Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1170
By Senator Calatayud
38-01599-26 20261170__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to education; amending s. 14.36, F.S.;
3 requiring the Office of Reimagining Education and
4 Career Help to provide specified information to
5 individuals; providing requirements for such
6 information; amending s. 1003.574, F.S.; deleting
7 references to the Video Cameras in Public School
8 Classrooms Pilot Program; deleting an obsolete
9 definition; requiring a district school board to vote
10 to establish a policy to provide video cameras in
11 self-contained classrooms upon the request of a
12 parent; prohibiting a school or school district from
13 concealing the identity of an employee in a video
14 recording; providing that a video recording made
15 available after a request must include accompanying
16 audio; providing an effective date.
17
18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
19
20 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
21 14.36, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
22 14.36 Reimagining Education and Career Help Act.—The
23 Reimagining Education and Career Help Act is created to address
24 the evolving needs of Florida’s economy by increasing the level
25 of collaboration and cooperation among state businesses and
26 education communities while improving training within and equity
27 and access to a more integrated workforce and education system
28 for all Floridians.
29 (5) The office shall provide the public with access to
30 available federal, state, and local services and provide
31 stakeholders with a systemwide, global view of workforce related
32 program data across various programs through actionable
33 qualitative and quantitative information. The office shall:
34 (a) Minimize duplication and maximize the use of existing
35 resources by facilitating the adaptation and integration of
36 state information systems to improve usability and seamlessly
37 link to the consumer-first workforce system and other compatible
38 state information systems and applications to help residents of
39 the state:
40 1. Explore and identify career opportunities.
41 2. Identify in-demand jobs and associated earning
42 potential.
43 3. Identify the skills and credentials needed for specific
44 jobs.
45 4. Access a broad array of federal, state, and local
46 workforce related programs.
47 5. Determine the quality of workforce related programs
48 offered by public postsecondary educational institutions and
49 public and private training providers, based on employment,
50 wages, continued education, student loan debt, and receipt of
51 public assistance by graduates of workforce, certificate, or
52 degree programs. To gather this information, the office shall
53 review each workforce related program 1 year after the program’s
54 first graduating class and every 5 years after the first review.
55 6. By July 1, 2027, and each year thereafter, provide
56 information to help individuals understand their net potential
57 earnings as a public high school graduate with an industry
58 certification, identified as a credential of value consistent
59 with s. 445.004, and as a postsecondary graduate with an
60 associate degree in the comparable Classification of
61 Instructional Program. The potential earnings must be calculated
62 for each year, up to 8 years after graduation. The cost of
63 attendance, minus any financial aid received, must be deducted
64 from the net potential earnings.
65 7. Identify opportunities and resources to support
66 individuals along their career pathway.
67 8.7. Provide information to help individuals understand
68 their potential earnings through paid employment and cope with
69 the loss of public assistance as they progress through career
70 pathways toward self-sufficiency.
71 9.8. Map the timing and magnitude of the loss of public
72 assistance for in-demand occupations across the state to help
73 individuals visualize how their incomes will increase over time
74 as they move toward self-sufficiency.
75 Section 2. Section 1003.574, Florida Statutes, is amended
76 to read:
77 1003.574 Video cameras in public school classrooms; pilot
78 program.—Beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, the Video
79 Cameras in Public School Classrooms Pilot Program is created for
80 a period of 3 school years.
81 (1) As used in this section, the term:
82 (a) “Incident” means an event, a circumstance, an act, or
83 an omission that results in the abuse or neglect of a student
84 by:
85 1. An employee of a public school or school district; or
86 2. Another student.
87 (b) “School district” means the Broward County Public
88 Schools.
89 (b)(c) “Self-contained classroom” means a classroom at a
90 public school in which a majority of the students in regular
91 attendance are provided special education services and are
92 assigned to one or more such classrooms for at least 50 percent
93 of the instructional day.
94 (2)(a) Each district school board shall vote to establish a
95 policy to provide video cameras in self-contained classrooms
96 upon the request of a parent under paragraph (b).
97 (b)(a) A school district shall provide a video camera to
98 any school with a self-contained classroom upon the written
99 request of a parent of a student in the classroom.
100 (c)(b) Within 30 days after receipt of the request from a
101 parent, a video camera must shall be operational in each self
102 contained classroom in which the parent’s student is in regular
103 attendance for the remainder of the school year, unless the
104 parent withdraws his or her request in writing.
105 (3) If the student who is the subject of the initial
106 request is no longer in attendance in the classroom and a school
107 discontinues operation of a video camera during a school year,
108 no later than the 5th school day before the date the operation
109 of the video camera is discontinued, the school must notify the
110 parents of each student in regular attendance in the classroom
111 that operation of the video camera will cease unless the
112 continued use of the camera is requested by a parent. No later
113 than the 10th school day before the end of each school year, the
114 school must notify the parents of each student in regular
115 attendance in the classroom that operation of the video camera
116 will not continue during the following school year unless a
117 written request is submitted by a parent for the next school
118 year.
119 (4)(a) A video camera placed in a self-contained classroom
120 must be capable of all of the following:
121 1. Monitoring all areas of the self-contained classroom,
122 including, without limitation, any room attached to the self
123 contained classroom which is used for other purposes.
124 2. Recording audio from all areas of the self-contained
125 classroom, including, without limitation, any room attached to
126 the self-contained classroom which is used for other purposes.
127 (b) A video camera placed in a self-contained classroom may
128 not monitor a restroom or any other area in the self-contained
129 classroom where a student changes his or her clothes, except for
130 the entryway, exitway, or hallway outside a restroom or other
131 area where a student changes his or her clothes because of the
132 layout of the self-contained classroom.
133 (c) A video camera placed in a self-contained classroom is
134 not required to be in operation when students are not present in
135 the self-contained classroom.
136 (d) If there is an interruption in the operation of the
137 video camera for any reason, an explanation must be submitted in
138 writing to the school principal and the district school board
139 which explains the reason for and duration of the interruption.
140 The written explanation must be maintained at the district
141 school board office for at least 1 year.
142 (5) Before a school initially places a video camera in a
143 self-contained classroom pursuant to this section, the school
144 shall provide written notice of the placement of such video
145 camera to all of the following:
146 (a) The parent of each student who is assigned to the self
147 contained classroom.
148 (b) Each student who is assigned to the self-contained
149 classroom.
150 (c) The school district.
151 (d) Each school employee who is assigned to work with one
152 or more students in the self-contained classroom.
153 (6) A school shall:
154 (a) Retain video recorded from a video camera placed
155 pursuant to this section for at least 3 months after the date
156 the video was recorded, after which the recording must shall be
157 deleted or otherwise made irretrievable unretrievable; or
158 (b) Retain the recording until the conclusion of any
159 investigation or any administrative or legal proceedings that
160 result from the recording have been completed, including,
161 without limitation, the exhaustion of all appeals.
162 (7) A school or school district may not:
163 (a) Allow regular, continuous, or continual monitoring of
164 video recorded under this section; or
165 (b) Use video recorded under this section for teacher
166 evaluations or any purpose other than for ensuring the health,
167 safety, and well-being of students receiving special education
168 services in a self-contained classroom; or
169 (c) Conceal the identity of a school or school district
170 employee who appears in a video recording.
171 (8) The principal of the school is the custodian of a video
172 camera operated pursuant to this section, all recordings
173 generated by that video camera, and access to such recordings.
174 (a) The release or viewing of any video recording under
175 this section must comply with s. 1002.22.
176 (b) A school or school district shall:
177 1. Conceal the identity of any student who appears in a
178 video recording, but is not involved in the alleged incident
179 documented by the video recording, which the school allows to be
180 viewed under subsection (9), including, without limitation,
181 blurring the face of the uninvolved student.
182 2. Protect the confidentiality of all student records
183 contained in a video recording in accordance with s. 1002.22.
184 (9)(a) Within 7 days after receiving a request to view a
185 video recording, a school or school district shall allow the
186 following individuals to view a video recording with its
187 accompanying audio made under this section:
188 1. A school or school district employee who is involved in
189 an alleged incident that is documented by the video recording as
190 part of the investigative process;
191 2. A parent of a student who is involved in an alleged
192 incident that is documented by the video recording and has been
193 reported to the school or school district;
194 3. A school or school district employee as part of an
195 investigation into an alleged incident that is documented by the
196 video recording and has been reported to the school or school
197 district;
198 4. A law enforcement officer as part of an investigation
199 into an alleged incident that is documented by the video
200 recording and has been reported to the law enforcement agency;
201 or
202 5. The Department of Children and Families as part of a
203 child abuse or neglect investigation.
204 (b) A person who requests to view a recording must shall
205 make himself or herself available for viewing the recording
206 within 30 days after being notified by the school or school
207 district that the person’s request has been granted.
208 (c) A person who views the recording and suspects that
209 child abuse has occurred must report the suspected child abuse
210 to the Department of Children and Families.
211 (10)(a) Any individual may appeal to the State Board of
212 Education an action by a school or school district which the
213 individual alleges to be in violation of this section.
214 (b) The state board shall grant a hearing on an appeal
215 under this subsection within 45 days after receiving the appeal.
216 (11) A school or school district does not violate
217 subsection (8) if a contractor or other employee of the school
218 or school district incidentally views a video recording made
219 under this section in connection with the performance of his or
220 her duties related to either of the following:
221 (a) The installation, operation, or maintenance of video
222 equipment; or
223 (b) The retention of video recordings.
224 (12) This section does not:
225 (a) Limit the access of the parent of a student, under the
226 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. s.
227 1232g, or any other law, to a video recording regarding his or
228 her student.
229 (b) Waive any immunity from liability of a school district
230 or an employee of a school district.
231 (c) Create any liability for a cause of action against a
232 school or school district or an employee of a school or school
233 district carrying out the duties and responsibilities required
234 by this section.
235 (d) Apply to self-contained classrooms in which the only
236 students receiving special education services are those who have
237 been deemed gifted.
238 (13) The department shall collect information relating to
239 the installation and maintenance of video cameras under this
240 section.
241 (14) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to
242 implement this section.
243 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.