Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1006
By Senator Yarborough
4-01149B-26 20261006__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to freedom of speech and religious
3 expression in public schools; amending s. 1002.206,
4 F.S.; revising a short title; prohibiting a school
5 district from discriminating against students or
6 school personnel on the basis of political or
7 ideological viewpoints or expression; requiring a
8 school district to treat a student’s voluntary
9 expression of political or ideological viewpoints on
10 permissible subjects in the same manner as any other
11 viewpoint; authorizing students to express political
12 or ideological beliefs in coursework, artwork, and
13 other specified assignments; prohibiting penalty or
14 reward for such expression in coursework, artwork, or
15 other specified assignments; authorizing a student to
16 wear clothing, accessories, and jewelry displaying
17 political or ideological messages or symbols;
18 authorizing a student to engage in or organize
19 political or ideological activities or expression;
20 authorizing a student to organize political or
21 ideological groups, clubs, and other gatherings;
22 prohibiting a school district from discriminating
23 against a student club or group for specified reasons;
24 requiring that a school district provide political or
25 ideological groups with equal access to school
26 facilities; authorizing political or ideological
27 groups to advertise or announce meetings in the same
28 manner and to the same extent as other groups;
29 requiring that the Department of Education develop and
30 publish a model policy regarding a limited public
31 forum and political or ideological expression;
32 providing construction; creating a private cause of
33 action for persons and student clubs or groups harmed
34 by specified violations; providing for specified
35 awards to such persons and clubs or groups;
36 authorizing such persons and clubs or groups to use
37 specified violations as a defense or counterclaim
38 under certain circumstances; providing applicability;
39 requiring that such actions be brought within a
40 specified period of time; providing that the state
41 waives specified immunity; providing that school
42 district has liability under certain circumstances;
43 providing severability; providing an effective date.
44
45 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
46
47 Section 1. Section 1002.206, Florida Statutes, is amended
48 to read:
49 1002.206 Freedom of speech and religious expression in
50 public schools.—
51 (1) This section may be cited as the “Florida Student and
52 School Personnel First Amendment and Religious Liberties Act.”
53 (2) A school district may not discriminate against a
54 student, parent, or school personnel on the basis of a religious
55 viewpoint or religious expression. A school district may not
56 discriminate against or penalize a student on the basis of
57 expressing a religious, political, or ideological viewpoint or
58 for engaging in religious, political, or ideological expression
59 in the same time, place, and manner and to the same extent that
60 other similarly situated students may engage in speech or
61 express views at a public school. A school district shall treat
62 a student’s voluntary expression of a religious, political, or
63 ideological viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject in the
64 same manner that the school district treats a student’s
65 voluntary expression of any other a secular viewpoint.
66 (3)(a) A student may express his or her religious,
67 political, or ideological beliefs in coursework, artwork, and
68 other written and oral assignments free from discrimination or
69 academic penalty. A student’s homework and classroom assignments
70 must shall be evaluated, regardless of their religious,
71 political, or ideological content, based on expected academic
72 standards relating to the course curriculum and requirements. A
73 student may not be penalized or rewarded based on the religious,
74 political, or ideological content of his or her work if the
75 coursework, artwork, or other written or oral assignments
76 require a student’s viewpoint to be expressed.
77 (b) A student may wear clothing, accessories, and jewelry
78 that display a religious, political, or ideological message or
79 symbol in the same manner and to the same extent that other
80 secular types of clothing, accessories, and jewelry that display
81 messages or symbols are permitted to be worn.
82 (4)(a) A student may pray or engage in or organize
83 religious, political, or ideological activities or religious,
84 political, or ideological expression before, during, and after
85 the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that a
86 student may engage in other secular activities or expression. A
87 student may organize prayer groups or, religious, political, or
88 ideological clubs, and other religious, political, or
89 ideological gatherings before, during, and after the school day
90 in the same manner and to the same extent that a student is
91 permitted to organize other secular activities, clubs,
92 gatherings, and groups. A school district may not discriminate
93 against a student club or group based on:
94 1. The religious, political, or ideological viewpoints
95 expressed by the students or the club; or
96 2. Any requirement that the leaders or members of the club
97 affirm and adhere to the club’s sincerely held beliefs, comply
98 with the club’s standards of conduct, or further the club’s
99 mission or purpose, as defined by the student club.
100 (b)1. A school district may not prevent school personnel
101 from participating in religious activities on school grounds
102 that are initiated by students at reasonable times before or
103 after the school day if such activities are voluntary and do not
104 conflict with the responsibilities or assignments of such
105 personnel.
106 2. A school district shall comply with the federal
107 requirements in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which
108 prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee on
109 the basis of religion.
110 (c) A school district shall give a religious, political, or
111 ideological group access to the same school facilities for
112 assembling as given to other secular groups without
113 discrimination based on the religious, political, or ideological
114 content of the group’s expression. A group that meets for prayer
115 or other religious, political, or ideological speech may
116 advertise or announce its meetings in the same manner and to the
117 same extent that another a secular group may advertise or
118 announce its meetings.
119 (5)(a) A school district shall adopt a policy that
120 establishes a limited public forum for student speakers at any
121 school event at which a student is to speak publicly. The
122 limited public forum policy shall require the school district
123 to:
124 1. Provide the forum in a manner that does not discriminate
125 against a student’s voluntary expression of a religious,
126 political, or ideological viewpoint on an otherwise permissible
127 subject;
128 2. Provide a method based on neutral criteria for the
129 selection of student speakers at school events, activities, and
130 graduation ceremonies;
131 3. Ensure that a student speaker does not engage in
132 obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent speech; and
133 4. State in written or oral form that the student’s speech
134 does not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position, or
135 expression of the school district.
136 (b) The school district shall deliver the disclaimer
137 required in subparagraph (a)4. at all graduation events and any
138 other event at which a student speaks publicly.
139 (c) Student expression of a religious, political, or
140 ideological viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject may
141 not be excluded from the limited public forum.
142 (6) The Department of Education shall develop a model
143 policy regarding a limited public forum and voluntary expression
144 of religious, political, or ideological viewpoints by students
145 and school personnel in public schools pursuant to this section.
146 The department shall publish the model policy on its website.
147 Each district school board shall adopt and implement the
148 department’s model policy.
149 (7) This section does not prevent a school district from
150 prohibiting, limiting, or restricting:
151 (a) Expression that the First Amendment of the United
152 States Constitution does not protect.
153 (b) Expression that is unwelcome, and so severe, pervasive,
154 and subjectively and objectively offensive, that a student is
155 effectively denied equal access to educational opportunities or
156 benefits provided by the school.
157 (c) Conduct that intentionally, materially, and
158 substantially disrupts:
159 1. The operations of the school; or
160 2. The expressive activities of another person if that
161 activity is occurring on campus in a space reserved for that
162 activity under the exclusive use or control of a particular
163 student, group of students, or group or club.
164 (8)(a) Any person or student club or group that is harmed
165 by a violation of this section, or whose rights under this
166 section are violated, shall have a private cause of action
167 against the school district for declaratory and injunctive
168 relief, statutory punitive damages, reasonable attorney fees and
169 costs, and any other appropriate relief.
170 (b) If a person or student club or group prevails in any
171 such action, the person or student club or group must be awarded
172 statutory punitive damages in an amount of at least $15,000, not
173 to exceed $25,000.
174 (c) Any person or student club or group aggrieved by a
175 violation of this section may assert such violation as a defense
176 or counterclaim in any disciplinary action or in any civil or
177 administrative proceedings brought against such person or
178 student club or group.
179 (d) Nothing in this section may be interpreted to limit any
180 other remedies available to any student or student club or
181 group.
182 (e) A person or student club or group must bring suit for
183 violation of this section not later than 2 years after the day
184 the cause of action accrues. For purposes of calculating the 2
185 year limitation period, each day that the violation persists,
186 and each day that a policy in violation of this section remains
187 in effect, constitutes a new day that the cause of action has
188 accrued.
189 (9)(a) A school district that violates this section is not
190 immune from suit or liability for such violation and is not
191 immune from civil suit in federal court.
192 (b) The state waives immunity under the Eleventh Amendment
193 of the United States Constitution and consents to suit in a
194 federal court for lawsuits arising out of this section. A school
195 that violates this section is not immune from suit or liability
196 for the violation.
197 (10) If any provision of this section or its application to
198 any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
199 not affect other provisions or applications of this section
200 which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
201 application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
202 severable.
203 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.