Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 662
By
Senator Bernard
24-00586-26 2026662__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to corporal punishment; amending s.
3 1002.20, F.S.; prohibiting school district employees
4 from using corporal punishment on public school
5 students; amending ss. 1003.32, 1006.07, and 1012.28,
6 F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the
7 act; providing an effective date.
8
9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
10
11 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section
12 1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
13 1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public
14 school students must receive accurate and timely information
15 regarding their child’s academic progress and must be informed
16 of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12
17 students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory
18 rights including, but not limited to, the following:
19 (4) DISCIPLINE.—
20 (c)
Corporal punishment.
—
A school district employee may not
21
use
22
1.
In accordance with s. 1003.32,
corporal punishment
, as
23
defined in s. 1003.01, on
of
a public school student
may only be
24
administered by a teacher or school principal within guidelines
25
of the school principal and according to district school board
26
policy
.
Another adult must be present and must be informed in
27
the student’s presence of the reason for the punishment. Upon
28
request, the teacher or school principal must provide the parent
29
with a written explanation of the reason for the punishment and
30
the name of the other adult who was present.
31
2.
A district school board having a policy authorizing the
32
use of corporal punishment as a form of discipline shall include
33
in such policy a requirement that a parent provide consent for
34
the school to administer corporal punishment. The district
35
school board policy may require such consent for the school
36
year, or before each administration. The district school board
37
shall review its policy on corporal punishment once every 3
38
years during a district school board meeting held pursuant to s.
39
1001.372. The district school board shall take public testimony
40
at the board meeting. If such board meeting is not held in
41
accordance with this subparagraph, the portion of the district
42
school board’s policy authorizing corporal punishment expires.
43 Section 2. Paragraph (k) of subsection (1) of section
44 1003.32, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
45 1003.32 Authority of teacher; responsibility for control of
46 students; district school board and principal duties.—Subject to
47 law and to the rules of the district school board, each teacher
48 or other member of the staff of any school shall have such
49 authority for the control and discipline of students as may be
50 assigned to him or her by the principal or the principal’s
51 designated representative and shall keep good order in the
52 classroom and in other places in which he or she is assigned to
53 be in charge of students.
54 (1) In accordance with this section and within the
55 framework of the district school board’s code of student
56 conduct, teachers and other instructional personnel shall have
57 the authority to undertake any of the following actions in
58 managing student behavior and ensuring the safety of all
59 students in their classes and school and their opportunity to
60 learn in an orderly and disciplined classroom:
61
(k)
Use corporal punishment according to school board
62
policy and at least the following procedures, if a teacher feels
63
that corporal punishment is necessary:
64
1.
The use of corporal punishment shall be approved in
65
principle by the principal before it is used, but approval is
66
not necessary for each specific instance in which it is used.
67
The principal shall prepare guidelines for administering such
68
punishment which identify the types of punishable offenses, the
69
conditions under which the punishment shall be administered, and
70
the specific personnel on the school staff authorized to
71
administer the punishment.
72
2.
A teacher or principal may administer corporal
73
punishment only in the presence of another adult who is informed
74
beforehand, and in the student’s presence, of the reason for the
75
punishment.
76
3.
A teacher or principal who has administered punishment
77
shall, upon request, provide the student’s parent with a written
78
explanation of the reason for the punishment and the name of the
79
other adult who was present.
80 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and paragraph
81 (b) of subsection (2) of section 1006.07, Florida Statutes, are
82 amended to read:
83 1006.07 District school board duties relating to student
84 discipline and school safety.—The district school board shall
85 provide for the proper accounting for all students, for the
86 attendance and control of students at school, and for proper
87 attention to health, safety, and other matters relating to the
88 welfare of students, including:
89 (1) CONTROL OF STUDENTS.—
90 (a) Adopt rules for the control, discipline, in-school
91 suspension, suspension, and expulsion of students and decide all
92 cases recommended for expulsion. Suspension hearings are
93 exempted from the provisions of chapter 120. Expulsion hearings
94 shall be governed by ss. 120.569 and 120.57(2) and are exempt
95 from s. 286.011. However, the student’s parent must be given
96 notice of the provisions of s. 286.011 and may elect to have the
97 hearing held in compliance with that section.
The district
98
school board may prohibit the use of corporal punishment, if the
99
district school board adopts or has adopted a written program of
100
alternative control or discipline.
101 (2) CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT.—Adopt a code of student
102 conduct for elementary schools and a code of student conduct for
103 middle and high schools and distribute the appropriate code to
104 all teachers, school personnel, students, and parents, at the
105 beginning of every school year. Each code shall be organized and
106 written in language that is understandable to students and
107 parents and shall be discussed at the beginning of every school
108 year in student classes, school advisory council meetings, and
109 parent and teacher association or organization meetings. Each
110 code shall be based on the rules governing student conduct and
111 discipline adopted by the district school board and shall be
112 made available in the student handbook or similar publication.
113 Each code shall include, but is not limited to:
114 (b) Procedures to be followed for acts requiring
115 discipline
, including corporal punishment
.
116 Section 4. Subsection (5) of section 1012.28, Florida
117 Statutes, is amended to read:
118 1012.28 Public school personnel; duties of school
119 principals.—
120 (5) Each school principal shall perform such duties as may
121 be assigned by the district school superintendent, pursuant to
122 the rules of the district school board. Such rules shall
123 include, but are not limited to, rules relating to
124 administrative responsibility, instructional leadership in
125 implementing the state academic standards and the overall
126 educational program of the school to which the school principal
127 is assigned, submission of personnel recommendations to the
128 district school superintendent, administrative responsibility
129 for records and reports,
administration of corporal punishment,
130 and student suspension.
131 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.