Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 494
By
Senator Arrington
25-00193A-26 2026494__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to student elopement; creating s.
3 1003.211, F.S.; defining terms; requiring public
4 schools to create a School Staff Assistance for
5 Emergencies (SAFE) Team and a school elopement plan;
6 providing requirements for the plan; providing for
7 membership and responsibilities of the SAFE Team;
8 requiring the SAFE Team to create student-specific
9 elopement quick reference guides for certain students;
10 providing requirements for such guides; requiring
11 public schools to annually submit their plans to the
12 district school board; authorizing the State Board of
13 Education to adopt rules; providing an effective date.
14
15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17 Section 1. Section 1003.211, Florida Statutes, is created
18 to read:
19
1003.211
School elopement plans.—
20
(1)
For purposes of this section, the term:
21
(a)
“Disability” means, for a student in kindergarten
22
through grade 12, an autism spectrum disorder, as defined in the
23
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth
24
Edition, published by the American Psychiatric Association, or
25
an intellectual disability as defined in s. 393.063.
26
(b)1.
“Elopement” means when
a student with autism
spectrum
27
disorder
or other disability
leaves a safe or designated area,
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the supervision of school staff, or school grounds without
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authorization or awareness of potential risk
, and such student
30
has a documented history of doing so
.
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2.
Elopement may include wandering, walking away, running
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away, or otherwise departing an assigned location unsupervised
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or unnoticed
,
only when the behavior is connected to the
34
student’s disability-related needs and poses a safety concern
.
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3. Elopement
does not include intentional class-skipping or
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other non-disability-related absences.
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(2)
To ensure the safety of students with disabilities at
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risk of elopement, each public school shall create a School
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Staff Assistance for Emergencies (SAFE) Team and a school
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elopement plan. The plan must include procedures for immediately
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contacting the parent or guardian of a student with disabilities
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if the student elopes.
The plan must include procedures for
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conducting an immediate, coordinated on-campus search and
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contacting emergency services only when the student is
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reasonably believed, based on verified information or direct
46
observation, to have left school grounds and to be at risk of
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harm.
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(3)
The school principal and an assistant principal shall
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serve on the SAFE Team, and the school principal shall appoint
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at least three other school members, including the school
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resource officer, to serve on the team. The SAFE Team shall do
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all of the following:
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(a)
Create and annually update the school elopement plan
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and respond to all elopements.
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(b)
Provide training to all school personnel to familiarize
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such personnel with the school elopement plan and all necessary
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procedures.
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(4)(a)
If a student with disabilities is prone to
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elopement, the SAFE Team, in coordination with the student’s
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parent or guardian, must create a student-specific elopement
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quick reference guide. The elopement quick reference guide must
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include all of the following:
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1.
The student’s identifying information.
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2.
A current photograph of the student.
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3.
The student’s level of communication.
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4.
A list of the student’s interests, behaviors,
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preferences, and aversions.
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5.
Any health considerations for the student.
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6.
A list of any GPS technology that could be used to help
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locate the student.
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7.
A list of possible locations where the student may go
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when eloping.
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(b)
The SAFE Team must distribute a student’s elopement
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quick reference guide to the student’s parent and all relevant
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school personnel.
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(5)
Each public school must annually provide its elopement
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plan to the district school board.
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(6)
The state board may adopt rules to administer this
79
section.
80 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.