Florida Senate - 2017                                     SB 436
       
       
        
       By Senator Baxley
       
       12-00655-17                                            2017436__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to religious expression in public
    3         schools; providing a short title; prohibiting a school
    4         district from discriminating against students,
    5         parents, or school personnel on the basis of religious
    6         viewpoints or expression; prohibiting penalty or
    7         reward for a student’s religious expression in
    8         coursework, artwork, or other specified assignments;
    9         authorizing a student to wear clothing, accessories,
   10         and jewelry displaying religious messages or symbols;
   11         authorizing a student to pray or engage in religious
   12         activities or expression; authorizing a student to
   13         organize prayer groups, religious clubs, and other
   14         religious gatherings; prohibiting a school district
   15         from preventing school personnel from participating in
   16         voluntary, student-initiated religious activities on
   17         school grounds under specified circumstances;
   18         requiring a school district to comply with the federal
   19         requirements in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
   20         1964; requiring that a school district provide
   21         religious groups with equal access to school
   22         facilities; authorizing religious groups to advertise
   23         or announce meetings in the same manner and to the
   24         same extent as secular groups; requiring that a school
   25         district adopt a limited public forum policy and
   26         deliver a disclaimer at school events; requiring that
   27         the Department of Education develop and publish a
   28         model policy regarding a limited public forum and
   29         religious expression; requiring that each district
   30         school board adopt and implement such model policy;
   31         providing an effective date.
   32          
   33  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   34  
   35         Section 1. Religious expression in public schools.—
   36         (1)This section may be cited as the “Florida Student and
   37  School Personnel Religious Liberties Act.”
   38         (2)A school district may not discriminate against a
   39  student, parent, or school personnel on the basis of a religious
   40  viewpoint or religious expression. A school district shall treat
   41  a student’s voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint on an
   42  otherwise permissible subject in the same manner that the school
   43  district treats a student’s voluntary expression of a secular
   44  viewpoint.
   45         (3)(a)A student may express his or her religious beliefs
   46  in coursework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments
   47  free from discrimination. A student’s homework and classroom
   48  assignments shall be evaluated, regardless of their religious
   49  content, based on expected academic standards relating to the
   50  course curriculum and requirements. A student may not be
   51  penalized or rewarded based on the religious content of his or
   52  her work if the coursework, artwork, or other written or oral
   53  assignments require a student’s viewpoint to be expressed.
   54         (b)A student may wear clothing, accessories, and jewelry
   55  that display a religious message or symbol in the same manner
   56  and to the same extent that secular types of clothing,
   57  accessories, and jewelry that display messages or symbols are
   58  permitted to be worn.
   59         (4)(a)A student may pray or engage in religious activities
   60  or religious expression before, during, and after the school day
   61  in the same manner and to the same extent that a student may
   62  engage in secular activities or expression. A student may
   63  organize prayer groups, religious clubs, and other religious
   64  gatherings before, during, and after the school day in the same
   65  manner and to the same extent that a student is permitted to
   66  organize secular activities and groups.
   67         (b)1.A school district may not prevent school personnel
   68  from participating in religious activities on school grounds
   69  that are initiated by students at reasonable times before or
   70  after the school day if such activities are voluntary and do not
   71  conflict with the responsibilities or assignments of such
   72  personnel.
   73         2.A school district shall comply with the federal
   74  requirements in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which
   75  prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee on
   76  the basis of religion.
   77         (c)A school district shall give a religious group access
   78  to the same school facilities for assembling as given to secular
   79  groups without discrimination based on the religious content of
   80  the group’s expression. A group that meets for prayer or other
   81  religious speech may advertise or announce its meetings in the
   82  same manner and to the same extent that a secular group may
   83  advertise or announce its meetings.
   84         (5)(a)A school district shall adopt a policy that
   85  establishes a limited public forum for student speakers at any
   86  school event at which a student is to speak publicly. The
   87  limited public forum policy shall require the school district
   88  to:
   89         1.Provide the forum in a manner that does not discriminate
   90  against a student’s voluntary expression of a religious
   91  viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject;
   92         2.Provide a method based on neutral criteria for the
   93  selection of student speakers at school events, activities, and
   94  graduation ceremonies;
   95         3.Ensure that a student speaker does not engage in
   96  obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent speech; and
   97         4.State in written or oral form that the student’s speech
   98  does not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position, or
   99  expression of the school district.
  100         (b)The school district shall deliver the disclaimer
  101  required in subparagraph (a)4. at all graduation events and any
  102  other event at which a student speaks publicly.
  103         (c)Student expression of a religious viewpoint on an
  104  otherwise permissible subject may not be excluded from the
  105  limited public forum.
  106         (6)The Department of Education shall develop a model
  107  policy regarding a limited public forum and voluntary expression
  108  of religious viewpoints by students and school personnel in
  109  public schools pursuant to this section. The department shall
  110  publish the model policy on its website. Each district school
  111  board shall adopt and implement the department’s model policy.
  112         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.