Florida Administrative Code

6A-1.094124 Required Instruction Planning and Reporting.

(1) In order to provide information about the manner in which the prescribed courses of study set forth in Section 1003.42(2), F.S., are provided by school districts, by July 1 of each year, each school district must submit a report to the Commissioner of Education that describes how instruction was provided for topics in Sections 1003.42(2)(a)-(n) and (p)-(t), F.S., during the previous school year. This report shall be submitted through the Required Instruction Reporting Portal located at our Website. The department may provide technical assistance on required instruction specific to each topic.

(2) This report shall contain:

(a) The specific courses in which instruction has been delivered for each grade level;

(b) A description of the materials and resources utilized to deliver instruction; and

(c) For subsections (4)-(6) of this rule, the professional qualifications of the person delivering instruction.

(3) As provided in Section 1003.42(2), F.S., members of instructional staff in public schools must teach the required instruction topics efficiently and faithfully, using materials that meet the highest standards of professionalism and historical accuracy. 

(a) Efficient and faithful teaching of the required topics must be consistent with the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards and the Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards. 

(b) Instruction on the required topics must be factual and objective, and may not suppress or distort significant historical events, such as the Holocaust, slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the civil rights movement and the contributions of women, African American and Hispanic people to our country, as already provided in Section 1003.42(2), F.S. Examples of theories that distort historical events and are inconsistent with State Board approved standards include the denial or minimization of the Holocaust, and the teaching of Critical Race Theory, meaning the theory that racism is not merely the product of prejudice, but that racism is embedded in American society and its legal systems in order to uphold the supremacy of white persons. Instruction may not utilize material from the 1619 Project and may not define American history as something other than the creation of a new nation based largely on universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence. Instruction must include the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments. 

(c) Efficient and faithful teaching further means that any discussion is appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students, and teachers serve as facilitators for student discussion and do not share their personal views or attempt to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view that is inconsistent with the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards and the Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards. 

(4) Mental and Emotional Health Education.

(a) School districts must annually provide a minimum of five (5) hours of instruction to students in grades 6-12 related to youth mental health awareness and assistance, including suicide prevention and the impacts of substance abuse. 

(b) Using the health education standards adopted in Rule 6A-1.09401, F.A.C., Student Performance Standards, the instruction for youth mental and emotional health will advance each year through developmentally appropriate instruction and skill building and must address, at a minimum, the following topics:

1. Recognition of signs and symptoms of mental health disorders;

2. Prevention of mental health disorders;

3. Mental health awareness and assistance;

4. How to reduce the stigma around mental health disorders;

5. Awareness of resources, including local school and community resources;

6. The process for accessing treatment;

7. Strategies to develop healthy coping techniques; 

8. Strategies to support a peer, friend, or family member with a mental health disorder; 

9. Prevention of suicide; and

10. Prevention of the abuse of and addiction to alcohol, nicotine, and drugs.

(5) Substance Use and Abuse Health Education. 

(a) School districts must annually provide instruction to students in grades K-12 related to youth substance use and abuse health education. 

(b) Using the health education standards adopted in Rule 6A-1.09401, F.A.C., Student Performance Standards, the instruction for substance use and abuse education will advance each year through developmentally appropriate instruction and skill building.

(6) Child Trafficking Prevention Education. 

(a) It is the intent of the State Board of Education that every school in Florida be a “Child Trafficking Free Zone.”

(b) School districts must annually provide instruction to students in grades K-12 related to child trafficking prevention and awareness. 

(c) Using the health education standards adopted in Rule 6A-1.09401, F.A.C., Student Performance Standards, the instruction for child trafficking prevention will advance each year through developmentally appropriate instruction and skill building.

(d) Age-appropriate elements of effective and evidence-based programs and instruction to students in grades K-12 related to child trafficking prevention and awareness and must address, at a minimum, the following topics:

1. Recognition of signs of human trafficking;

2. Awareness of resources, including national, state and local resources;

3. Prevention of the abuse of and addiction to alcohol, nicotine, and drugs;

4. Information on the prevalence, nature, and strategies to reduce the risk of human trafficking, techniques to set healthy boundaries, and how to safely seek assistance; and

5. Information on how social media and mobile device applications are used for human trafficking.

(e) In order to assist with instruction, the department will maintain a human trafficking webpage, with information about the education described in this rule; resources on abuse, including sexual abuse, and human trafficking prevention for professional learning purposes; and materials for parents, guardians, and other caretakers of students.

(7) By December 1 of each year, each school district must submit an implementation plan to the commissioner through the Required Instruction Reporting Portal for subsections (4)-(6) of this rule, and post the plan on the school district website. The implementation plan must include:

1. The methods in which instruction will be delivered for each grade level; 

2. The professional qualifications of the person delivering instruction; and 

3. A description of the materials and resources utilized to deliver instruction.

(8) When a school district’s plan for instruction as set forth in subsection (7), or a school district’s reported instruction as set forth in subsections (1) and (2) of this rule, do not meet the requirements of this rule or Section 1003.42, F.S., school districts must be provided no less than forty-five (45) days in order to submit revisions to the department. 

(9) Failure to comply with the requirements of this rule may result in the imposition of sanctions described in Section 1008.32, F.S. 

Rulemaking Authority 1001.02(2)(n), 1003.42(2) FS. Law Implemented 1003.42 FS. History–New 10-24-19, Amended 12-22-20, 7-26-21.