Florida SB 176: Public Postsecondary Education Safety Policies and Procedures

Bill Text

176 
Public Postsecondary Education Safety Policies and Procedures 
2026-01-30T11:08:11Z 
Requiring state universities and Florida College System institutions to adopt and implement specified policies and procedures relating to safety; providing requirements for such policies and procedures; requiring state universities and Florida College System institutions to annually review and update the policies and procedures, etc. 
Committee Substitute 1 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
c1 

 Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 176 

 By the Appropriations Committee on Higher Education; and Senator 
 Polsky 

 608-02301-26 2026176c1 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to public postsecondary education 
 3 safety policies and procedures; creating s. 1004.0983, 
 4 F.S.; requiring state universities and Florida College 
 5 System institutions to adopt and implement specified 
 6 policies and procedures relating to safety; providing 
 7 requirements for such policies and procedures; 
 8 requiring state universities and Florida College 
 9 System institutions to annually review and update the 
 10 policies and procedures; authorizing the Board of 
 11 Governors and the State Board of Education to adopt 
 12 regulations and rules, respectively; providing an 
 13 effective date. 
 14 
 15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 16 
 17 Section 1. Section 1004.0983, Florida Statutes, is created 
 18 to read: 
 19 1004.0983 Public postsecondary safety policies and 
 20 procedures.— 
 21 (1) Each state university and Florida College System 
 22 institution shall adopt and implement written safety policies 
 23 and procedures applicable to campus facilities, classrooms, and 
 24 other institutional settings to prevent, report, and respond to: 
 25 (a) An act of violence or attempted violence against a 
 26 person. 
 27 (b) A credible threat as defined in s. 784.048(1)(c). 
 28 (2) The policies and procedures must: 
 29 (a) Identify a person responsible for: 
 30 1. Coordinating the state university or Florida College 
 31 System institution’s response to actions listed in paragraphs 
 32 (1)(a) and (b). 
 33 2. Implementing such policies and procedures, including all 
 34 safety measures. 
 35 (b) Establish clear internal and external reporting 
 36 protocols, including notification of campus security or a local 
 37 law enforcement agency when appropriate. 
 38 (c) Outline the protective measures available to affected 
 39 persons, which may include work or class relocation, security 
 40 escorts, and restricting access to certain areas by a person 
 41 engaged in an activity listed in paragraph (1)(a) or paragraph 
 42 (1)(b). 
 43 (d) Provide timely updates to an affected person regarding 
 44 the status of an incident and any action taken. 
 45 (e) Ensure the policies and procedures are prominently 
 46 posted on the state university’s or Florida College System 
 47 institution’s website and available to students, faculty, staff, 
 48 and visitors upon request. 
 49 (3) Each state university and Florida College System 
 50 institution shall annually review and update the policies and 
 51 procedures to incorporate the best practices in threat 
 52 assessment, campus security, and safety. 
 53 (4) The Board of Governors may adopt regulations and the 
 54 State Board of Education may adopt rules to administer this 
 55 section. 
 56 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.