Florida HB 6507: Relief/Marcus Button/Pasco County School Board

Bill Text

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HB 6507 2026 Legislature

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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

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An act for the relief of L.E. by the Department of 2
Children and Families; providing an appropriation to 3
compensate L.E. for injuries and damages sustained as 4
a result of the negligence of the department; 5
providing a limitation on compensation and the payment 6
of attorney fees; providing an effective date. 7
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WHEREAS, L.E. was born on July 29, 2019, and, at birth, 9
tested positive for amphetamines, and 10
WHEREAS, L.E.'s biological mother tested positive for 11
amphetamines after the delivery of L.E., and 12
WHEREAS, while at the hospital, L.E.'s biological mother 13
and father engaged in a violent altercation with each other, and 14
WHEREAS, shortly after L.E.'s birth, the Department of 15
Children and Families received two child abuse hotline reports, 16
one alleging intrafamily violence threatening L.E. and the other 17
alleging drug exposure of newborn L.E., and 18
WHEREAS, under s. 39.001, Florida Statutes, the department 19
is charged with the duty of conducting child protective 20
investigations to ensure child safety and prevent further harm 21
to children and owed L.E. a duty to ensure her safety and 22
prevent further harm, and 23
WHEREAS, the department sent a child protective 24
investigator to the hospital to initiate an investigation of the 25

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HB 6507 2026 Legislature

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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

reported abuse, and 26
WHEREAS, the department discovered that L.E.'s mother had a 27
history of substance abuse, untreated mental health issues, and 28
a criminal history involving violence, and 29
WHEREAS, the department discovered that both L.E.'s mother 30
and father had an extensive history of involvement with the 31
department, including, collectively, at least 20 prior child 32
abuse hotline reports, and 33
WHEREAS, one of those prior reports involved egregious 34
abuse of L.E.'s biological father's other daughter when she was 35
not yet 6 months old, resulting in long-bone fractures, and 36
WHEREAS, the department removed that daughter from the 37
father's care, and 38
WHEREAS, L.E.'s mother's other two biological children had 39
previously been removed from her care due to verified child 40
abuse, and 41
WHEREAS, as L.E.'s mother placed her third child for 42
adoption, she was also planning to place L.E. for adoption and 43
made such arrangements before L.E.'s birth, and 44
WHEREAS, shortly after L.E. was born, L.E.'s mother 45
abandoned L.E. at the hospital and, against medical advice, left 46
the hospital with L.E.'s father, and 47
WHEREAS, an adoption specialist arrived at the hospital to 48
visit L.E., and 49
WHEREAS, while L.E. was still in the hospital following her 50

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HB 6507 2026 Legislature

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb6507 -00-er
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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

birth, the department determined that L.E. was in "present 51
danger" if left in the care of her parents and that immediate 52
action was necessary to protect L.E. from further abuse or 53
neglect, and 54
WHEREAS, the department contracted with a child welfare 55
agency and, instead of removing L.E. from her parents' care 56
through a judicial process, the department and its subcontractor 57
developed an out-of-home safety plan to place L.E. with a friend 58
of L.E.'s mother, and 59
WHEREAS, within 3 weeks after that placement, the friend 60
realized that she could no longer care for L.E. and informed the 61
department of this, and 62
WHEREAS, despite a reassessment that established that there 63
was still a "present danger" to L.E. if left in the care of her 64
parents, the department relied upon information from its 65
subcontracted agency, and the joint decision was made to place 66
L.E. into her parents' care, and 67
WHEREAS, on August 21, 2019, L.E. was placed into her 68
parents' home, and 69
WHEREAS, on or about September 17, 2019, less than 4 weeks 70
later, the department determined that it would be closing its 71
investigation, despite acknowledging that L.E.'s home situation 72
was volatile and unstable and that L.E.'s mother remained 73
violent and impulsive, and 74
WHEREAS, the subcontractor planned to decrease its 75

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ENROLLED
HB 6507 2026 Legislature

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb6507 -00-er
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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

monitoring of L.E. and the home upon the department closing its 76
investigation, and 77
WHEREAS, on September 18, 2019, the subcontractor 78
transitioned its services from safety management to nonjudicial 79
in-home services, which inherently decreased monitoring of L.E. 80
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