate the implementation of this section at state,
122 district, school, and local levels; and
123 4. Review recommendations of the School Hardening and Harm
124 Mitigation Workgroup established under s. 1001.212(12) s.
125 1001.212(11) to address physical security measures identified by
126 the FSSAT.
127 Section 4. Subsection (7) of section 1006.07, Florida
128 Statutes, is amended to read:
129 1006.07 District school board duties relating to student
130 discipline and school safety.—The district school board shall
131 provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the
132 attendance and control of students at school, and for proper
133 attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the
134 welfare of students, including:
135 (7) THREAT ASSESSMENT TEAMS.—Each district school board
136 shall adopt policies for the establishment of threat assessment
137 teams at each school whose duties include the coordination of
138 resources and assessment and intervention with individuals whose
139 behavior may pose a threat to the safety of school staff or
140 students consistent with the model policies developed by the
141 Office of Safe Schools. Such policies must include procedures
142 for referrals to mental health services identified by the school
143 district pursuant to s. 1012.584(4), when appropriate, and
144 procedures for behavioral threat assessments in compliance with
145 the instrument developed pursuant to s. 1001.212(13) s.
146 1001.212(12).
147 (a) A threat assessment team shall include persons with
148 expertise in counseling, instruction, school administration, and
149 law enforcement. The threat assessment teams shall identify
150 members of the school community to whom threatening behavior
151 should be reported and provide guidance to students, faculty,
152 and staff regarding recognition of threatening or aberrant
153 behavior that may represent a threat to the community, school,
154 or self. Upon the availability of the behavioral threat
155 assessment instrument developed pursuant to s. 1001.212(13) s.
156 1001.212(12), the threat assessment team shall use that
157 instrument.
158 (b) Upon a preliminary determination that a student poses a
159 threat of violence or physical harm to himself or herself or
160 others, a threat assessment team shall immediately report its
161 determination to the superintendent or his or her designee. The
162 superintendent or his or her designee shall immediately attempt
163 to notify the student’s parent or legal guardian. Nothing in
164 this subsection shall preclude school district personnel from
165 acting immediately to address an imminent threat.
166 (c) Upon a preliminary determination by the threat
167 assessment team that a student poses a threat of violence to
168 himself or herself or others or exhibits significantly
169 disruptive behavior or need for assistance, authorized members
170 of the threat assessment team may obtain criminal history record
171 information pursuant to s. 985.04(1). A member of a threat
172 assessment team may not disclose any criminal history record
173 information obtained pursuant to this section or otherwise use
174 any record of an individual beyond the purpose for which such
175 disclosure was made to the threat assessment team.
176 (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all state
177 and local agencies and programs that provide services to
178 students experiencing or at risk of an emotional disturbance or
179 a mental illness, including the school districts, school
180 personnel, state and local law enforcement agencies, the
181 Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Children and
182 Families, the Department of Health, the Agency for Health Care
183 Administration, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, the
184 Department of Education, the Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office,
185 and any service or support provider contracting with such
186 agencies, may share with each other records or information that
187 are confidential or exempt from disclosure under chapter 119 if
188 the records or information are reasonably necessary to ensure
189 access to appropriate services for the student or to ensure the
190 safety of the student or others. All such state and local
191 agencies and programs shall communicate, collaborate, and
192 coordinate efforts to serve such students.
193 (e) If an immediate mental health or substance abuse crisis
194 is suspected, school personnel shall follow policies established
195 by the threat assessment team to engage behavioral health crisis
196 resources. Behavioral health crisis resources, including, but
197 not limited to, mobile crisis teams and school resource officers
198 trained in crisis intervention, shall provide emergency
199 intervention and assessment, make recommendations, and refer the
200 student for appropriate services. Onsite school personnel shall
201 report all such situations and actions taken to the threat
202 assessment team, which shall contact the other agencies involved
203 with the student and any known service providers to share
204 information and coordinate any necessary followup actions. Upon
205 the student’s transfer to a different school, the threat
206 assessment team shall verify that any intervention services
207 provided to the student remain in place until the threat
208 assessment team of the receiving school independently determines
209 the need for intervention services.
210 (f) Each threat assessment team established pursuant to
211 this subsection shall report quantitative data on its activities
212 to the Office of Safe Schools in accordance with guidance from
213 the office and shall utilize the threat assessment database
214 developed pursuant to s. 1001.212(14) s. 1001.212(13) upon the
215 availability of the database.
216 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.