Florida Senate - 2021                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 264
       
       
       
       
       
       
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                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
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       The Committee on Education (Thurston) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (793606) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Delete lines 10 - 84
    5  and insert:
    6         (a) For the purposes of this subsection, the term
    7  “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” means the
    8  exposure of students to, and the encouragement of students’
    9  exploration of, a variety of ideological and political
   10  perspectives.
   11         (b) The State Board of Education may require each Florida
   12  College System institution to conduct an annual assessment of
   13  the intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity at that
   14  institution. If the state board elects to do so, the state board
   15  must select or create an objective, nonpartisan, and
   16  statistically valid survey to be used by each institution which
   17  considers the extent to which competing ideas and perspectives
   18  are presented and members of the college community feel free to
   19  express their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the
   20  classroom. The state board shall compile and publish any such
   21  assessments by September 1 of each year in which the state board
   22  requires institutions to conduct the assessment.
   23         Section 2. Subsection (13) is added to section 1001.706,
   24  Florida Statutes, to read:
   25         1001.706 Powers and duties of the Board of Governors.—
   26         (13) INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND VIEWPOINT DIVERSITY
   27  ASSESSMENT.—
   28         (a) For the purposes of this subsection, the term
   29  “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” means the
   30  exposure of students to, and the encouragement of students’
   31  exploration of, a variety of ideological and political
   32  perspectives.
   33         (b) The Board of Governors may require each state
   34  university to conduct an annual assessment of the intellectual
   35  freedom and viewpoint diversity at that institution. If the
   36  Board of Governors elects to do so, the Board of Governors must
   37  select or create an objective, nonpartisan, and statistically
   38  valid survey to be used by each state university which considers
   39  the extent to which competing ideas and perspectives are
   40  presented and members of the university community feel free to
   41  express their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the
   42  classroom. The Board of Governors shall compile and publish any
   43  such assessments by September 1 of each year in which the Board
   44  of Governors requires state universities to conduct the
   45  assessment.
   46         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.
   47  
   48  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   49  And the title is amended as follows:
   50         Delete lines 92 - 116
   51  and insert:
   52         1001.03, F.S.; defining the term “intellectual freedom
   53         and viewpoint diversity”; authorizing the State Board
   54         of Education to require each Florida College System
   55         institution to conduct an annual assessment related to
   56         intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity;
   57         providing criteria relating to such assessment;
   58         requiring the State Board of Education to publish any
   59         such assessment by a specified date; amending s.
   60         1001.706, F.S.; defining the term “intellectual
   61         freedom and viewpoint diversity”; authorizing the
   62         Board of Governors to require each state university to
   63         conduct an annual assessment related to intellectual
   64         freedom and viewpoint diversity; providing criteria
   65         relating to such assessment; requiring the Board of
   66         Governors to publish any such assessment by a
   67         specified date; providing an effective date.