Florida SB 662: Education and the Military

Bill Text

662 
Corporal Punishment 
2025-11-25T03:18:01Z 
Prohibiting school district employees from using corporal punishment on public school students, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 662 

 By Senator Bernard 

 24-00586-26 2026662__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to corporal punishment; amending s. 
 3 1002.20, F.S.; prohibiting school district employees 
 4 from using corporal punishment on public school 
 5 students; amending ss. 1003.32, 1006.07, and 1012.28, 
 6 F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the 
 7 act; providing an effective date. 
 8 
 9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 10 
 11 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section 
 12 1002.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 
 13 1002.20 K-12 student and parent rights.—Parents of public 
 14 school students must receive accurate and timely information 
 15 regarding their child’s academic progress and must be informed 
 16 of ways they can help their child to succeed in school. K-12 
 17 students and their parents are afforded numerous statutory 
 18 rights including, but not limited to, the following: 
 19 (4) DISCIPLINE.— 
 20 (c) Corporal punishment.—A school district employee may not 
 21 use 
 22 1. In accordance with s. 1003.32, corporal punishment, as 
 23 defined in s. 1003.01, on of a public school student may only be 
 24 administered by a teacher or school principal within guidelines 
 25 of the school principal and according to district school board 
 26 policy. Another adult must be present and must be informed in 
 27 the student’s presence of the reason for the punishment. Upon 
 28 request, the teacher or school principal must provide the parent 
 29 with a written explanation of the reason for the punishment and 
 30 the name of the other adult who was present. 
 31 2. A district school board having a policy authorizing the 
 32 use of corporal punishment as a form of discipline shall include 
 33 in such policy a requirement that a parent provide consent for 
 34 the school to administer corporal punishment. The district 
 35 school board policy may require such consent for the school 
 36 year, or before each administration. The district school board 
 37 shall review its policy on corporal punishment once every 3 
 38 years during a district school board meeting held pursuant to s. 
 39 1001.372. The district school board shall take public testimony 
 40 at the board meeting. If such board meeting is not held in 
 41 accordance with this subparagraph, the portion of the district 
 42 school board’s policy authorizing corporal punishment expires. 
 43 Section 2. Paragraph (k) of subsection (1) of section 
 44 1003.32, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 
 45 1003.32 Authority of teacher; responsibility for control of 
 46 students; district school board and principal duties.—Subject to 
 47 law and to the rules of the district school board, each teacher 
 48 or other member of the staff of any school shall have such 
 49 authority for the control and discipline of students as may be 
 50 assigned to him or her by the principal or the principal’s 
 51 designated representative and shall keep good order in the 
 52 classroom and in other places in which he or she is assigned to 
 53 be in charge of students. 
 54 (1) In accordance with this section and within the 
 55 framework of the district school board’s code of student 
 56 conduct, teachers and other instructional personnel shall have 
 57 the authority to undertake any of the following actions in 
 58 managing student behavior and ensuring the safety of all 
 59 students in their classes and school and their opportunity to 
 60 learn in an orderly and disciplined classroom: 
 61 (k) Use corporal punishment according to school board 
 62 policy and at least the following procedures, if a teacher feels 
 63 that corporal punishment is necessary: 
 64 1. The use of corporal punishment shall be approved in 
 65 principle by the principal before it is used, but approval is 
 66 not necessary for each specific instance in which it is used. 
 67 The principal shall prepare guidelines for administering such 
 68 punishment which identify the types of punishable offenses, the 
 69 conditions under which the punishment shall be administered, and 
 70 the specific personnel on the school staff authorized to 
 71 administer the punishment. 
 72 2. A teacher or principal may administer corporal 
 73 punishment only in the presence of another adult who is informed 
 74 beforehand, and in the student’s presence, of the reason for the 
 75 punishment. 
 76 3. A teacher or principal who has administered punishment 
 77 shall, upon request, provide the student’s parent with a written 
 78 explanation of the reason for the punishment and the name of the 
 79 other adult who was present. 
 80 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and paragraph 
 81 (b) o