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HB 7021 2026
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hb7021-00
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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 a review under the Open Government 2
Sunset Review Act; amending s. 1008.23, F.S.; 3
repealing a duplicative exemption from public record 4
requirements for certain examination and assessment 5
instruments; expanding an exemption from public record 6
requirements for examination and assessment 7
instruments to include such instruments when held by 8
certain entities; requiring the State Board of 9
Education and the Board of Governors to adopt certain 10
rules and regulations, respectively, governing the 11
retention and disposal process for specified records; 12
removing a provision requiring the State Board of 13
Education and Board of Governors to adopt certain 14
rules and regulations, respectively, governing access 15
to specified records; authorizing specified entities 16
to disclose exempt information to certain entities; 17
requiring specified entities to disclose exempt 18
information in certain circumstances; providing 19
construction; extending the scheduled repeal of the 20
exemption; providing a statement of public necessity; 21
providing an effective date. 22
23
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 24
25
HB 7021 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
Section 1. Section 1008.23, Florida Statutes, is amended 26
to read: 27
1008.23 Confidentiality of assessment instruments.— 28
(1) All examination and assessment instruments, including 29
developmental materials and workpapers directly related thereto, 30
which are prepared, prescribed, or administered pursuant to ss. 31
1002.69, 1003.52, 1003.56, 1007.25, 1007.35, 1008.22, 1008.25, 32
and 1012.56 shall be confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) 33
and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. Provisions 34
governing access, maintenance, and destruction of such 35
instruments and related materials shall be prescribed by rules 36
of the State Board of Education. 37
(1)(a)(2)(a) All examination and assessment instruments, 38
including developmental materials and workpapers directly 39
related thereto, which are held prepared, prescribed, or 40
administered by a public school, a district school board, a 41
Florida College System institution, a state university, a board 42
of trustees, or the Department of Education, the State Board of 43
Education, or the Board of Governors shall be confidential and 44
exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 45
Constitution. 46
(b) The State Board of Education and the Board of 47
Governors shall adopt rules or regulations, respectively, 48
establishing retention schedules and a disposal process for 49
records described in paragraph (a). 50
HB 7021 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
(c)1. Any entity listed in paragraph (a) may disclose the 51
information made confidential and exempt from public record 52
requirements by this section to any other entity listed in that 53
paragraph. 54
2. A public school, district school board, Florida College 55
System institution, or state university must, upon request, 56
disclose the information made confidential and exempt from 57
public record requirements by this section to the Department of 58
Education, the State Board of Education, or the Board of 59
Governors. 60
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit, 61
abridge, or infringe on the rights of students and parents with 62
respect to student records and education records pursuant to ss. 63
1002.20 and 1002.22 64
(b) Provisions governing access, maintenance, and 65
destruction of the instruments and related materials identified 66
under paragraph (a) shall be prescribed by rules of the State 67
Board of Education and regulations of the Board of Governors, 68
respectively. 69
(2)(3) This section is subject to the Open Government 70
Sunset Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand 71
repealed on October 2, 2031 October 2, 2026, unless reviewed and 72
saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. 73
Section 2. The Legislature finds that it is a public 74
necessity to exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 75
HB 7021 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
24(a), Article I of the State Constitution, examination and 76
assessment instruments, including developmental materials and 77
workpapers directly related thereto, which are held by a public 78
school, a district school board, a Florida College System 79
institution, a state university, a board of trustees, the 80
Department of Education, the State Board of Education, or the 81
Board of Governors. Public schools and district school boards 82
routinely develop, license, and administer recurring classroom, 83
course, school, and district assessments, frequently drawing 84
upon secure item banks and developmental materials used across 85
schools and administrations. Public disclosure of test items, 86
prompts, answer keys, scoring rubrics, item specifications, 87
field-testing materials, and related developmental workpapers 88
would enable cheating and academic dishonesty, compromise the 89
validity and reliability of local assessments, undermine fair 90
measurement of student learning and program effectiveness, and 91
necessitate significant public expenditures to replace 92
compromised instruments and rebuild secure item banks. The 93
boards of trustees of Florida College System institutions and 94
state universities, as well the State Board of Education and the 95
Board of Governors, oversee institutions that develop, license, 96
and administer examinations and assessment instruments and in 97
that role receive such information, which, if made public, would 98
enable cheating and academic dishonesty, compromise the validity 99
and reliability of examinations and assessments, undermine fair 100
HB 7021 2026
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hb7021-00
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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
measurement of student learning and program effectiveness, and 101
necessitate significant public expenditures to replace 102
compromised instruments and rebuild secure item banks. As such 103
the Legislature finds that the harm that may result from the 104
release of such examination and assessment instruments outweighs 105
any public benefit that may be derived from disclosure. 106
Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 107