| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the supervision of public school |
| 3 | students; amending s. 1003.31, F.S.; revising provisions |
| 4 | relating to the supervision of students who are en route |
| 5 | to or from school; requiring a district school board |
| 6 | policy for the protection of certain students; providing |
| 7 | penalties for student violation of the policy; providing |
| 8 | that certain actions do not constitute the assumption of |
| 9 | a legal duty; providing an effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 1003.31, |
| 14 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 15 | 1003.31 Students subject to control of school.-- |
| 16 | (1) Subject to law and rules of the State Board of |
| 17 | Education and of the district school board, each student |
| 18 | enrolled in a school shall: |
| 19 | (a) During the time she or he is being transported to or |
| 20 | from school at public expense; |
| 21 | (b) During the time she or he is attending school; |
| 22 | (c) During the time she or he is on the school premises |
| 23 | participating with authorization in a school-sponsored activity; |
| 24 | and |
| 25 | (d) During a reasonable time before and after the student |
| 26 | is on the premises for attendance at school or for authorized |
| 27 | participation in a school-sponsored activity, and only when on |
| 28 | the premises, |
| 29 |
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| 30 | be under the control and direction of the principal or teacher |
| 31 | in charge of the school, and under the immediate control and |
| 32 | direction of the teacher or other member of the instructional |
| 33 | staff or of the bus driver to whom such responsibility may be |
| 34 | assigned by the principal. However, The State Board of Education |
| 35 | or the district school board may, by rules, subject each student |
| 36 | to the control and direction of the principal or teacher in |
| 37 | charge of the school during the time the student she or he is |
| 38 | otherwise en route to or from school or is presumed by law to be |
| 39 | attending school. However, each district school board shall |
| 40 | establish, by rule, a policy for the protection of students |
| 41 | traveling on foot or by a nonmotorized vehicle, such as a |
| 42 | bicycle or scooter, to or from school or to a school bus stop. A |
| 43 | student who violates the policy shall be subject to disciplinary |
| 44 | action and may be subject to criminal penalties if the actions |
| 45 | associated with the violation constitute a crime. This |
| 46 | requirement does not constitute the assumption of a legal duty |
| 47 | on the part of the district school board, school officials, or |
| 48 | school personnel to supervise students outside the times set |
| 49 | forth in paragraphs (a)-(d). Each district school board, each |
| 50 | district school superintendent, and each school principal shall |
| 51 | fully support the authority of teachers, according to s. |
| 52 | 1003.32, and school bus drivers to remove disobedient, |
| 53 | disrespectful, violent, abusive, uncontrollable, or disruptive |
| 54 | students from the classroom and the school bus and, when |
| 55 | appropriate and available, place such students in an alternative |
| 56 | educational setting. |
| 57 | (2) There is a rebuttable presumption that, as used in |
| 58 | subsection (1), the term "reasonable time" means 30 minutes |
| 59 | before or after the activity is scheduled or actually begins or |
| 60 | ends, whichever period is longer. A school or district school |
| 61 | board may, by policy or other formal action, assume a longer |
| 62 | period of supervision. Casual or incidental contact between |
| 63 | school district personnel and students on school property does |
| 64 | shall not create result in a legal duty to supervise outside of |
| 65 | the reasonable times set forth in subsection (1) if this |
| 66 | section, provided that parents are shall be advised in writing |
| 67 | twice per year or by posted signs of the school's formal |
| 68 | supervisory responsibility and that parents should not rely on |
| 69 | additional supervision. The duty of supervision does shall not |
| 70 | extend to anyone other than students attending school and |
| 71 | students authorized to participate in school-sponsored |
| 72 | activities. |
| 73 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |