Florida HB 471: Unmanned Aircraft

Bill Text

HB 471 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb471-00
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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 the recruitment and retention of 2
speech-language pathologists; creating s. 1012.02, 3
F.S.; requiring the Department of Education to develop 4
and maintain a statewide strategic plan for the 5
recruitment and retention of speech-language 6
pathologists and the provision of quality services; 7
providing requirements for such plan; providing 8
department requirements relating to completing and 9
publishing the plan; providing school district and 10
charter school requirements relating to submitting 11
specified data for the plan; requiring the department 12
to provide specified updates to certain committees of 13
the Legislature; providing an effective date. 14
15
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16
17
Section 1. Section 1012.02, Florida Statutes, is created 18
to read: 19
1012.02 Statewide strategic plan for the recruitment and 20
retention of speech-language pathologists and the provision of 21
quality services.— 22
(1) The Department of Education shall develop and maintain 23
a statewide strategic plan for recruiting and retaining speech-24
language pathologists and assuring that quality services are 25

HB 471 2026

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provided to students with speech-language disabilities. At a 26
minimum, the plan must include, but is not limited to, all of 27
the following: 28
(a) The analysis of relevant data to determine the 29
specific staffing needs of school districts and charter schools. 30
Such analysis must be ongoing throughout the school year and 31
must include: 32
1. The total number of public schools, disaggregated by 33
school district and charter school. 34
2. The number of speech-language pathologists employed at 35
each school and school district, including speech-language 36
pathologists who are contracted personnel. 37
3. The number of employees and contracted personnel per 38
school district or charter school who are: 39
a. Doctoral-level speech-language pathologists. 40
b. Master-level speech-language pathologists. 41
c. Bachelor-level speech-language therapists. 42
d. Speech-language pathology assistants. 43
4. An examination of the caseloads and compensation of 44
such employees and contracted personnel and a comparison of such 45
caseloads and compensation between school districts and charter 46
schools and in contiguous states. 47
(b) Tracking the changes in the number of employees and 48
contracted personnel listed in subparagraph (a)3. from year to 49
year, including resignations and retirements. 50

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(c) An examination of strategies for addressing challenges 51
school districts and charter schools face in the recruitment and 52
retention of the employees and contracted personnel listed in 53
subparagraph (a)3., including, but not limited to: 54
1. Tuition assistance programs. 55
2. Continuing education opportunities. 56
3. Expanding opportunities for such employees and 57
contracted personnel to work full-time, part-time, or on another 58
hybrid schedule with continued benefits. 59
4. Establishing hybrid work environments. 60
5. Establishing differentiated pay for speech-language 61
pathologists. 62
6. Expanding mentorships for speech-language pathologists 63
for newly employed speech-language pathologists. 64
(d) An estimation of the costs to implement the strategies 65
outlined in paragraph (c), including the extent to which 66
federal, state, and local funds could be used to support such 67
implementation. 68
(e) The development and implementation of a weighted 69
calculation methodology for determining a caseload and workload 70
plan for speech-language pathologists. The plan must be based on 71
an analysis of the activities and populations for which the 72
speech-language pathologists are responsible and, at a minimum, 73
must include sufficient time for all of the following: 74
1. Individualized therapeutic instruction and 75

HB 471 2026

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interventions for students. 76
2. Diagnostic and evaluation-specific speech, language, 77
and literacy. 78
3. Consultation services and collaboration among staff 79
members. 80
4. Attendance at individual education plan meetings and 81
other staff conferences, as appropriate. 82
5. Required documentation and reporting. 83
6. Medicaid billing and related activities. 84
7. Response to student interventions. 85
(f) The amount of Medicaid revenue that is annually: 86
1. Gener