Both chambers of the Legislature, following negotiations, have agreed about what to include in the proposed School Board Members’ Bill of Rights.
Board members will gain explicit rights to obtain district records and access to administrators if Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the proposal into law.
The bill was of particular importance to Donna Brosemer of the Volusia County School Board, who lobbied the bill through the legislative process. DeSantis endorsed her election to the board in 2024.
The Senate passed the bill, HB 1073, Monday, 37-0, tacking on an amendment containing the compromise with the House, which now must vote on the revision.
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The Senate bill, SB 1620, was sponsored by Sens. Tom Leek, a Republican from Ormond Beach, and Don Gaetz, a Republican from Crestview. The House bill is sponsored by Rep. Traci Koster, a Republican from Tampa.
“I appreciate the fact that you negotiated, that we have a bill as opposed to nothing,” Gaetz told Leek on the floor.
“This bill is long overdue. There are circumstances around the state of Florida where school board members who happen to be in the minority on their board have been treated with disdain and where school boards and superintendents have gone overboard,” Gaetz said.
During a committee hearing on the bill, Gaetz said it answers a problem he found himself in during the 1990s, when he served within the ideological minority on the Okaloosa County School Board, outnumbered by his colleagues.
The bill requires administrators to provide board members with “free and timely access to all school district documents necessary to fulfill the duties and responsibilities required under the State Constitution and the Florida Early Learning-20 Education Code.”
It calls for confidential documents to be “provided in compliance with applicable law.”
Records requested would have to be offered to all board members within 10 business days, even if the record has nothing to do with items on a meeting agenda.
Board members would have a right to consult with the district’s chief financial officer “and have reasonable access, upon request, to any detail or line item in any proposed or approved budget or in any financial transaction by the school district.”
Members could request documents from staff with the permission of the superintendent, except for documents the law already prohibits them from viewing, including student disciplinary records.
The bill prohibits districts from requiring an employee to sign a nondisclosure agreement — a response to a stir in Volusia County caused when administrators imposed NDAs on large numbers of employees.
“I can’t imagine being on a school board and somebody wanting somebody to sign a NDA. I can’t imagine requesting information that I need to make a decision and not being able to get it,” Sen. Rosalind Osgood, a Democrat from Fort Lauderdale and former Broward County School Board member, said.
Lawmakers amended out a provision subjecting school boards to anti-nepotism laws similar to the ones several state and local entities follow.
The House first passed the bill on Feb. 17 on a 96-10 vote.
The Senate amendment provides a definition of “good cause” to reject potential employees in front of the board. “Good cause” can be found if the applicant “fabricated or materially exaggerated” credentials, does not meet requirements, or that his or her teaching certificate has been revoked by another state.
Brosemer pressed for passage during committee hearings, prompting the rest of her board colleagues to travel to Tallahassee last month to question the need for the bill and opposing Brosemer’s point of view.
Brosemer won DeSantis’ endorsement for election to the board in 2024.
Brosemer was particularly concerned about her access to budget information, saying she was barred from viewing specific line items. A provision that would post full budget line-items on district websites was left behind in negotiations, although the likely-final-version guarantees a board member’s access to the district CFO for consultation.
Brosemer said the bill likely would not be necessary for most school board members in the state, who enjoy cooperative relationships with peers. But there are instances when the law will make a difference, especially for her — who claims to have been ignored, denied, or charged for public records.
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