Florida Senate - 2026 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 182
Ì779178\Î779178
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
02/11/2026 .
.
.
.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The Committee on Education Pre-K - 12 (Jones) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Section 1012.988, Florida Statutes, is created
6 to read:
7 1012.988 School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program.—
8 (1) The School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program is
9 established within the Department of Education. The purpose of
10 the program is to increase the effectiveness and involvement of
11 classroom teachers and improve student achievement, classroom
12 management, and excellence in the state’s public schools.
13 (2)(a) School districts and charter schools may place
14 retired classroom teachers or current classroom teachers in
15 schools earning a grade of “D” or “F” to act as teacher mentors
16 to:
17 1. New classroom teachers;
18 2. Classroom teachers who are rated as needs improvement,
19 developing, or unsatisfactory on the prior year’s performance
20 evaluation under s. 1012.34; or
21 3. Classroom teachers identified by the school
22 administrator as struggling with behavior management within the
23 classroom.
24 (b) Each teacher mentor selected by the school district,
25 charter school, or charter management organization must have:
26 1. At least 3 years of teaching experience in
27 prekindergarten through grade 12.
28 2. Earned a highly effective rating on his or her most
29 recent performance evaluation under s. 1012.34.
30 (c) Each teacher mentor may receive a stipend of up to
31 $3,000. The teacher mentor may work with multiple classroom
32 teachers.
33 (3) The Department of Education shall establish program
34 standards and a standard contract template for the teacher
35 mentor and mentee which outlines the responsibilities of each
36 person and establishes the framework and goals of the program.
37 (4) Each teacher mentor must:
38 (a) Not have an official management relationship with his
39 or her mentee.
40 (b) Provide direction, advice, and a neutral sounding board
41 to his or her mentee.
42 (c) Maintain confidentiality, unless prohibited by law.
43 (d) Not have a personal agenda other than assisting his or
44 her mentee in developing and reaching the mentee’s goals.
45 (e) Help his or her mentee in developing skills and
46 expertise, including drawing upon the teacher mentor’s own
47 personal experiences.
48 (5) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to
49 administer this section.
50 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section
51 1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
52 1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual
53 allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
54 district for operation of schools is not determined in the
55 annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
56 the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
57 follows:
58 (7) EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT ALLOCATION.—
59 (a) The educational enrichment allocation is created to
60 assist school districts in providing educational enrichment
61 activities and services that support and increase the academic
62 achievement of students in grades kindergarten through 12.
63 Educational enrichment activities and services may be provided
64 in a manner and at any time during or beyond the regular 180-day
65 term identified by the school district as being the most
66 effective and efficient way to best help the student progress
67 from grade to grade and graduate from high school. Funds from
68 the educational enrichment allocation may be used for the School
69 Teacher Training and Mentoring Program under s. 1012.988. For
70 fiscal year 2023-2024, the educational enrichment allocation
71 shall consist of a base amount as specified in the General
72 Appropriations Act. Beginning in fiscal year 2024-2025, the
73 educational enrichment allocation shall consist of the base
74 amount that includes a workload adjustment based on changes in
75 the unweighted full-time equivalent membership. Beginning in
76 fiscal year 2025-2026, and each year thereafter, the statewide
77 average base amount as specified in the General Appropriations
78 Act shall be used for any new educational entity funded in the
79 Florida Education Finance Program.
80 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.
81
82 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
83 And the title is amended as follows:
84 Delete everything before the enacting clause
85 and insert:
86 A bill to be entitled
87 An act relating to the School Teacher Training and
88 Mentoring Program; creating s. 1012.988, F.S.;
89 establishing the School Teacher Training and Mentoring
90 Program within the Department of Education; providing
91 the purpose of the program; authorizing school
92 districts and charter schools to place certain
93 classroom teachers as teacher mentors in specified
94 schools for specified purposes; providing requirements
95 for teacher mentors and mentees; authorizing teacher
96 mentors to receive a stipend and work with multiple
97 classroom teachers; providing department and teacher
98 mentor responsibilities; authorizing the State Board
99 of Education to adopt rules; amending s. 1011.62,
100 F.S.; authorizing specified funds to be used for the
101 School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program;
102 providing an effective date.