Florida HB 1279: School District Accountability

Bill Text

ENROLLED
CS/CS/HB 1279, Engrossed 1 2026 Legislature

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1279 -03-er
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An act relating to education; creating s. 413.0114, 2
F.S.; requiring entities that offer fee-based services 3
to individuals who are blind or visually impaired to 4
disclose in writing whether the services may be 5
obtained elsewhere at no cost; specifying requirements 6
for the disclosure; providing penalties for 7
violations; authorizing the State Board of Education 8
to adopt rules; amending s. 413.208, F.S.; requiring 9
certain service providers to apply to, rather than 10
register with, the Division of Vocational 11
Rehabilitation; requiring the division to establish 12
minimum qualifications for service providers; 13
requiring the division to establish an annual 14
application period; authorizing the division to 15
approve or deny any service provider application; 16
providing that, as of a specified date, only certain 17
service providers may participate in the vocational 18
rehabilitation program; requiring the division to 19
develop and make publicly available a certain annual 20
report; requiring service providers to meet certain 21
standards to maintain approved status; requiring that 22
the rates for vocational rehabilitation services meet 23
certain criteria; amending s. 491.005, F.S.; revising 24
the date for a requirement to obtain a license as a 25

ENROLLED
CS/CS/HB 1279, Engrossed 1 2026 Legislature

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1279 -03-er
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marriage and family therapist; amending s. 1001.42, 26
F.S.; revising public information requirements 27
relating to virtual instruction options; removing 28
certain schools from specified contract restrictions; 29
revising the conditions considered an educational 30
emergency; revising virtual instruction requirements; 31
amending s. 1001.92, F.S.; revising certain 32
performance-based metrics; amending s. 1002.20, F.S.; 33
authorizing a student to carry a United States Food 34
and Drug Administration-approved epinephrine delivery 35
device; making conforming changes; amending s. 36
1002.42, F.S.; authorizing private schools to purchase 37
a supply of Food and Drug Administration-approved 38
epinephrine delivery devices, rather than epinephrine 39
auto-injectors; making conforming changes; amending s. 40
1002.421, F.S.; revising circumstances under which 41
regular and direct contact with teachers is satisfied 42
for certain scholarship students; amending s. 1002.68, 43
F.S.; deleting obsolete provisions relating to 44
calculation of kindergarten readiness rates; revising 45
cross-references and program accountability provisions 46
for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program; 47
amending s. 1002.945, F.S.; requiring the Department 48
of Children and Families to determine whether a child 49
care provider is the primary cause of certain class I 50

ENROLLED
CS/CS/HB 1279, Engrossed 1 2026 Legislature

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1279 -03-er
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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

violations; deleting an exception; amending s. 51
1003.4203, F.S.; requiring that the Department of 52
Education make CAPE Digital Tool certificates 53
available to middle grades students; limiting the 54
number of such certificates a middle grades student 55
may earn each school year; amending s. 1003.4282, 56
F.S.; providing that completion of 2 years of marching 57
band satisfies specified credit requirements; 58
authorizing a dance techniques course to satisfy 59
specified graduation credit requirements; revising 60
requirements for mathematics pathways established by a 61
Department of Education workgroup; requiring the 62
department to develop identified mathematics pathways 63
and applied algebra courses by specified dates; 64
requiring the department to collaborate with the Board 65
of Governors of the State University System to ensure 66
the courses are accepted as mathematics credits for 67
state university admissions; amending s. 1003.437, 68
F.S.; requiring the State Board of Education to 69
establish a uniform weighted grading system for 70
specified courses and articulated acceleration 71
mechanisms; requiring district school boards to use 72
the system for a specified purpose; amending s. 73
1003.5716, F.S.; requiring school districts to provide 74
notice and a make-up plan when a related service in a 75

ENROLLED
CS/CS/HB 1279, Engrossed 1 2026 Legislature

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1279 -03-er
Page 4 of 66
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student's individual education program is not provided 76
as scheduled; authorizing parents or guardians to 77
access certain service logs and progress