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HB 835 2026
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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 freedom of speech and religious 2
expression in public schools; amending s. 1002.206, 3
F.S.; prohibiting a school district from 4
discriminating against students or school personnel on 5
the basis of political or ideological viewpoints or 6
expression; prohibiting penalty or reward for a 7
student's political or ideological expression in 8
coursework, artwork, or other specified assignments; 9
authorizing a student to wear clothing, accessories, 10
and jewelry displaying political or ideological 11
messages or symbols; authorizing a student to engage 12
in political or ideological activities or expression; 13
authorizing a student to organize political or 14
ideological groups, clubs, and other gatherings; 15
requiring that a school district provide political or 16
ideological groups with equal access to school 17
facilities; authorizing political or ideological 18
groups to advertise or announce meetings in the same 19
manner and to the same extent as other groups; 20
requiring that the Department of Education develop and 21
publish a model policy regarding a limited public 22
forum and political or ideological expression; 23
providing construction; creating a private cause of 24
action for persons and student clubs or groups harmed 25
HB 835 2026
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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
by specified violations; providing for specified 26
awards to such persons and clubs or groups; 27
authorizing such persons and clubs or groups to use 28
specified violations as a defense or counterclaim 29
under certain circumstances; providing applicability; 30
requiring such actions to be brought within a 31
specified period of time; providing that state waives 32
specified immunity; providing school district 33
liability; providing severability; providing an 34
effective date. 35
36
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 37
38
Section 1. Section 1002.206, Florida Statutes, is amended 39
to read: 40
1002.206 Freedom of speech and religious expression in 41
public schools.— 42
(1) This section may be cited as the "Florida Student and 43
School Personnel First Amendment and Religious Liberties Act." 44
(2) A school district may not discriminate against a 45
student, parent, or school personnel on the basis of a religious 46
viewpoint or religious expression. A school district may not 47
discriminate against or penalize a student on the basis of 48
expressing a religious, political, or ideological viewpoint or 49
for engaging in religious, political, or ideological expression 50
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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 the same time, place, and manner and to the same extent that 51
other similarly situated students may engage in speech or 52
express views at a public school. A school district shall treat 53
a student's voluntary expression of a religious, political, or 54
ideological viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject in the 55
same manner that the school district treats a student's 56
voluntary expression of any other a secular viewpoint. 57
(3)(a) A student may express his or her religious, 58
political, or ideological beliefs in coursework, artwork, and 59
other written and oral assignments free from discrimination or 60
academic penalty. A student's homework and classroom assignments 61
shall be evaluated, regardless of their religious, political, or 62
ideological content, based on expected academic standards 63
relating to the course curriculum and requirements. A student 64
may not be penalized or rewarded based on the religious, 65
political, or ideological content of his or her work if the 66
coursework, artwork, or other written or oral assignments 67
require a student's viewpoint to be expressed. 68
(b) A student may wear clothing, accessories, and jewelry 69
that display a religious, political, or ideological message or 70
symbol in the same manner and to the same extent that other 71
secular types of clothing, accessories, and jewelry that display 72
messages or symbols are permitted to be worn. 73
(4)(a) A student may pray or engage in or organize 74
religious, political, or ideological activities or religious, 75
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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
political, or ideological expression before, during, and after 76
the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that a 77
student may engage in other secular activities or expression. A 78
student may organize prayer groups or, religious, political, or 79
ideological clubs, and other religious, political, or 80
ideological gatherings before, during, and after the school day 81
in the same manner and to the same extent that a student is 82
permitted to organize other secular activities, clubs, 83
gatherings, and groups. A school district may not discriminate 84
against a student club or group based on: 85
1. The religious, political, or ideological viewpoints 86
expressed by the students or the club; or 87
2. Any requirement that the leaders or members of the club 88
affirm and adhere to the club's sincerely held beliefs, comply 89
with the club's standards of conduct, or further the club's 90
mission or purpose, as defined by the student club. 91
(b)1. A school district may not prevent school personnel 92
from participating in religious activities on school grounds 93
that are initiated by students at reasonable times before or 94
after the school day if such activities are voluntary and do not 95
conflict with the responsibilities or assignments of such 96
personnel. 97
2. A school district shall comply with the federal 98
requirements in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which 99
prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee on 100
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the basis of religion. 101
(c) A school district shall give a religious, political, 102
or ideological group access to the same school facilities for 103
assembling as given to other secular groups without 104
discrimination based on the religious, political, or ideological 105
content of the group's expression. A group that meets for prayer 106
or other religious, political, or ideological speech may 107
advertise or announce its meetings in the same manner and to the 108
same extent that another a secular group may advertise or 109
announce its meetings. 110
(5)(a) A school district shall adopt a policy that 111
establishes a limited public forum for student speakers at any 112
school event at which a student is to speak publicly. The 113
limited public forum policy shall require the school district 114
to: 115
1. Provide the forum in a manner that does not 116
discriminate against a student's voluntary expression of a 117
religious, political, or ideological viewpoint on an otherwise 118
permissible subject; 119
2. Provide a method based on neutral criteria for the 120
selection of student speakers at school events, activities, and 121
graduation ceremonies; 122
3. Ensure that a student speaker does not engage in 123
obscene, vulgar, offensively lewd, or indecent speech; and 124
4. State in written or oral form that the student's speech 125
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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
does not reflect the endorsement, sponsorship, position, or 126
expression of the school district. 127
(b) The school district shall deliver the disclaimer 128
required in subparagraph (a)4. at all graduation events and any 129
other event at which a student speaks publicly. 130
(c) Student expression of a religious, political, or 131
ideological viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject may 132
not be excluded from the limited public forum. 133
(6) The Department of Education shall develop a model 134
policy regarding a limited public forum and voluntary expression 135
of religious, political, or ideological viewpoints by students 136
and school personnel in public schools pursuant to this section. 137
The department shall publish the model policy on its website. 138
Each district school board shall adopt and implement the 139
department's model policy. 140
(7) This section does not prevent a school district from 141
prohibiting, limiting, or restricting: 142
(a) Expression that the First Amendment of the United 143
States Constitution does not protect. 144
(b) Expression that is unwelcome, and so severe, 145
pervasive, and subjectively and objectively offensive, that a 146
student is effectively denied equal access to educational 147
opportunities or benefits provided by the school. 148
(c) Conduct that intentionally, materially, and 149
substantially disrupts: 150
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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
1. The operations of the school; or 151
2. The expressive activities of another person if that 152
activity is occurring on campus in a space reserved for that 153
activity under the exclusive use or control of a particular 154
student, group of students, or group or club. 155
(8)(a) Any person or student club or group who is harmed 156
by a violation of this section, or whose rights under this 157
section are violated, shall have a private cause of action 158
against the school district for declaratory and injunctive 159
relief, statutory punitive damages, reasonable attorney fees and 160
costs, and any other appropriate relief. 161
(b) If a person or student club or group prevails in any 162
such action, the person or student club or group shall be 163
awarded statutory punitive damages in an amount of at least 164
$15,000, not to exceed $25,000. 165
(c) Any person or student club or group aggrieved by a 166
violation of this section may assert such violation as a defense 167
or counterclaim in any disciplinary action or in any civil or 168
administrative proceedings brought against such person or 169
student club or group. 170
(d) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to limit 171
any other remedies available to any student or student club or 172
group. 173
(e) A person or student club or group shall be required to 174
bring suit for violation of this section not later than 2 years 175
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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
after the day the cause of action accrues. For purposes of 176
calculating the 2-year limitation period, each day that the 177
violation persists, and each day that a policy in violation of 178
this section remains in effect, shall constitute a new day that 179
the cause of action has accrued. 180
(9)(a) A school district that violates this section is not 181
immune from suit or liability for such violation and is not 182
immune from civil suit in federal court. 183
(b) The state waives immunity under the Eleventh Amendment 184
of the United States Constitution and consents to suit in a 185
federal court for lawsuits arising out of this section. A school 186
that violates this section is not immune from suit or liability 187
for the violation. 188
(10) If any provision of this section or its application 189
to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity 190
does not affect other provisions or applications of this section 191
which can be given effect without the invalid provision or 192
application, and to this end the provisions of this act are 193
severable. 194
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 195