Text of FL S 1692 (2026)

Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1692 By Senator McClain 9-00475-26 20261692__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to materials harmful to minors; 3 amending s. 1006.28, F.S.; defining the term “harmful 4 to minors”; revising the list of materials used in a 5 classroom which are subject to the objection process 6 by parents or residents; reenacting s. 1014.05(1)(c), 7 F.S., relating to school district notifications on 8 parental rights, to incorporate the amendment made to 9 s. 1006.28, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an 10 effective date. 11 12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13 14 Section 1. Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection 15 (2) of section 1006.28, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 16 1006.28 Duties of district school board, district school 17 superintendent; and school principal regarding K-12 18 instructional materials.— 19 (1) DEFINITIONS.— 20 (a) As used in this section, the term: 21 1. “Adequate instructional materials” means a sufficient 22 number of student or site licenses or sets of materials that are 23 available in bound, unbound, kit, or package form and may 24 consist of hardbacked or softbacked textbooks, electronic 25 content, consumables, learning laboratories, manipulatives, 26 electronic media, and computer courseware or software that serve 27 as the basis for instruction in the core subject areas of 28 mathematics, language arts, social studies, science, reading, 29 and literature. 30 2. “Harmful to minors” means any reproduction, imitation, 31 characterization, description, exhibition, presentation, or 32 representation, of whatever kind or form, depicting nudity, 33 sexual conduct, or sexual excitement when it: 34 a. Predominantly appeals to prurient, shameful, or morbid 35 interest; and 36 b. Is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the 37 adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable 38 material or conduct for minors. 39 3. “Instructional materials” has the same meaning as in s. 40 1006.29(2). 41 4.3. “Library media center” means any collection of books, 42 ebooks, periodicals, or videos maintained and accessible on the 43 site of a school, including in classrooms. 44 (b) As used in this section and s. 1006.283, the term 45 “resident” means a person who has maintained his or her 46 residence in this state for the preceding year, has purchased a 47 home that is occupied by him or her as his or her residence, or 48 has established a domicile in this state pursuant to s. 222.17. 49 (c) As used in this section and ss. 1006.283, 1006.32, 50 1006.35, 1006.37, 1006.38, 1006.40, and 1006.42, the term 51 “purchase” includes purchase, lease, license, and acquire. 52 (2) DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD.—The district school board has 53 the constitutional duty and responsibility to select and provide 54 adequate instructional materials for all students in accordance 55 with the requirements of this part. The district school board 56 also has the following specific duties and responsibilities: 57 (a) Courses of study; adoption.—Adopt courses of study, 58 including instructional materials, for use in the schools of the 59 district. 60 1. Each district school board is responsible for the 61 content of all instructional materials and any other materials 62 used in a classroom, made available in a school or classroom 63 library, or included on a reading list, whether adopted and 64 purchased from the state-adopted instructional materials list, 65 adopted and purchased through a district instructional materials 66 program under s. 1006.283, or otherwise purchased or made 67 available. 68 2. Each district school board must adopt a policy regarding 69 an objection by a parent or a resident of the county to the use 70 of a specific material, which clearly describes a process to 71 handle all objections and provides for resolution. The objection 72 form, as prescribed by State Board of Education rule, and the 73 district school board’s process must be easy to read and 74 understand and be easily accessible on the homepage of the 75 school district’s website. The objection form must also identify 76 the school district point of contact and contact information for 77 the submission of an objection. The process must provide the 78 parent or resident the opportunity to proffer evidence to the 79 district school board that: 80 a. An instructional material does not meet the criteria of 81 s. 1006.31(2) or s. 1006.40(3)(c) if it was selected for use in 82 a course or otherwise made available to students in the school 83 district but was not subject to the public notice, review, 84 comment, and hearing procedures under s. 1006.283(2)(b)8., 9., 85 and 11. 86 b. Any material used in a classroom, made available in a 87 school or classroom library, or included on a reading list 88 contains content which: 89 (I) Is pornographic or prohibited under s. 847.012; 90 (II) Is harmful to minors; 91 (III) Depicts or describes sexual conduct as defined in s. 92 847.001(19), unless such material is specifically authorized as 93 part of a health education course required under s. 1003.46; as 94 part of comprehensive health education required under s. 95 1003.42(2)(o)1.g. or 3.; or by for a course required by s. 96 1003.46 or s. 1003.42(2)(o)1.g. or 3., or identified by State 97 Board of Education rule for specific educational purposes; 98 (IV)(III) Is not suited to student needs and their ability 99 to comprehend the material presented; or 100 (V)(IV) Is inappropriate for the grade level and age group 101 for which the material is used. 102 103 A resident of the county who is not the parent or guardian of a 104 student with access to school district materials may not object 105 to more than one material per month. The State Board of 106 Education may adopt rules to implement this provision. Any 107 material that is subject to an objection on the basis of sub 108 sub-subparagraphs b.(I), (II), and (III) sub-sub-subparagraph 109 b.(I) or sub-sub-subparagraph b.(II) must be removed within 5 110 school days after receipt of the objection and remain 111 unavailable to students of that school until the objection is 112 resolved. The school district may not consider potential 113 literary, artistic, political, or scientific value as a basis 114 for retaining the material if it contains material harmful to 115 minors. Parents shall have the right to read passages from any 116 material that is subject to an objection. If the school board 117 denies a parent the right to read passages due to content that 118 meets the requirements under sub-sub-subparagraph b.(I) or sub 119 sub-subparagraph b.(II), the school district shall discontinue 120 the use of the material in the school district. If the district 121 school board finds that any material meets the requirements 122 under sub-subparagraph a. or that any other material contains 123 prohibited content under sub-sub-subparagraph b.(I) or sub-sub 124 subparagraph b.(II), the school district shall discontinue use 125 of the material. If the district school board finds that any 126 other material contains prohibited content under sub-sub 127 subparagraphs b.(III), (IV), and (V) b.(II)-(IV), the school 128 district shall discontinue use of the material for any grade 129 level or age group for which such use is inappropriate or 130 unsuitable. The State Board of Education shall monitor district 131 compliance with the requirements of sub-sub-subparagraphs b.(I), 132 (II), and (III) through regular audits and reporting. Upon 133 finding that a district has failed to comply with these 134 requirements, the State Board of Education must provide written 135 notice of noncompliance to the district and require the district 136 to submit a corrective action plan within 30 days after 137 receiving such notice; may withhold the transfer of state funds, 138 discretionary grant funds, discretionary lottery funds, or any 139 other funds specified by the Legislature until the district 140 complies with the requirements; and may impose additional 141 sanctions or requirements as conditions for the continued 142 receipt of state funds. 143 3. Each district school board must establish a process by 144 which the parent of a public school student or a resident of the 145 county may contest the district school board’s adoption of a 146 specific instructional material. The parent or resident must 147 file a petition, on a form provided by the school board, within 148 30 calendar days after the adoption of the instructional 149 material by the school board. The school board must make the 150 form available to the public and publish the form on the school 151 district’s website. The form must be signed by the parent or 152 resident, include the required contact information, and state 153 the objection to the instructional material based on the 154 criteria of s. 1006.31(2) or s. 1006.40(3)(c). Within 30 days 155 after the 30-day period has expired, the school board must, for 156 all petitions timely received, conduct at least one open public 157 hearing before an unbiased and qualified hearing officer. The 158 hearing officer may not be an employee or agent of the school 159 district. The hearing is not subject to the provisions of 160 chapter 120; however, the hearing must provide sufficient 161 procedural protections to allow each petitioner an adequate and 162 fair opportunity to be heard and present evidence to the hearing 163 officer. The school board’s decision after convening a hearing 164 is final and not subject to further petition or review. 165 4. Meetings of committees convened for the purpose of 166 ranking, eliminating, or selecting instructional materials for 167 recommendation to the district school board must be noticed and 168 open to the public in accordance with s. 286.011. Any committees 169 convened for such purposes must include parents of students who 170 will have access to such materials. 171 5. Meetings of committees convened for the purpose of 172 resolving an objection by a parent or resident to specific 173 materials must be noticed and open to the public in accordance 174 with s. 286.011. Any committees convened for such purposes must 175 include parents of students who will have access to such 176 materials. 177 6. If a parent disagrees with the determination made by the 178 district school board on the objection to the use of a specific 179 material, a parent may request the Commissioner of Education to 180 appoint a special magistrate who is a member of The Florida Bar 181 in good standing and who has at least 5 years’ experience in 182 administrative law. The special magistrate shall determine facts 183 relating to the school district’s determination, consider 184 information provided by the parent and the school district, and 185 render a recommended decision for resolution to the State Board 186 of Education within 30 days after receipt of the request by the 187 parent. The State Board of Education must approve or reject the 188 recommended decision at its next regularly scheduled meeting 189 that is more than 7 calendar days and no more than 30 days after 190 the date the recommended decision is transmitted. The costs of 191 the special magistrate shall be borne by the school district. 192 The State Board of Education shall adopt rules, including forms, 193 necessary to implement this subparagraph. 194 Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment 195 made by this act to section 1006.28, Florida Statutes, in a 196 reference thereto, paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 197 1014.05, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 198 1014.05 School district notifications on parental rights.— 199 (1) Each district school board shall, in consultation with 200 parents, teachers, and administrators, develop and adopt a 201 policy to promote parental involvement in the public school 202 system. Such policy must include: 203 (c) Procedures, pursuant to s. 1006.28(2)(a)2., for a 204 parent to object to instructional materials and other materials 205 used in the classroom. Such objections may be based on beliefs 206 regarding morality, sex, and religion or the belief that such 207 materials are harmful. For purposes of this section, the term 208 “instructional materials” has the same meaning as in s. 209 1006.29(2) and may include other materials used in the 210 classroom, including workbooks and worksheets, handouts, 211 software, applications, and any digital media made available to 212 students. 213 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.