Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1318
By Senator Thompson
15-00430A-24 20241318__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to corporal punishment; amending s.
3 1002.20, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made
4 by the act; amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; requiring
5 charter schools to comply with general law relating to
6 corporal punishment; amending s. 1003.01, F.S.;
7 conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
8 amending s. 1003.32, F.S.; deleting provisions
9 authorizing teachers to administer corporal
10 punishment; providing duties of and responsibilities
11 for principals relating to corporal punishment;
12 requiring a specified notification be provided to
13 parents relating to corporal punishment; providing
14 requirements for a student to be disciplined using
15 corporal punishment; prohibiting the use of corporal
16 punishment on specified students; providing reporting
17 requirements relating to corporal punishment;
18 providing an effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section
23 1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
24 1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public
25 school students must receive accurate and timely information
26 regarding their child’s academic progress and must be informed
27 of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12
28 students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory
29 rights including, but not limited to, the following:
30 (4) DISCIPLINE.—
31 (c) Corporal punishment.—
32 1. In accordance with the provisions of s. 1003.32,
33 Corporal punishment of a public school student may only be
34 administered in accordance with s. 1003.32(1)(k) by a teacher or
35 school principal within guidelines of the school principal and
36 according to district school board policy. Another adult must be
37 present and must be informed in the student’s presence of the
38 reason for the punishment. Upon request, the teacher or school
39 principal must provide the parent with a written explanation of
40 the reason for the punishment and the name of the other adult
41 who was present.
42 2. A district school board having a policy authorizing the
43 use of corporal punishment as a form of discipline shall review
44 its policy on corporal punishment once every 3 years during a
45 district school board meeting held pursuant to s. 1001.372. The
46 district school board shall take public testimony at the board
47 meeting. If such board meeting is not held in accordance with
48 this subparagraph, the portion of the district school board’s
49 policy authorizing corporal punishment expires.
50 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (16) of section
51 1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
52 1002.33 Charter schools.—
53 (16) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES.—
54 (b) Additionally, a charter school shall be in compliance
55 with the following statutes:
56 1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and
57 records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties.
58 2. Chapter 119, relating to public records.
59 3. Section 1003.03, relating to the maximum class size,
60 except that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s.
61 1003.03 shall be the average at the school level.
62 4. Section 1012.22(1)(c), relating to compensation and
63 salary schedules.
64 5. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions.
65 6. Section 1012.335, relating to contracts with
66 instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011.
67 7. Section 1012.34, relating to the substantive
68 requirements for performance evaluations for instructional
69 personnel and school administrators.
70 8. Section 1006.12, relating to safe-school officers.
71 9. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat management teams.
72 10. Section 1006.07(9), relating to School Environmental
73 Safety Incident Reporting.
74 11. Section 1006.07(10), relating to reporting of
75 involuntary examinations.
76 12. Section 1006.1493, relating to the Florida Safe Schools
77 Assessment Tool.
78 13. Section 1006.07(6)(d), relating to adopting an active
79 assailant response plan.
80 14. Section 943.082(4)(b), relating to the mobile
81 suspicious activity reporting tool.
82 15. Section 1012.584, relating to youth mental health
83 awareness and assistance training.
84 16. Section 1001.42(4)(f)2., relating to middle school and
85 high school start times. A charter school-in-the-workplace is
86 exempt from this requirement.
87 17. Section 1003.32(1)(k), relating to corporal punishment.
88 Section 3. Subsection (6) of section 1003.01, Florida
89 Statutes, is amended to read:
90 1003.01 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
91 (6) “Corporal punishment” means the moderate use of
92 physical force or physical contact by a teacher or principal as
93 may be necessary to maintain discipline or to enforce school
94 rule. However, the term “corporal punishment” does not include
95 the use of such reasonable force by a teacher or principal as
96 may be necessary for self-protection or to protect other
97 students from disruptive students.
98 Section 4. Paragraph (k) of subsection (1) of section
99 1003.32, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
100 1003.32 Authority of teacher; responsibility for control of
101 students; district school board and principal duties.—Subject to
102 law and to the rules of the district school board, each teacher
103 or other member of the staff of any school shall have such
104 authority for the control and discipline of students as may be
105 assigned to him or her by the principal or the principal’s
106 designated representative and shall keep good order in the
107 classroom and in other places in which he or she is assigned to
108 be in charge of students.
109 (1) In accordance with this section and within the
110 framework of the district school board’s code of student
111 conduct, teachers and other instructional personnel shall have
112 the authority to undertake any of the following actions in
113 managing student behavior and ensuring the safety of all
114 students in their classes and school and their opportunity to
115 learn in an orderly and disciplined classroom:
116 (k) Use corporal punishment according to school board
117 policy and at least the following procedures, if a principal
118 teacher feels that corporal punishment is necessary:
119 1. The use of corporal punishment shall be approved in
120 principle by the principal before it is used and may only be
121 administered by the principal, but approval is not necessary for
122 each specific instance in which it is used. The principal shall
123 prepare guidelines for administering such punishment which
124 identify the types of punishable offenses and, the conditions
125 under which the punishment shall be administered, and the
126 specific personnel on the school staff authorized to administer
127 the punishment.
128 2. A teacher or principal may administer corporal
129 punishment only in the presence of another adult who is informed
130 beforehand, and in the student’s presence, of the reason for the
131 punishment. Before a principal may administer corporal
132 punishment, he or she must, in the presence of another adult,
133 verify that the parent of such student has completed the form
134 required under subparagraph 3. and consented to allow the
135 administration of corporal punishment on his or her student.
136 3.a. A teacher or principal who elects to use corporal
137 punishment must at the beginning of the school year provide each
138 parent of a student enrolled at his or her school a written form
139 that allows the parent to authorize the use of corporal
140 punishment when disciplining his or her student. The form must
141 read: “Do you authorize the use of corporal punishment on your
142 child? Florida Statutes defines the term ‘corporal punishment’
143 as ‘the moderate use of physical force or physical contact by a
144 principal as may be necessary to maintain school discipline or
145 to enforce school rule.’ Your school district’s code of student
146 conduct provides further information on how corporal punishment
147 may be administered at your student’s school. Please check YES
148 if you consent to the use of corporal punishment on your student
149 or check NO if you do not consent to the use of corporal
150 punishment on your student and provide your signature. You may
151 contact your student’s principal with any relevant questions
152 about the administration of corporal punishment.”
153 b. Each principal must collect and store the completed
154 forms.
155 c. If a student’s parent does not return a completed form
156 or returns a completed form and does not consent to the use of
157 corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure for his or her
158 student, a principal may not administer corporal punishment on
159 the student.
160 4. Once a principal has administered the corporal
161 punishment, he or she shall, upon request, provide the student’s
162 parent with a written explanation of the reason for the
163 punishment and the name of the other adult who was present and
164 the name of the other adult who witnessed the principal verify
165 the student’s parental consent form before the administration of
166 the corporal punishment.
167 5. Corporal punishment may not be used to discipline the
168 following students:
169 a. Exceptional students as defined in s. 1003.01(9).
170 b. Students with an individual education plan under s.
171 1003.5716.
172 c. Students who attend an alternative school as described
173 in s. 1008.341(2).
174 d. Children and youths who are experiencing homelessness as
175 defined in s. 1003.01.
176 e. Students covered under s. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
177 of 1973 and 29 U.S.C. s. 794.
178 6. Each principal must annually compile the following
179 information and submit such information to the Office of Safe
180 Schools and the school district:
181 a. The number of instances where corporal punishment was
182 used during the school year.
183 b. The number of students who were punished using corporal
184 punishment during the school year.
185 c. The number of students who were punished more than once
186 using corporal punishment during the school year.
187 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.