Florida SB 1216: Public School Personnel Compensation

Bill Text

1216 
Public School Personnel Compensation 
2026-01-06T08:27:05Z 
Providing that cost-of-living adjustments are for employees with direct student contact; deleting a limitation on such adjustments; deleting certain limitations for salary adjustments under the performance salary schedule, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1216 

 By Senator Rodriguez 

 40-00435A-26 20261216__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to public school personnel 
 3 compensation; amending s. 1012.22, F.S.; providing 
 4 that cost-of-living adjustments are for employees with 
 5 direct student contact; providing that such 
 6 adjustments do not preclude district school boards 
 7 from providing other adjustments; deleting a 
 8 limitation on such adjustments; revising the 
 9 requirement for the use of advanced degrees when 
 10 setting salary schedules for instructional personnel 
 11 and school administrators; deleting certain 
 12 limitations for salary adjustments under the 
 13 performance salary schedule; providing an effective 
 14 date. 
 15 
 16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 17 
 18 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section 
 19 1012.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 
 20 1012.22 Public school personnel; powers and duties of the 
 21 district school board.—The district school board shall: 
 22 (1) Designate positions to be filled, prescribe 
 23 qualifications for those positions, and provide for the 
 24 appointment, compensation, promotion, suspension, and dismissal 
 25 of employees as follows, subject to the requirements of this 
 26 chapter: 
 27 (c) Compensation and salary schedules.— 
 28 1. Definitions.—As used in this paragraph: 
 29 a. “Adjustment” means an addition to the base salary 
 30 schedule that is not a bonus and becomes part of the employee’s 
 31 permanent base salary and is shall be considered compensation 
 32 under s. 121.021(22). 
 33 b. “Grandfathered salary schedule” means the salary 
 34 schedule or schedules adopted by a district school board before 
 35 July 1, 2014, pursuant to subparagraph 4. 
 36 c. “Instructional personnel” means instructional personnel 
 37 as defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a)-(d), excluding substitute 
 38 teachers. 
 39 d. “Performance salary schedule” means the salary schedule 
 40 or schedules adopted by a district school board pursuant to 
 41 subparagraph 5. 
 42 e. “Salary schedule” means any the schedule or schedules 
 43 used to provide the base salary for district school board 
 44 personnel. 
 45 f. “School administrator” means a school administrator as 
 46 defined in s. 1012.01(3)(c). 
 47 g. “Supplement” means an annual addition to the base salary 
 48 for the term of the negotiated supplement as long as the 
 49 employee continues his or her employment for the purpose of the 
 50 supplement. A supplement does not become part of the employee’s 
 51 continuing base salary but is shall be considered compensation 
 52 under s. 121.021(22). 
 53 2. Cost-of-living adjustment.—A district school board may 
 54 provide a cost-of-living salary adjustment to district 
 55 employees, including, but not limited to, instructional 
 56 personnel as defined in s. 1012.01(2), prekindergarten teachers, 
 57 noninstructional personnel, and school administrators as defined 
 58 in s. 1012.01(3)(c), if the adjustment: 
 59 a. does not discriminate among comparable classes of 
 60 employees based upon the salary schedule under which they are 
 61 compensated. A cost-of-living adjustment does not preclude a 
 62 district school board from providing other salary adjustments 
 63 from additional funding sources, including categorical funding 
 64 and the classroom teacher and other instructional personnel 
 65 salary increase under s. 1011.62(14) and supplemental funding 
 66 sources, including grants. 
 67 b. Does not exceed 50 percent of the annual adjustment 
 68 provided to instructional personnel rated as effective. 
 69 3. Advanced degrees.—A district school board may use 
 70 advanced degrees in setting a salary schedule for instructional 
 71 personnel or school administrators if the advanced degree is 
 72 held in the individual’s area of certification, a field related 
 73 to his or her teaching assignment, or a related field of study. 
 74 For purposes of the salary schedule, an advanced degree may 
 75 include a master’s degree or higher that is in the area of 
 76 certification or teaching assignment, or an advanced degree in 
 77 another field with a minimum of 18 graduate semester hours 
 78 related to the individual’s area of certification or teaching 
 79 assignment. 
 80 4. Grandfathered salary schedule.— 
 81 a. The district school board shall adopt a salary schedule 
 82 or salary schedules to be used as the basis for paying all 
 83 school employees hired before July 1, 2014. Instructional 
 84 personnel on annual contract as of July