Happy New Year! Since the 2024 Annual Legislative Session begins on January 9, 2024, legislative committee weeks were held during the months of October, November, and December. This edition will provide a wrap-up of Florida’s December legislative committee weeks.

The first committee week of December focused on multiple issues to include the introduction of SB 54 Expunction of Criminal History Records, by Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez, (R- Miami) which passed out of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, a presentation on Health Care Services Provided under Florida’s Community Partnership Schools Program, the introduction of HB 185 Dependent Children, by Representative Dana Trabulsy, (R – St. Lucie) which passed out of the House Children, Families, & Seniors Subcommittee, and a presentation on Chronic Absenteeism in the House Education Quality Subcommittee.

The second committee week of December took place from the 11^th to the 15^th. This committee week focused on deregulation of public school requirements that were taken up in the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee, a presentation on apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship policy and programs in the House Education & Employment Committee, and the introduction of SB 214 Child Protection Teams, by Senator Gayle Harrell, (R- Martin) which passed out of the Senate Children and Elder Affairs Committee.

Presentations of interest during the month of December may be found below:

House Committee Presentations:

12/5/23 House Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee

12/6/23 House Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee

12/7/23 House Education Quality Subcommittee

12/12/23 House Education & Employment Committee

Senate Committee Presentations:

12/5/23 Senate Committee on Criminal Justice

12/5/23 Senate Committee on Health Policy

12/12/23 Senate Committee on Fiscal Policy

12/13/23 Senate Committee on Children, Family, and Elder Affairs

Additionally, we have updated the bill tracker with bills that have been filed to date for the 2024 legislative session.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out.

Until next time!

Sincerely,

The Florida Alliance of Children’s Councils & Trusts

HB 415 - Pregnancy and Parenting Resources Website

Rep. Jacques

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SB 436 - Pregnancy and Parenting Resources Website

Sen. Grall

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These identical bills require the Department of Health to work in conjunction with the Department of Children and Families and the Agency for Health Care Administration to maintain a website that provides information and links to pregnancy and parenting resources.

HB 207 - Social Media Protection for Minors

Rep. Rayner

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SB 454 - Protection of Minors on Social Media Platforms

Sen. Garcia

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These similar bills require social media platforms to develop and implement protocols for user age verification, content moderation, and parental control settings. Social media platforms must provide resources, measures, and disclaimers and prohibit certain schools from requiring students to register, enroll, or participate in social media.

HB 1129 - Harm to Minors

Rep. Salzman

SB 1196 - Harm to Minors

Sen. Ingoglia

These identical bills increase and add criminal penalties for individuals who engage in sexually explicit online conversations with minors, and provide special protections for victims under 18 years of age. The bills also establish required guidelines and password filters for manufacturers of tablets and smartphones.

HB 499 - Congenital Cytomegalovirus Screenings

Rep. Melo

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SB 168 - Congenital Cytomegalovirus Screenings

Sen. Polsky

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These identical bills require hospitals to administer congenital cytomegalovirus screenings on newborns admitted to the hospital under specific circumstances. Provides for Medicaid coverage for screening, management, treatment, and follow-up services.

HB 147 - Financial Assistance for Mental Health Professionals

Rep. Cassel

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SB 164 - Solutions for Mental Health Professional Shortages

Sen. Polsky

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These identical bills establish a mental health professional scholarship and loan forgiveness program within the Department of Health.

HB 541 - Safety of Child Care Facilities

Rep. Williams

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This bill requires law enforcement agencies to notify child care facilities of certain incidents at nearby schools.

SB 120 - Provisional Child Care Licensing

Sen. Stewart

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This bill requires the Department of Education to establish a program to provide vouchers for child care services to children within a specified age range whose parents meet a specified income limitation.

SB 596 - Child Care Facility Safety Measures

Sen. Garcia

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This bill requires child care facilities to place video recording equipment in designated areas. The bill also requires child care facility personnel to receive and maintain first aid and CPR certification.

SB 1026 - Early Learning

Sen. Grall

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This bill revises provisions of the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program related to instructor requirements, screening and progress monitoring, instructional support, and administrative spending by early learning coalitions.

HB 847 - School Readiness Program

Rep. Bartleman

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SB 1400 - School Readiness Program

Sen. Jones

These identical bills revise the eligibility priorities for participation in the school readiness program.

HB 427 - Instructional Hours for Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program

Rep. Nixon

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SB 294 - Instructional Hours for Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program

Sen. Davis

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These identical bills revise the required instructional hours in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program to provide for an 8-hour program day in summer & school-year programs.

HB 635 - Child Care and Early Learning Providers

Rep. McFarland

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SB 820 - Child Care and Early Learning Providers

Sen. Grall

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These similar bills revise positions related to tax credits for corporations providing or paying for child care; licensing standards for child care facilities; child care personnel; minimum standards; child care regulation; & large family child care homes.

HB 929 - School Readiness Program

Rep. Trabulsy

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SB 916 - School Readiness Program

Sen. Calatayud

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These identical bills revise the methods used to determine the annual allocation for the school readiness program as well as the determination of parent co-payments for participants in the school readiness program.

HB 361 - School Readiness Program

Rep. Gantt

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SB 342 - School Readiness Program

Sen. Jones

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These identical bills revise the definition of the term "economically disadvantaged" for purposes of the school readiness program.

K-12 Education

HB 477 - Universal Free School Breakfast and Lunch Program

Rep. Tant

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SB 300 - Universal Free School Breakfast and Lunch Program

Sen. Berman

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These identical bills requires establishment and operations of a universal free school breakfast and lunch program for public school students.

HB 1169 - Coordinated Systems of Care for Children

Rep. Redondo

SB 1340 - Coordinated Systems of Care for Children

Sen. Harrell

These identical bills provide requirements for school districts regarding care coordination of a mental health and treatment support system for specified children.

SB 7000 - Deregulation of Public Schools/Instructional, Administrative, and Support Personnel

Education Pre K-12 Committee

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This bill updates school personnel initial and continuing requirements and modifies how school districts may recruit, hire, manage, pay, and evaluate teachers.

SB 7002 - Deregulation of Public Schools/School District Finance and Budgets, Facilities, and Administration and Oversight

Education Pre K-12 Committee

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This bill revises and removes requirements on school districts to allow for efficient administrative processes, enhancement of facilities management, and simplification of financial requirements.

SB 7004 - Deregulation of Public Schools/Assessment and Accountability, Instruction, and Education Choice

Education Pre K-12 Committee

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This bill provides school districts additional authority related to prekindergarten programs, retention and graduation, assessments, school improvement, instructional materials, and reporting.

Children with Disabilities

HB 829 - Autism Spectrum Training for Law Enforcement Officers

Rep. Stark

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SB 864 - Autism Spectrum Training for Law Enforcement Officers

Sen. Collins

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These similar bills require officers to be trained regarding individuals with autism spectrum disorder as a condition of employment.

Out of School Time

HB 49 - Employment and Curfew of Minors

Rep. Chaney

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This bill revises the age at which employment restrictions apply and removes certain employment restrictions for minors 16 & 17 years of age.

HB 185 - Dependent Children

Rep. Trabulsy

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SB 1224 - Dependent Children

Sen. Burton

These similar bills revise provisions related to guardian and attorney ad litem access for dependent children, modifies out-of-home case plan requirements, and authorizes the Pathway to Prosperity program to provide grants to youth and young adults aging out of foster care.

HB 555 - Child Protection Teams

Rep. Stevenson

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SB 214 - Child Protection Teams

Sen. Harrell

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These identical bills expand the types of reports that the Department of Children and Families must refer to Child Protective Teams.

HB 1083 - Permanency for Children

Rep. Trabulsy

This bill revises and creates requirements relating to dependent children including adoption services, access to confidential records, placement of children, and the Guardianship Assistance Program.

HB 1061 - Community -Based Child Welfare Agencies

Rep. McFarland

SB 536 - Community-Based Child Welfare Agencies

Sen. Garcia

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These similar bills revise requirements for contracts the Department of Children and Families has with community-based care lead agencies.

HB 123 - Child Water Safety Requirements

Rep. Chambliss

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SB 274 - Child Water Safety Requirements

Sen. Rodriguez

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These similar bills require organizations that care for or supervise children to enact policies related to water safety.

HB 417 - Educational Services in Department of Juvenile Justice Programs

Rep. Lopez

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This bill requires school districts to allow students in juvenile justice programs at least one opportunity to take a high school equivalency exam at no cost to the student.

HB 97 - Expunction of Criminal History Records

Rep. Smith

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SB 54 - Expunction of Criminal History Records

Sen. Rodriguez

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These identical bills revise the criteria for the criminal record expunction process for juveniles.