Florida HB 121: Aggravated Animal Cruelty

Bill Text

CS/HB 121 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb121-01-c1
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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 nursing education programs; 2
amending s. 464.019, F.S.; revising application 3
requirements for nursing education program approval; 4
requiring the Board of Nursing to deny an application 5
under certain circumstances; authorizing the board to 6
revoke a program's approval under certain 7
circumstances; authorizing the board to investigate 8
the nature of an adverse action and take specified 9
actions; revising requirements for annual reports 10
program directors of approved programs are required to 11
submit to the board; providing for the termination of 12
a program's approval, and discipline of its program 13
director, under certain circumstances; revising 14
remediation procedures for approved programs with 15
graduate passage rates that do not meet specified 16
requirements; deleting a provision authorizing the 17
board to extend a program's probationary status; 18
revising requirements for certain nursing education 19
programs placed on probationary status; providing 20
requirements for programs with certain graduate 21
passage rates; authorizing agents of the Department of 22
Health to conduct onsite evaluations and inspections 23
of approved and accredited nursing education programs; 24
authorizing the department to collect evidence as part 25

CS/HB 121 2026

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of such evaluations and inspections; deeming failure 26
or refusal of a program to allow such evaluation or 27
inspection as a violation of a legal obligation; 28
revising and providing rulemaking authority of the 29
board; revising program-specific data the Florida 30
Center for Nursing evaluates for certain programs; 31
deleting a provision authorizing approved nursing 32
education programs to request an extension to meet the 33
board's accreditation requirements; providing an 34
effective date. 35
36
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 37
38
Section 1. Subsections (1), (2), (3), (5), (8), and (10) 39
and paragraph (f) of subsection (11) of section 464.019, Florida 40
Statutes, are amended to read: 41
464.019 Approval of nursing education programs.— 42
(1) PROGRAM APPLICATION.—An educational institution that 43
wishes to conduct a program in this state for the prelicensure 44
education of professional or practical nurses must submit to the 45
department a program application and review fee of $1,000 for 46
each prelicensure nursing education program to be offered at the 47
institution's main campus, branch campus, or other instructional 48
site. The program application must include the legal name of the 49
educational institution, the legal name of the nursing education 50

CS/HB 121 2026

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program, the legal name of the nursing education program 51
director, the status and outcome of any disciplinary case 52
pending or closed against the applicant in another regulatory 53
jurisdiction in the United States, and, if such institution is 54
accredited, the name of the accrediting agency. The application 55
must also document that: 56
(a)1. For a professional nursing education program, the 57
program director and at least 50 percent of the program's 58
faculty members are registered nurses who have a master's or 59
higher degree in nursing or a bachelor's degree in nursing and a 60
master's or higher degree in a field related to nursing. 61
2. For a practical nursing education program, the program 62
director and at least 50 percent of the program's faculty 63
members are registered nurses who have a bachelor's or higher 64
degree in nursing. 65
66
The educational degree requirements of this paragraph may be 67
documented by an official transcript or by a written statement 68
from the program director of the educational institution 69
verifying that the institution conferred the degree. The program 70
director shall certify the official transcript or written 71
statement as true and accurate. 72
(b) The program's nursing major curriculum consists of at 73
least: 74
1. Fifty percent clinical training in the United States, 75

CS/HB 121 2026

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the District of Columbia, or a possession or territory of the 76
United States for a practical nursing education program, an 77
associate degree professional nursing education program, or a 78
professional diploma nursing education program. 79
2. Forty percent clinical training in the United States, 80
the District of Columbi