Bill Text: FL S1210 | 2017 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Instructional Materials for K-12 Public Education
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 7-2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-03 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 989 (Ch. 2017-177) [S1210 Detail]
Download: Florida-2017-S1210-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2017 CS for CS for SB 1210 By the Committees on Appropriations; and Education; and Senators Lee, Mayfield, Steube, Hutson, Artiles, Bean, and Passidomo 576-04166-17 20171210c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to instructional materials for K-12 3 public education; amending s. 1006.28, F.S.; revising 4 the term “adequate instructional materials”; defining 5 terms; requiring each district school board to adopt a 6 process allowing parents or residents of the county to 7 object to the use of specific instructional materials 8 based on specified criteria; requiring the process to 9 include a right to appeal a school district decision; 10 specifying the appeal process; deleting a provision 11 relating to the finality of the school board’s 12 decision under certain circumstances; requiring that 13 district school boards provide parents and residents 14 of the county access to certain materials under 15 certain circumstances; amending s. 1006.283, F.S.; 16 revising the requirements for school boards that adopt 17 rules for the implementation of the district’s 18 instructional materials program; conforming provisions 19 to changes made by the act; amending s. 1006.31, F.S.; 20 revising the standards that an instructional materials 21 reviewer shall use; amending s. 1006.40, F.S.; 22 revising requirements for use of the instructional 23 materials allocation; revising the types of 24 instructional materials for which a district school 25 board is responsible; revising applicability; amending 26 ss. 1002.20 and 1006.42, F.S.; conforming cross 27 references; providing an effective date. 28 29 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 30 31 Section 1. Present subsections (1), (2), and (3) of section 32 1006.28, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (2), 33 (3), and (4), respectively, a new subsection (1) is added to 34 that section, and present subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of 35 present subsection (2), are amended, to read: 36 1006.28 Duties of district school board, district school 37 superintendent; and school principal regarding K-12 38 instructional materials.— 39 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 40 (a) “Adequate instructional materials” means instructional 41 materials that meet the requirements of this section and have a 42 sufficient number of student or site licenses or sets of 43 materials that are available in bound, unbound, kit, or package 44 form and may consist of hardbacked or softbacked textbooks, 45 electronic content, consumables, learning laboratories, 46 manipulatives, electronic media, and computer courseware or 47 software to serve as the basis for instruction for each student 48 in the core subject areas of mathematics, language arts, social 49 studies, science, reading, and literature. 50 (b) “Instructional materials” has the same meaning as in s. 51 1006.29(2). 52 (c) “Legal resident” or “resident” means a person who has 53 maintained his or her residence in this state for the preceding 54 year, has purchased a home that is occupied by him or her as his 55 or her residence, or has established a domicile in this state 56 pursuant to s. 222.17. 57 (2)(1)DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD.—The district school board has 58 the constitutional duty and responsibility to select and provide 59 adequate instructional materials for all students in accordance 60 with the requirements of this part.The term “adequate61instructional materials” means a sufficient number of student or62site licenses or sets of materials that are available in bound,63unbound, kit, or package form and may consist of hardbacked or64softbacked textbooks, electronic content, consumables, learning65laboratories, manipulatives, electronic media, and computer66courseware or software that serve as the basis for instruction67for each student in the core subject areas of mathematics,68language arts, social studies, science, reading, and literature.69 The district school board also has the following specific duties 70 and responsibilities: 71 (a) Courses of study; adoption.—Adopt courses of study, 72 including instructional materials, for use in the schools of the 73 district. 74 1. Each district school board is responsible for the 75 content of all instructional materials used in a classroom, 76 whether adopted and purchased from the state-adopted 77 instructional materials list or,adopted and purchased through a 78 district instructional materials program under s. 1006.283, or79otherwise purchased or made available in the classroom. 80 2. Each district school board shallmustadopt a policy 81 regarding an objection by a parent or a resident of the countya82parent’sobjectionto thehis or her child’suse of a specific 83 instructional material, which clearly describes a process to 84 handle all objections and provides for resolution. The process 85 must provide the parent or resident the opportunity to offer 86 evidence to the district school board that: 87 a. An instructional material does not meet the criteria of 88 s. 1006.31(2) if it was selected for use in a course or 89 otherwise made available to students in the school district but 90 was not subject to the public notice, review, comment, and 91 hearing procedures under s. 1006.283(2)(b)8., 9., and 11. 92 b. Any material used in a classroom, made available in a 93 school library, or included on a reading list contains content 94 that is pornographic or prohibited under s. 847.012, is not 95 suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the 96 material presented, or is inappropriate for the grade level and 97 age group for which the material is used. 98 99 If the district school board finds that an instructional 100 material does not meet the criteria under sub-subparagraph a. or 101 that any other material contains prohibited content under sub 102 subparagraph b., the school district shall discontinue use of 103 the material for any grade level or age group for which such use 104 is inappropriate or unsuitable. The process must also include a 105 right to timely appeal any district decision to the district 106 school board. 107 3. Each district school board shallmustestablish a 108 process by which the parent of a public school student or a 109 resident of the county may contest the district school board’s 110 adoption of a specific instructional material. The parent or 111 resident must file a petition, on a form provided by the school 112 board, within 30 calendar days after the adoption of the 113 material by the school board. The school board must make the 114 form available to the public and publish the form on the school 115 district’s website. The form must be signed by the parent or 116 resident, include the required contact information, and state 117 the objection to the instructional material, based on the 118 criteria of s. 1006.31(2). Within 30 days after the 30-day 119 period has expired, the school board must, for all petitions 120 timely received, conduct at least one open public hearing on all 121 petitions timely received, providing at a minimum the procedural 122 safeguards of ss. 120.569 and 120.57 making appropriate 123 provision for appointment of unbiased and qualified hearing 124 officers. A hearing officer may not be an employee, agent, or 125 contractor of the school districtand provide the petitioner126written notification of the date and time of the hearing at127least 7 days before the hearing. all instructional materials128contested must be made accessible online to the public at least1297 days before a public hearing. 130 131 The school board’s decision after convening a hearing is final 132 and not subject to further petition or review. 133 (b) Instructional materials.—Provide for proper 134 requisitioning, distribution, accounting, storage, care, and use 135 of all instructional materials and furnish such other 136 instructional materials as may be needed. Instructional 137 materials used must be consistent with the district goals and 138 objectives and the course descriptions established in rule of 139 the State Board of Education,as well aswith the applicable 140 Next Generation Sunshine State Standards provided for in s. 141 1003.41. 142 (c) Other instructional materials.—Provide such other 143 teaching accessories and aids as are needed for the school 144 district’s educational program. 145 (d) School library media services; establishment and 146 maintenance.—Establish and maintain a program of school library 147 media services for all public schools in the district, including 148 school library media centers, or school library media centers 149 open to the public, and, in addition such traveling or 150 circulating libraries as may be needed for the proper operation 151 of the district school system. Within 30 days after receiving a 152 written request, a school district shall provide access to any 153 instructional material or book specified in the request which is 154 maintained in a district school system library and is available 155 for review. 156 (3)(2)DISTRICT SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT.— 157 (a) The district school superintendent has the duty to 158 recommend such plans for improving, providing, distributing, 159 accounting for, and caring for instructional materials and other 160 instructional aids as will result in general improvement of the 161 district school system, as prescribed in this part, in 162 accordance with adopted district school board rules prescribing 163 the duties and responsibilities of the district school 164 superintendent regarding the requisition, purchase, receipt, 165 storage, distribution, use, conservation, records, and reports 166 of, and management practices and property accountability 167 concerning, instructional materials, and providing for an 168 evaluation of any instructional materials to be requisitioned 169 that have not been used previously in the district’s schools. 170 The district school superintendent shallmustkeep adequate 171 records and accounts for all financial transactions for funds 172 collected pursuant to subsection (4)(3). 173 Section 2. Subsections (1), (2), and (4) of section 174 1006.283, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 175 1006.283 District school board instructional materials 176 review process.— 177 (1) A district school board or consortium of school 178 districts may implement an instructional materials program that 179 includes the review, recommendation, adoption, and purchase of 180 instructional materials pursuant to the requirements of this 181 section. The district school superintendent shall certify to the 182 department by March 31 of each year that all instructional 183 materials for core courses used by the district are aligned with 184 applicable state standards. A list of the core instructional 185 materials that will be used or purchased for use by the school 186 district shall be included in the certification. 187 (2)(a) If a district school board chooses to implement its 188 own instructional materials program, the school board shall 189 adopt rules implementing the district’s instructional materials 190 program which must include its processes, criteria, and 191 requirements for the following: 192 1. Selection of reviewers, at least one-thirdone or more193 of whom must be parents with children in public schools who are 194 not and have not been employees of the district. 195 2. Review of instructional materials. 196 3. Selection of instructional materials, including a 197 thorough review of curriculum content. 198 4. Reviewer recommendations. 199 5. District school board adoption. 200 6. Purchase of instructional materials. 201 7. Use of an instructional materials review committee that 202 is subject to s. 286.011 and that is selected by and reports 203 directly to the district school board. 204 (b) District school board rules shallmustalso: 205 1. Identify, by subject area, a review cycle for 206 instructional materials. 207 2. Specify the qualifications for an instructional 208 materials reviewer and the process for selecting reviewers; list 209 a reviewer’s duties and responsibilities, including compliance 210 with the requirements of s. 1006.31; and provide that all 211 instructional materials recommended by a reviewer be accompanied 212 by the reviewer’s statement that the materials align with the 213 state standards pursuant to s. 1003.41and the requirements of214s. 1006.31. 215 3. State the requirements for an affidavit to be made by 216 each district instructional materials reviewer which 217 substantially meet the requirements of s. 1006.30. 218 4. Comply with s. 1006.32, relating to prohibited acts. 219 5. Establish a process that certifies the accuracy of 220 instructional materials. 221 6. Incorporate applicable requirements of s. 1006.31, which 222 relates to the duties of instructional materials reviewers. 223 7. Incorporate applicable requirements of s. 1006.38, 224 relating to the duties, responsibilities, and requirements of 225 publishers of instructional materials. 226 8. Establish the process by which instructional materials 227 are adopted by the district school board, which must include: 228 a. A process to allow student editions of recommended 229 instructional materials to be accessed and viewed online by the 230 public at least 20 calendar days before the school board hearing 231 and public meeting as specified in this subparagraph. This 232 process must include reasonable safeguards against the 233 unauthorized use, reproduction, and distribution of 234 instructional materials considered for adoption. 235 b. An open, noticed school board hearing to receive public 236 comment on the recommended instructional materials. 237 c. An open, noticed public meeting to approve an annual 238 instructional materials plan to identify any instructional 239 materials that will be purchased through the district school 240 board instructional materials review process pursuant to this 241 section. The district school board shall hold this public 242 meetingmust be heldon a different date than the school board 243 hearing. 244 d. Notice requirements for the school board hearing and the 245 public meeting that must specifically state which instructional 246 materials are being reviewed and the manner in which the 247 instructional materials can be accessed for public review. 248 9. Establish the process by which the district school board 249 shall receive public comment on, and review, the recommended 250 instructional materials. 251 10. Establish the process by which instructional materials 252 arewill bepurchased, including advertising, bidding, and 253 purchasing requirements. 254 11. Establish the process by which the school district 255 notifieswill notifyparents and residents of the county of 256 their ability to accesstheir children’sinstructional materials 257 through the district’s local instructional improvement system 258 and by which the school district will encourage parents and 259 residents of the county to access the system. This notification 260 must be displayed prominently on the school district’s website 261 and provided annually in written format to all parents of 262 enrolled students. 263 (4) Instructional materials that have been reviewed by the 264 district instructional materials reviewers and approved shall be 265must have beendetermined to align with all applicable state 266 standards pursuant to s. 1003.41and the requirements in s.2671006.31. The district school superintendent shall annually 268 certify to the department that all instructional materials for 269 core courses used by the district are aligned with all 270 applicable state standards and have been reviewed, selected, and 271 adopted by the district school board in accordance withthe272school board hearing and public meeting requirements ofthis 273 section. 274 Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 1006.31, Florida 275 Statutes, is amended to read: 276 1006.31 Duties of the Department of Education and school 277 district instructional materials reviewer.—The duties of the 278 instructional materials reviewer are: 279 (2) EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.—To use the 280 selection criteria listed in s. 1006.34(2)(b) for instructional 281 materials reviewers under a state approval process or for 282 instructional materials reviewers under a district approval 283 process under s. 1006.283 and recommend for adoption only those 284 instructional materials that are aligned with the Next 285 Generation Sunshine State Standards provided for in s. 1003.41. 286 Instructional materials recommended by each reviewer shall be, 287 to the satisfaction of each reviewer, accurate, objective, 288 balanced, noninflammatory,current,and suited to student needs 289 and their ability to comprehend the material presented. 290 Reviewers shall consider for recommendation materials developed 291 for academically talented students, such as students enrolled in 292 advanced placement courses. When recommending instructional 293 materials, each reviewer shall: 294 (a) Include only instructional materials that accurately 295 portray the ethnic, socioeconomic, cultural, religious, 296 physical, and racial diversity of our society, including men and 297 women in professional, career, and executive roles, and the role 298 and contributions of the entrepreneur and labor in the total 299 development of this state and the United States. 300 (b) Include only materials that accurately portray, 301 whenever appropriate, humankind’s place in ecological systems, 302 including the necessity for the protection of our environment 303 and conservation of our natural resources and the effects on the 304 human system of the use of tobacco, alcohol, controlled 305 substances, and other dangerous substances. 306 (c) Include materials that encourage thrift, fire 307 prevention, and humane treatment of people and animals. 308 (d) Require, when appropriate to the comprehension of 309 students, that materials for social science, history, or civics 310 classes contain the Declaration of Independence and the 311 Constitution of the United States. A reviewer may not recommend 312 any instructional materials that contain any matter reflecting 313 unfairly upon persons because of their race, color, creed, 314 national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, disability, 315 socioeconomic status, or occupation. 316 Section 4. Subsections (3), (5), and (8) of section 317 1006.40, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 318 1006.40 Use of instructional materials allocation; 319 instructional materials, library books, and reference books; 320 repair of books.— 321 (3)(a) Except for a school district or a consortium of 322 school districts that implements an instructional materials 323 program pursuant to s. 1006.283Beginning with the 2015-2016324fiscal year, each district school board shall use at least 50 325 percent of the annual allocation for the purchase ofdigital or326electronicinstructional materials that align with state 327 standards and that are included on the state-adopted list, 328 except as otherwise authorized in paragraphs (b) and (c). 329 (b) Up to 50 percent of the annual allocation may be used 330 for: 331 1. The purchase ofinstructional materials, including332 library and reference books and nonprint materials;, not333included on the state-adopted list and for the repair and334renovation of textbooks and library books.335 2. The purchase of materials that are not provided under 336 subparagraph 1. and that have intellectual content that assist 337 in the instruction of a subject or course. These materials may 338 be available in bound, unbound, kit, or package form and may 339 consist of hardbacked or softbacked textbooks, novels, 340 electronic content, consumables, learning laboratories, 341 manipulatives, electronic media, computer courseware or 342 software, and other commonly accepted instructional tools as 343 prescribed by district school board rule; and 344 3. The repair and renovation of textbooks and library books 345 and replacements for items that were part of previously 346 purchased instructional materials. 347 (c) District school boards may use 100 percent of that 348 portion of the annual allocation designated for the purchase of 349 instructional materials for kindergarten, and 75 percent of that 350 portion of the annual allocation designated for the purchase of 351 instructional materials for first grade, to purchase materials 352 not on the state-adopted list. 353 (5) Each district school board is responsible for the 354 content of all instructional materials used in a classroom, 355 whether purchased from the state-adopted instructional materials 356 list or through a district instructional materials program under 357 s. 1006.283an adoption process or otherwise purchased or made358available in the classroom. Each district school board shall 359 adopt rules, and each district school superintendent shall 360 implement procedures, whichthat: 361 (a) Maximize student use of the district-approved 362 instructional materials, whether purchased from the state 363 adopted instructional materials list or purchased through a 364 district instructional materials program under s. 1006.283. 365 (b) If the instructional materials are purchased from the 366 state-adopted instructional materials list, provide a process 367 for public review of, public comment on, and the adoption of 368 instructional materials whichthatsatisfies the requirements of 369 s. 1006.283(2)(b)8., 9., and 11.; or, if purchased through a 370 district instructional materials program, implement a program 371 that fully complies with s. 1006.283. 372 (8) Subsections(3),(4),and (6) do not apply to a 373 district school board or a consortium of school districts which 374thatimplements an instructional materials program pursuant to 375 s. 1006.283 except that, by the 2015-2016 fiscal year,each 376 district school board shall use at least 50 percent of the 377 annual instructional materials allocation for the purchase of 378digital or electronicinstructional materials that are aligned 379alignwith state standards adopted by the State Board of 380 Education pursuant to s. 1003.41. 381 Section 5. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (19) of 382 section 1002.20, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 383 1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public 384 school students must receive accurate and timely information 385 regarding their child’s academic progress and must be informed 386 of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12 387 students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory 388 rights including, but not limited to, the following: 389 (19) INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.— 390 (b) Curricular objectives.—The parent of each public school 391 student has the right to receive effective communication from 392 the school principal as to the manner in which instructional 393 materials are used to implement the school’s curricular 394 objectives, in accordance with s. 1006.28(4)(a)the provisions395of s. 1006.28(3)(a). 396 (c) Sale of instructional materials.—Upon request of the 397 parent of a public school student, the school principal shall 398mustsell to the parent any instructional materials used in the 399 school, in accordance with s. 1006.28(4)(c)the provisions of s.4001006.28(3)(c). 401 Section 6. Section 1006.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to 402 read: 403 1006.42 Responsibility of students and parents for 404 instructional materials.—All instructional materials purchased 405 underthe provisions ofthis part are the property of the 406 district school board. When distributed to the students, these 407 instructional materials are on loan to the students while they 408 are pursuing their courses of study and are to be returned at 409 the direction of the school principal or the teacher in charge. 410 Each parent of a student to whom or for whom instructional 411 materials have been issued, is liable for any loss or 412 destruction of, or unnecessary damage to, the instructional 413 materials or for failure of the student to return the 414 instructional materials when directed by the school principal or 415 the teacher in charge, and shall pay for such loss, destruction, 416 or unnecessary damage as provided under s. 1006.28(4)s.4171006.28(3). 418 Section 7. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.