Florida SB 1006: Video Cameras in Public School Classrooms

Bill Text

1006 
Freedom of Speech and Religious Expression in Public Schools 
2025-12-23T05:29:49Z 
Prohibiting a school district from discriminating against students or school personnel on the basis of political or ideological viewpoints or expression; authorizing students to express political or ideological beliefs in coursework, artwork, and other specified assignments; authorizing a student to wear clothing, accessories, and jewelry displaying political or ideological messages or symbols; authorizing political or ideological groups to advertise or announce meetings in the same manner and to the same extent as other groups; creating a private cause of action for persons and student clubs or groups harmed by specified violations, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1006 

 By Senator Yarborough 

 4-01149B-26 20261006__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to freedom of speech and religious 
 3 expression in public schools; amending s. 1002.206, 
 4 F.S.; revising a short title; prohibiting a school 
 5 district from discriminating against students or 
 6 school personnel on the basis of political or 
 7 ideological viewpoints or expression; requiring a 
 8 school district to treat a student’s voluntary 
 9 expression of political or ideological viewpoints on 
 10 permissible subjects in the same manner as any other 
 11 viewpoint; authorizing students to express political 
 12 or ideological beliefs in coursework, artwork, and 
 13 other specified assignments; prohibiting penalty or 
 14 reward for such expression in coursework, artwork, or 
 15 other specified assignments; authorizing a student to 
 16 wear clothing, accessories, and jewelry displaying 
 17 political or ideological messages or symbols; 
 18 authorizing a student to engage in or organize 
 19 political or ideological activities or expression; 
 20 authorizing a student to organize political or 
 21 ideological groups, clubs, and other gatherings; 
 22 prohibiting a school district from discriminating 
 23 against a student club or group for specified reasons; 
 24 requiring that a school district provide political or 
 25 ideological groups with equal access to school 
 26 facilities; authorizing political or ideological 
 27 groups to advertise or announce meetings in the same 
 28 manner and to the same extent as other groups; 
 29 requiring that the Department of Education develop and 
 30 publish a model policy regarding a limited public 
 31 forum and political or ideological expression; 
 32 providing construction; creating a private cause of 
 33 action for persons and student clubs or groups harmed 
 34 by specified violations; providing for specified 
 35 awards to such persons and clubs or groups; 
 36 authorizing such persons and clubs or groups to use 
 37 specified violations as a defense or counterclaim 
 38 under certain circumstances; providing applicability; 
 39 requiring that such actions be brought within a 
 40 specified period of time; providing that the state 
 41 waives specified immunity; providing that school 
 42 district has liability under certain circumstances; 
 43 providing severability; providing an effective date. 
 44 
 45 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 46 
 47 Section 1. Section 1002.206, Florida Statutes, is amended 
 48 to read: 
 49 1002.206 Freedom of speech and religious expression in 
 50 public schools.— 
 51 (1) This section may be cited as the “Florida Student and 
 52 School Personnel First Amendment and Religious Liberties Act.” 
 53 (2) A school district may not discriminate against a 
 54 student, parent, or school personnel on the basis of a religious 
 55 viewpoint or religious expression. A school district may not 
 56 discriminate against or penalize a student on the basis of 
 57 expressing a religious, political, or ideological viewpoint or 
 58 for engaging in religious, political, or ideological expression 
 59 in the same time, place, and manner and to the same extent that 
 60 other similarly situated students may engage in speech or 
 61 express views at a public school. A school district shall treat 
 62 a student’s voluntary expression of a religious, political, or 
 63 ideological viewpoint on an otherwise permissible subject in the 
 64 same manner that the school district treats a student’s 
 65 voluntary expression of any other a secular viewpoint. 
 66 (3)(a) A student may express his or her religious, 
 67 political, or ideological beliefs in coursework, artwork, and 
 68 other written and oral assignments free from discrimination or 
 69 academic penalty. A student’s homework and classroom assignments 
 70 must shall be evaluated, regardless of their religious, 
 71 political, or ideological content, based on expected academic 
 72 standards relating to the course curriculum and requirements. A 
 73 student may not be penalized or rewarded based on the religious, 
 74 p