Florida Senate - 2019 SB 1374
By Senator Rouson
19-01009A-19 20191374__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to victims of reform school abuse;
3 providing a short title; defining the term “victim of
4 Florida reform school abuse”; requiring a person
5 seeking certification under this act to apply to the
6 Department of State by a certain date; prohibiting the
7 estate of a decedent or the personal representative of
8 a decedent from submitting an application on behalf of
9 the decedent; requiring that the application include
10 certain information and documents; requiring the
11 department to examine the application, notify the
12 applicant of any errors or omissions, and request any
13 additional information within a certain timeframe;
14 providing that the applicant has 15 days after
15 notification to complete the application; requiring
16 the department to review and process a completed
17 application within a certain timeframe; prohibiting
18 the department from denying an application for
19 specified reasons and under certain circumstances;
20 requiring the department to notify the applicant of
21 its determination within a certain timeframe;
22 requiring the department to certify an applicant as a
23 victim of Florida reform school abuse if the
24 department determines his application meets the
25 requirements of this act; requiring the department to
26 submit a list of all certified victims to the
27 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House
28 of Representatives by a certain date; providing an
29 effective date.
30
31 WHEREAS, the Florida State Reform School, also known as the
32 “Florida Industrial School for Boys,” the “Florida School for
33 Boys,” the “Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys,” and the “Dozier
34 School,” was opened by the state in 1900 in Marianna to house
35 children who had committed minor criminal offenses, such as
36 incorrigibility, truancy, and smoking, as well as more serious
37 offenses, such as theft and murder, and
38 WHEREAS, throughout the Dozier School’s history, reports of
39 abuse, suspicious deaths, and threats of closure plagued the
40 school, and
41 WHEREAS, many former students of the Dozier School have
42 sworn under oath that they were beaten at a facility located on
43 the school grounds known as the “White House,” and
44 WHEREAS, a psychologist employed at the Dozier School
45 testified under oath at a 1958 United States Senate Judiciary
46 Committee hearing that boys at the school were beaten by an
47 administrator, that the blows were severe and dealt with great
48 force with a full arm swing over the head and down, that a
49 leather strap approximately 10 inches long was used, and that
50 the beatings were “brutality,” and
51 WHEREAS, a former Dozier School employee stated in
52 interviews with law enforcement that, in 1962, several employees
53 of the school were removed from the facility based upon
54 allegations that they made sexual advances toward boys at the
55 facility, and
56 WHEREAS, a forensic investigation funded by the Legislature
57 and conducted from 2013 to 2016 by the University of South
58 Florida found incomplete records regarding deaths and 45 burials
59 that occurred at the Dozier School between 1900 and 1960 and
60 found that families were often notified of the death after the
61 child was buried or were denied access to their child’s remains
62 at the time of burial, and
63 WHEREAS, the excavations conducted as part of the forensic
64 investigation revealed more burials than reported in official
65 records, and
66 WHEREAS, in 1955, the state opened a new reform school in
67 Okeechobee called the Florida School for Boys at Okeechobee,
68 referred to in this act as “the Okeechobee School,” to address
69 overcrowding at the Dozier School, and staff members of the
70 Dozier School were transferred to the Okeechobee School, where
71 similar disciplinary practices were implemented, and
72 WHEREAS, many former students of the Okeechobee School have
73 sworn under oath that they were beaten at a facility on school
74 grounds known as the “Adjustment Unit,” and
75 WHEREAS, more than 500 former students of the Dozier School
76 and the Okeechobee School have come forward with reports of
77 physical, mental, and sexual abuse by school staff during the
78 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s and the resulting trauma that has
79 endured throughout their lives, and
80 WHEREAS, during the 2017 legislative session, the
81 Legislature unanimously issued a formal apology to the victims
82 of abuse with the passage of CS/SR 1440 and CS/HR 1335,
83 expressing regret for the treatment of boys who were sent to the
84 Dozier School and the Okeechobee School; acknowledging that the
85 treatment was cruel, unjust, and a violation of human decency;
86 and expressing its commitment to ensure that children who have
87 been placed in the state’s care will be protected from abuse and
88 violations of human decency, and
89 WHEREAS, this is a unique and shameful chapter in the
90 history of the State of Florida during which children placed in
91 the custody of state employees were subjected to physical,
92 mental, and sexual abuse by state employees rather than the
93 guidance and compassion that children in state custody should
94 receive, NOW, THEREFORE,
95
96 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
97
98 Section 1. (1) This act may be known and cited as the
99 “Arthur G. Dozier School and Okeechobee School Abuse Victim
100 Certification Act.”
101 (2) As used in this act, the term “victim of Florida reform
102 school abuse” means a living person who was confined at the
103 Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys or the Okeechobee School at any
104 time between 1940 and 1975 and who was subjected to physical or
105 sexual abuse perpetrated by personnel of the school during the
106 period of confinement.
107 (3)(a) A person seeking to be certified as a victim of
108 Florida reform school abuse must submit an application to the
109 Department of State no later than September 1, 2019. The estate
110 of a decedent or the personal representative for a decedent may
111 not submit an application on behalf of the decedent.
112 (b) The application must include:
113 1. An affidavit stating that the applicant was confined at
114 the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys or the Okeechobee School,
115 the beginning and ending dates of the confinement, and that the
116 applicant was subjected to physical or sexual abuse perpetrated
117 by school personnel during the confinement;
118 2. Documentation from the State Archives of Florida, the
119 Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, or the Okeechobee School which
120 shows that the applicant was confined at one or both of the
121 schools for any length of time between 1940 and 1975; and
122 3. Positive proof of identification, including a current
123 form of photo identification.
124 (c) Within 30 calendar days after receipt of an
125 application, the Department of State shall examine the
126 application and notify the applicant of any errors or omissions
127 or request any additional information relevant to the review of
128 the application. The applicant has 15 calendar days after
129 receiving such notification to complete the application by
130 correcting any errors or omissions or by submitting any
131 additional information requested by the department. The
132 department shall review and process each completed application
133 within 60 calendar days after receipt of the application.
134 (d) The Department of State may not deny an application due
135 to the applicant failing to correct an error or omission or
136 failing to submit additional information the department
137 requested unless the department timely notified the applicant of
138 such error or omission or timely requested additional
139 information as provided in paragraph (c).
140 (e) The Department of State shall notify the applicant of
141 its determination within 5 business days after processing and
142 reviewing the application. If the department determines that an
143 application meets the requirements of this act, the department
144 must certify the applicant as a victim of Florida reform school
145 abuse.
146 (f) No later than December 31, 2019, the Department of
147 State must process and review all applications that were
148 submitted by September 1, 2019, and must submit a list of all
149 certified victims to the President of the Senate and the Speaker
150 of the House of Representatives.
151 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.