Florida SB 918: Education

Bill Text

918 
Juvenile Justice 
2025-12-16T06:37:03Z 
Requiring a court to determine, for any delinquent child committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice, the minimum period of time rather than an indeterminate period of time for the child to remain in a commitment program; requiring that the delinquent child remain in the commitment program until he or she has completed it; revising the age at which children who have been adjudicated on specified offenses may be committed to maximum-risk residential facilities to include children who are at least 10 years of age, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 918 

 By Senator Bracy Davis 

 15-00946-26 2026918__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to juvenile justice; amending s. 
 3 985.455, F.S.; requiring a court to determine, for any 
 4 delinquent child committed to the Department of 
 5 Juvenile Justice, the minimum period of time rather 
 6 than an indeterminate period of time for the child to 
 7 remain in a commitment program; requiring that the 
 8 delinquent child remain in the commitment program 
 9 until he or she has completed it; revising provisions 
 10 relating to an objective performance-based treatment 
 11 plan; deleting a prohibition on extending a child’s 
 12 length of stay in the program for purposes of sanction 
 13 or punishment; amending s. 985.465, F.S.; revising the 
 14 age at which children who have been adjudicated on 
 15 specified offenses may be committed to maximum-risk 
 16 residential facilities to include children who are at 
 17 least 10 years of age; conforming provisions to 
 18 changes made by the act; reenacting ss. 985.35(4)(b) 
 19 and 985.565(4)(b), F.S., relating to adjudicatory 
 20 hearings for children and sentencing alternatives for 
 21 juveniles prosecuted as adults, respectively, to 
 22 incorporate the amendment made to s. 985.455, F.S., in 
 23 references thereto; providing an effective date. 
 24 
 25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 26 
 27 Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 985.455, Florida 
 28 Statutes, is amended to read: 
 29 985.455 Other dispositional issues.— 
 30 (3) For any commitment of a delinquent child to the 
 31 department, a court shall determine the minimum period of time 
 32 for the delinquent child to remain in a commitment program. A 
 33 delinquent child committed to the department must remain in the 
 34 commitment program until he or she has completed it. must be for 
 35 an indeterminate period of time, which may include periods of 
 36 temporary release; However, the period of time may not exceed 
 37 the maximum term of imprisonment that an adult may serve for the 
 38 same offense. The child must have an duration of the child’s 
 39 placement in a commitment program of any restrictiveness level 
 40 shall be based on objective performance-based treatment plan 
 41 while in the commitment of the program planning. The child’s 
 42 treatment plan progress and adjustment-related issues shall be 
 43 reported to the court quarterly, unless the court requests 
 44 monthly reports. If the child is under the jurisdiction of a 
 45 dependency court, the court may receive and consider any 
 46 information provided by the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office 
 47 or the child’s attorney ad litem, if one is appointed. The 
 48 child’s length of stay in a commitment program may be extended 
 49 if the child fails to comply with or participate in treatment 
 50 activities. The child’s length of stay in the program shall not 
 51 be extended for purposes of sanction or punishment. Any 
 52 temporary release from such program must be approved by the 
 53 court. Any child so committed may be discharged from 
 54 institutional confinement or a program upon the direction of the 
 55 department with the concurrence of the court. The child’s 
 56 treatment plan progress and adjustment-related issues must be 
 57 communicated to the court at the time the department requests 
 58 the court to consider releasing the child from the commitment 
 59 program. The department shall give the court that committed the 
 60 child to the department reasonable notice, in writing, of its 
 61 desire to discharge the child from a commitment facility. The 
 62 court that committed the child may thereafter accept or reject 
 63 the request. If the court does not respond within 10 days after 
 64 receipt of the notice, the request of the department shall be 
 65 deemed granted. This section does not limit the department’s 
 66 authority to revoke a child’s temporary release status and 
 67 return the child to a commitment facility for any violation of 
 68 the terms and conditions of the temporary release. 
 69 Section 2. Section 985.465, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
 70 read: 
 71 985.465 Maximum-risk residential facilities.—A maximum-risk 
 72 residential facility is a physically secure residential 
 73 commi