Text of FL H 1223 (2023)

HB 1223 2023 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1223-00 Page 1 of 8 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S A bill to be entitled 1 An act relating to public PreK-12 educational 2 institution and instruction requirements; amending s. 3 1000.21, F.S.; defining the term "sex" for the Florida 4 Early Learning-20 Education Code; creating s. 5 1000.071, F.S.; requiring specified policies relating 6 to a person's sex at such educational institutions; 7 defining the term "sex"; prohibiting employees, 8 contractors, and students of such educational 9 institutions from being required to use, from 10 providing, and from being asked to provide certain 11 titles and pronouns; prohibiting students from being 12 penalized or subjected to certain treatment for not 13 providing certain titles and pronouns; authorizing the 14 State Board of Education to adopt rules; amending s. 15 1001.42, F.S.; prohibiting classroom instruction on 16 sexual orientation or gender identity from occurring 17 in prekindergarten through grade 8, rather than 18 kindergarten through grade 3; providing requirements 19 if such instruction is provided in grades 9 through 20 12; providing that such prohibition applies to charter 21 schools; requiring school districts to post specified 22 policies on their websites; amending s. 1002.68, F.S.; 23 prohibiting private prekindergarten providers and 24 public schools from providing instruction on sexual 25 HB 1223 2023 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1223-00 Page 2 of 8 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S orientation or gender identity; reenacting ss. 26 1000.05(2), (3), (4)(a), (5), and (6)(d), 27 1001.453(2)(c), 1002.42(3)(a), 1003.27(2)(b) and (c), 28 1003.42(3)(a), (c), (e), and (f), 1004.43(2), 29 1006.205(2)(b) and (3), 1009.23(7), 1009.24(10)(b), 30 1009.983(6), 1009.986(3)(e), and 1014.05(1)(c), (d), 31 and (f), F.S., to incorporate the amendment made to s. 32 1000.21, F.S., in references thereto; providing for 33 severability; providing an effective date. 34 35 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 36 37 Section 1. Subsection (9) is added to section 1000.21, 38 Florida Statutes, to read: 39 1000.21 Systemwide definitions.—As used in the Florida 40 Early Learning-20 Education Code: 41 (9) "Sex" means the binary division of individuals based 42 upon reproductive function. 43 Section 2. Section 1000.071, Florida Statutes, is created 44 to read: 45 1000.071 Personal titles and pronouns.— 46 (1) It shall be the policy of every public K-12 47 educational institution that is provided or authorized by the 48 Constitution and laws of Florida that a person's sex is an 49 immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a 50 HB 1223 2023 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1223-00 Page 3 of 8 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person's sex. 51 (2) An employee, contractor, or student of a public K-12 52 educational institution may not be required, as a condition of 53 employment or enrollment or participation in any program, to 54 refer to another person using that person's preferred personal 55 title or pronouns if such personal title or pronouns do not 56 correspond to that person's sex. 57 (3) An employee or contractor of a public K-12 educational 58 institution may not provide to a student his or her preferred 59 personal title or pronouns if such preferred personal title or 60 pronouns do not correspond to his or her sex. 61 (4) A student may not be asked by an employee or 62 contractor of a public K-12 educational institution to provide 63 his or her preferred personal title or pronouns or be penalized 64 or subjected to adverse or discriminatory treatment for not 65 providing his or her preferred personal title or pronouns. 66 (5) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to 67 administer this section. 68 Section 3. Paragraph (c) of subsection (8) of section 69 1001.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 70 1001.42 Powers and duties of district school board.—The 71 district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all 72 powers and perform all duties listed below: 73 (8) STUDENT WELFARE.— 74 (c)1. In accordance with the rights of parents enumerated 75 HB 1223 2023 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1223-00 Page 4 of 8 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S in ss. 1002.20 and 1014.04, adopt procedures for notifying a 76 student's parent if there is a change in the student's services 77 or monitoring related to the student's mental, emotional, or 78 physical health or well-being and the school's ability to 79 provide a safe and supportive learning environment for the 80 student. The procedures must reinforce the fundamental right of 81 parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control 82 of their children by requiring school district personnel to 83 encourage a student to discuss issues relating to his or her 84 well-being with his or her parent or to facilitate discussion of 85 the issue with the parent. The procedures may not prohibit 86 parents from accessing any of their student's education and 87 health records created, maintained, or used by the school 88 district, as required by s. 1002.22(2). 89 2. A school district may not adopt procedures or student 90 support forms that prohibit school district personnel from 91 notifying a parent about his or her student's mental, emotional, 92 or physical health or well-being, or a change in related 93 services or monitoring, or that encourage or have the effect of 94 encouraging a student to withhold from a parent such 95 information. School district personnel may not discourage or 96 prohibit parental notification of and involvement in critical 97 decisions affecting a student's mental, emotional, or physical 98 health or well-being. This subparagraph does not prohibit a 99 school district from adopting procedures that permit school 100 HB 1223 2023 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1223-00 Page 5 of 8 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S personnel to withhold such information from a parent if a 101 reasonably prudent person would believe that disclosure would 102 result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect, as those terms are 103 defined in s. 39.01. 104 3. Classroom instruction by school personnel or third 105 parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur 106 in prekindergarten kindergarten through grade 8. If such 107 instruction is provided in grades 9 through 12, the instruction 108 must be 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or 109 developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with 110 state standards. This subparagraph applies to charter schools. 111 4. Student support services training developed or provided 112 by a school district to school district personnel must adhere to 113 student services guidelines, standards, and frameworks 114 established by the Department of Education. 115 5. At the beginning of the school year, each school 116 district shall notify parents of each health care service 117 offered at their student's school and the option to withhold 118 consent or decline any specific service in accordance with s. 119 1014.06. Parental consent to a health care service does not 120 waive the parent's right to access his or her student's 121 educational or health records or to be notified about a change 122 in his or her student's services or monitoring as provided by 123 this paragraph. 124 6. Before administering a student well-being questionnaire 125 HB 1223 2023 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1223-00 Page 6 of 8 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S or health screening form to a student in kindergarten through 126 grade 3, the school district must provide the questionnaire or 127 health screening form to the parent and obtain the permission of 128 the parent. 129 7. Each school district shall adopt procedures for a 130 parent to notify the principal, or his or her designee, 131 regarding concerns under this paragraph at his or her student's 132 school and the process for resolving those concerns within 7 133 calendar days after notification by the parent. 134 a. At a minimum, the procedures must require that within 135 30 days after notification by the parent that the concern 136 remains unresolved, the school district must either resolve the 137 concern or provide a statement of the reasons for not resolving 138 the concern. 139 b. If a concern is not resolved by the school district, a 140 parent may: 141 (I) Request the Commissioner of Education to appoint a 142 special magistrate who is a member of The Florida Bar in good 143 standing and who has at least 5 years' experience in 144 administrative law. The special magistrate shall determine facts 145 relating to the dispute over the school district procedure or 146 practice, consider information provided by the school district, 147 and render a recommended decision for resolution to the State 148 Board of Education within 30 days after receipt of the request 149 by the parent. The State Board of Education must approve or 150 HB 1223 2023 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1223-00 Page 7 of 8 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S reject the recommended decision at its next regularly scheduled 151 meeting that is more than 7 calendar days and no more than 30 152 days after the date the recommended decision is transmitted. The 153 costs of the special magistrate shall be borne by the school 154 district. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules, 155 including forms, necessary to implement this subparagraph. 156 (II) Bring an action against the school district to obtain 157 a declaratory judgment that the school district procedure or 158 practice violates this paragraph and seek injunctive relief. A 159 court may award damages and shall award reasonable attorney fees 160 and court costs to a parent who receives declaratory or 161 injunctive relief. 162 c. Each school district shall adopt and post on its 163 website policies to notify parents of the procedures required 164 under this subparagraph. 165 d. Nothing contained in this subparagraph shall be 166 construed to abridge or alter rights of action or remedies in 167 equity already existing under the common law or general law. 168 Section 4. Subsection (8) is added to section 1002.68, 169 Florida Statutes, to read: 170 1002.68 Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program 171 accountability.— 172 (8) Private prekindergarten providers and public schools 173 may not provide instruction on sexual orientation or gender 174 identity. 175 HB 1223 2023 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb1223-00 Page 8 of 8 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S Section 5. Sections 1000.05(2), (3), (4)(a), (5), and 176 (6)(d), 1001.453(2)(c), 1002.42(3)(a), 1003.27(2)(b) and (c), 177 1003.42(3)(a), (c), (e), and (f), 1004.43(2), 1006.205(2)(b) and 178 (3), 1009.23(7), 1009.24(10)(b), 1009.983(6), 1009.986(3)(e), 179 and 1014.05(1)(c), (d), and (f), Florida Statutes, are reenacted 180 for the purpose of incorporating the amendment made by this act 181 to s. 1000.21, Florida Statutes, in references thereto. 182 Section 6. If any provision of this act or the application 183 thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 184 invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of 185 this act which can be given effect without the invalid provision 186 or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are 187 severable. 188 Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 189