Tallahassee, FL — Governor DeSantis recently signed several educator certification bills passed during the 2024 Florida Legislative session. Those bills — HB 865, HB 285, HB 5101, and SB 7002 — will become effective on July 1, 2024. The Florida Department of Education released a memorandum on June 20, 2024, that provides an overview of the components of the bills.
Below are excerpts from the FLDOE memo :
Section (s.) 1012.55, Florida Statutes (F.S.), Positions for which certificates required
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- House Bill 865 requires each person who is employed and renders service as an athletic coach in any public school to hold and maintain a certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, first aid and the use of an automatic external defibrillator.
- House Bill 865 requires the certification to be consistent with national evidence-based emergency cardiovascular care guidelines.
- House Bill 1285 creates a new classical education teaching certificate that can be issued upon request by a classical school for any applicant who fulfills the requirements of s. 1012.56(2)(a)-(f) and (11), F.S., as well as any other criteria established by the department. Such certificate is only valid at a classical school.
- House Bill 1285 defines classical school as an educational institution that adheres to a classical education model, emphasizing moral character, civic virtue and a comprehensive education in the liberal arts and sciences based on the classical trivium stages of grammar, logic and rhetoric.
Section 1012.56, F.S., Educator certification requirements
- Senate Bill 7002 requires the State Board of Education to adopt SAT, ACT and Classic Learning Test (CLT) scores that may be used as acceptable means for demonstrating mastery of general knowledge.
- Senate Bill 7002 updates the minimum cumulative grade point average for applicants of the Teacher Apprenticeship Program from 3.0 to 2.5.
- Senate Bill 7002 amends the requirement to engage in at least two years of team-teaching during participation in the Teacher Apprenticeship Program.
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- Senate Bill 7002 requires completion of at least two years in the Teacher Apprenticeship Program prior to applying for the professional certificate.
- Senate Bill 7002 creates an inactive status for certificate holders by request. A certificate that has been inactive may be reactivated upon application to the Department. The Department shall prescribe, by rule, professional learning requirements as a condition of reactivating a certificate that has been inactive for more than one year.
- House Bill 5101 removes the requirement that applicants for a temporary apprenticeship certificate must first complete the subject area content requirements established by the State Board of Education or demonstrate mastery of subject area knowledge as provided in s. 1012.56(5), F.S.
Section 1012.57, F.S., Certification of adjunct educators
- Senate Bill 7002 removes the requirement that each adjunct teaching certificate validity period be linked to the term of the annual contract between the educator and the school district or charter school.
- Senate Bill 7002 also removes a limitation on the award of additional years of an adjunct teaching certificate, which formerly required that the adjunct teacher be rated effective or highly effective.
Section 1012.59, F.S., Certification fees
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- Senate Bill 7002 establishes the waiver of initial subject area exam fees and certification fees for a teacher who holds a temporary or professional certificate in Exceptional Student Education K-12 who applies to add a subject coverage in Elementary Education K-6.
- Senate Bill 7002 establishes the waiver of initial subject area exam fees and certification fees for a teacher who holds a temporary or professional certificate in Elementary Education K-6 who applies to add a subject coverage in Exceptional Student Education K-12.
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