Florida SB 1718: Harm to Minors

Bill Text

1718 
Educator Preparation and Certification 
2026-01-09T11:22:24Z 
Authorizing an educator preparation institute to allow certain program participants to enroll in introductory coursework; revising the criteria for the award of a temporary educator certification to include certain persons with expired professional certificates; requiring that subject area coverages and endorsements for a certificateholder be reinstated with the certificateholder’s professional certificate; requiring the Florida Center for Teaching Excellence to collaborate with the David C. Anchin Center for the Advancement of Teaching for specified purposes, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1718 

 By Senator Calatayud 

 38-01409E-26 20261718__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to educator preparation and 
 3 certification; amending s. 1004.85, F.S.; authorizing 
 4 an educator preparation institute to allow certain 
 5 program participants to enroll in introductory 
 6 coursework; amending s. 1012.56, F.S.; revising the 
 7 criteria for the award of a temporary educator 
 8 certification to include certain persons with expired 
 9 professional certificates; amending s. 1012.585, F.S.; 
 10 requiring that subject area coverages and endorsements 
 11 for a certificateholder be reinstated with the 
 12 certificateholder’s professional certificate; revising 
 13 requirements for reinstatement of a professional 
 14 certificate; providing that certain requirements for 
 15 reinstatement of a professional certificate may not be 
 16 satisfied using specific inservice points; amending s. 
 17 1012.981, F.S.; requiring the Florida Center for 
 18 Teaching Excellence to collaborate with the David C. 
 19 Anchin Center for the Advancement of Teaching for 
 20 specified purposes; requiring, rather than 
 21 authorizing, the center to submit a specified 
 22 professional learning system for approval by the 
 23 department; requiring the center to allow certain 
 24 certified educators to use such professional learning 
 25 system for specified purposes at no cost to the 
 26 educator; requiring the center to submit inservice 
 27 points for such educators to the department; requiring 
 28 the center to provide information on certain school 
 29 district professional learning systems to certain 
 30 certified educators; providing an effective date. 
 31 
 32 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 33 
 34 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 
 35 1004.85, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 
 36 1004.85 Postsecondary educator preparation institutes.— 
 37 (3) Educator preparation institutes approved pursuant to 
 38 this section may offer competency-based certification programs 
 39 specifically designed for noneducation major baccalaureate 
 40 degree holders to enable program participants to meet the 
 41 educator certification requirements of s. 1012.56. An educator 
 42 preparation institute choosing to offer a competency-based 
 43 certification program pursuant to the provisions of this section 
 44 must implement a program developed by the institute and approved 
 45 by the department for this purpose. Approved programs shall be 
 46 available for use by other approved educator preparation 
 47 institutes. 
 48 (b) Each program participant must: 
 49 1. Meet certification requirements pursuant to s. 
 50 1012.56(1) by obtaining an eligible a statement of status of 
 51 eligibility in the certification subject area of the educational 
 52 plan and meet the requirements of s. 1012.56(2)(a)-(f) before 
 53 participating in field experiences. An educator preparation 
 54 institute may allow a program participant to enroll in and 
 55 complete coursework while the participant is working to obtain 
 56 an eligible statement of status of eligibility in the 
 57 certification subject area of the educational plan. 
 58 2. Demonstrate competency and participate in field 
 59 experiences that are appropriate to his or her educational plan 
 60 prepared under paragraph (a). Beginning with candidates entering 
 61 an educator preparation institute in the 2022-2023 school year, 
 62 a candidate for certification in a coverage area identified 
 63 pursuant to s. 1012.585(3)(f) must successfully complete all 
 64 competencies for a reading endorsement, including completion of 
 65 the endorsement practicum through the candidate’s field 
 66 experience, in order to graduate from the program. 
 67 3. Before completion of the program, fully demonstrate his 
 68 or her ability to teach the subject area for which he or she is 
 69 seeking certification by documenting a positive impact on 
 70 student learning growth in a prekindergarten through grade 12 
 71 setting and, except as provided in s. 1012.56(7)(a)3., achieving 
 72 a passing score on the professional education competency 
 73 examination, the basic skills examination, and the