Education Bill becomes law July 1

More parental input and
school board term limits

By Tami Stevenson

The K-12 Education bill, HB 1467, was signed by Governor DeSantis last week. Before reaching the governor’s desk, however, it was amended once again,

this time while in the Senate, earlier this month. It was amended to extend the term limits of school board members even further, from eight years to twelve years. It passed the Senate with 24 yeas and 15 nays. Once returned to the House with the amendment, it passed with similar results as the last time, 79 yeas and 41 nays.

The transparency of instructional materials, including library and reading materials, has been, for the most part, reduced to elementary schools, through the third grade. They are the only ones that must publish on their websites, in a searchable format prescribed by the department, a list of all materials maintained in the school library media center or required as part of a school or grade-level reading list.

The bill will require school districts convening for the purpose of selecting instructional materials, to notice the meetings and have them open to the public. The school districts must also provide access to all materials at least 20 days prior to the school board taking official action on instructional materials. The Department of Education (DOE) will be required to publish a list of materials that have been removed or discontinued by school boards as a result of an objection and disseminate the list to school districts for their consideration.

School district library media center materials and assigned school or grade-level reading lists must also be reviewed by a district employee holding a valid educational media specialist certificate and require DOE to develop an online training program for librarians and media specialists. The superintendent of schools in each district must certify to the DOE Commissioner that all school librarians and media center specialists have taken this training.

While signing the bill in Daytona Beach, last week, Governor Ron DeSantis stated, “In Florida, our parents have every right to be involved in their child’s education. We are not going to let politicians deny parents the right to know what is being taught in our schools. I’m proud to sign this legislation that ensures curriculum transparency.”
The new legislation will take effect July 1, 2022.