This year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed several laws that deregulate public schools, expand school choice, attempt to beef up school safety, and more.
This article highlights the changes impacting families that parents and students should know about before the 2024-2025 school year begins. For a full report, read Pensacola News Journal here.
HB 1285 — Education
HB 1285 revises provisions related to K-12 education, postsecondary education, and the Education Practices Commission. It establishes the Purple Star School District Program, creates AA specialized transfer degrees, and requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules for issuing classical education teaching certificates.
Highlighting the changes that impact families, according to the Florida Senate:
- Requires that school districts and charter schools provide 11th and 12th-grade students with the opportunity to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) Test and the ability to consult with a military recruiter.
- Ensures postsecondary institutions allow students to work their way through school.
- Empower aspiring teachers to obtain a classical teaching certificate developed by the State Board of Education.
- Ensures that book challenges are limited for individuals who do not have children with access to the school district’s materials.
- Unlimited objections remain for parents with children in the school district, which includes homeschooled students accessing district materials.
- Individuals without children in the district will be limited to one monthly objection.
- Protects schools from activists trying to politicize and disrupt a district’s book review process.
- Continues to support military families with the Purple Star Schools of Distinction Program.
- Institutes Purple Star School Districts, which recognizes districts with Purple Star Schools making up 75% of schools in their district.
- It helps to ensure a seamless transition for military families moving into Florida by requiring schools to provide them with support and resources.
HB 1473 — School safety:
Florida’s HB 1473 aims to beef up school security. Highlighting the changes that impact families, according to the Florida Senate:
- Requires sheriff’s offices responsible for certifying school guardians to report the information to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
- Clarifies that private schools are responsible for the background screening and training costs for school guardians. Certification could waive those fees, however.
- Establishes new perimeter and door safety requirements that school districts and charter school governing boards must comply with. These changes include:
- Keeping entrances and exits securely closed and locked when students are on campus.
- These routes are required to be actively staffed when open or unlocked unless a specific exception applies.
- Requires each school district to develop a progressive discipline policy for instructional and administrative personal who knowingly violate school safety requirements.
- Requires the Office of Safe Schools (OSS) develop and adopt a Florida school safety compliance inspection report to document compliance with safety requirements.
- School districts have to come up with a discipline policy for any staff who violates school safety requirements.
- Bans people from operating drones over public or private schools serving students in grades prekindergarten through 12.
- Allows FDLE to create a grant program that gives funds to law enforcement agencies to conduct security assessments for private schools.
HB 1509 — School safety (public records)
HB 1509 is a short bill regarding FDLE school guardian records. It establishes a public-record exemption for information held by FDLE, law enforcement agencies, school districts and charter schools that could identify a person certified to serve as a school guardian.
HB 1361 — New Worlds education programs
Highlighting the changes that impact families, according to the Florida Senate:
HB 1361 expands who is eligible for the New Worlds Scholarship. It makes eligible students enrolled in a voluntary prekindergarten program aimed explicitly at VPK students who have shown learning deficiencies.
The law also establishes a New World Tutoring Program to help students in grades K-5 and allows the program to award grants for in-person tutors to help with reading and math.
The New Worlds Scholarship program provides reimbursements for certain educational expenses, such as instructional materials, tuition and fees for part-time tutors, and more.
The bill also expands the use of artificial intelligence, allowing the University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning (Center) to collaborate with school districts and award grants to eligible school districts.
These funds may be used for subscription fees and professional learning to support and accelerate learning for students in grades 6 through 12. The bill appropriates $2 million in recurring funds from the General Revenue Funds to the Center for the Grant Program.
HB 1403 — School choice expansion
HB 1403 expands eligibility for the Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) and Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) programs to the dependent children of an active duty member of the United States Armed Forces who has received permanent change of station orders to Florida or members whose home record or state of residence is listed as Florida at the time of renewal.
SB 7002 — Deregulation of public schools
SB 7002 is perhaps the most widely impacting bill. On paper, it is meant to remove specific regulations on school districts that lawmakers claim impede their efficiency. The result is that many of the procedures school districts must follow have been simplified.
Highlighting the changes that impact families, according to the Florida Senate:
- Authorizes required advertisements regarding school board meetings to be posted on the district school board website.
- Authorizes a school district and parent to agree on alternate suspensions and dropout prevention notifications.
- It allows school districts to decide whether to make up days lost because of a bona fide emergency.
SB 7004 — Educational changes
SB 7004 makes several changes to testing and instructional materials and allows school districts more authority over VPK programs.
Highlighting the changes that impact families, according to the Florida Senate
- School districts are no longer required to offer summer VPK programs.
- Reduced how often school districts have to offer assessments during VPKs.
- School districts don’t have to follow a universal testing calendar; instead, they submit their testing calendar to the state.
- School districts are no longer required to offer virtual instruction.
At Hoffman, Larin & Agnetti, we believe that a child’s success in school depends on both parents’ active involvement and support. We are dedicated to helping you navigate the challenges of co-parenting, ensuring your child receives the best possible education while maintaining a positive relationship with both parents.
Don’t let back-to-school stress overwhelm you. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with our experienced family law team. We’ll provide personalized guidance, legal expertise, and compassionate support to help your child thrive academically and emotionally throughout the school year.
