Florida Senate - 2021                       CS for CS for SB 938
       
       
        
       By the Committees on Appropriations; and Education; and Senator
       Wright
       
       
       
       
       576-04660-21                                           2021938c2
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to Purple Star Campuses; creating s.
    3         1003.051, F.S.; defining the term “military student”;
    4         requiring the Department of Education to establish the
    5         Purple Star Campus program; specifying program
    6         criteria for participating schools; authorizing
    7         schools to partner with school districts to meet such
    8         criteria; requiring the State Board of Education to
    9         adopt rules; providing an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Section 1003.051, Florida Statutes, is created
   14  to read:
   15         1003.051 Purple Star Campuses.—
   16         (1) As used in this section, the term “military student”
   17  means a student who is:
   18         (a) Enrolled in a school district, a charter school, or any
   19  school or educational institution participating in an
   20  educational choice scholarship program established pursuant to
   21  chapter 1002; and
   22         (b) A dependent of a current member of the United States
   23  military serving on active duty in, or a former member of, the
   24  Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, a reserve
   25  component of any branch of the United States military, or the
   26  Florida National Guard.
   27         (2)(a) The Department of Education shall establish the
   28  Purple Star Campus program. At a minimum, the program must
   29  require a participating school to:
   30         1. Designate a staff member as a military liaison.
   31         2. Maintain a web page on the school’s website which
   32  includes resources for military students and their families.
   33         3. Maintain a student-led transition program that assists
   34  military students in transitioning into the school.
   35         4. Offer professional development training opportunities
   36  for staff members on issues relating to military students.
   37         5. Reserve at least 5 percent of controlled open enrollment
   38  seats for military students.
   39         (b) The department may establish additional criteria to
   40  identify schools that demonstrate a commitment to or provide
   41  critical transition supports for military-connected families,
   42  such as hosting an annual military recognition event, partnering
   43  with a school liaison officer from a military installation,
   44  supporting projects that connect the school with the military
   45  community, and providing outreach for military parents and their
   46  children.
   47         (3) A school may partner with a school district to procure
   48  digital, professional development, or other assistance necessary
   49  for the school to meet the criteria specified in subsection (2).
   50         (4) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to
   51  implement this section.
   52         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.