Bill > H7057

This bill makes several changes to Florida's education laws, primarily focusing on improving student attendance, accountability, and school operations. It revises the definition of "chronic absenteeism" to include students absent 10% or more of the school year for any reason, and strengthens the early warning system for middle school students by requiring more detailed tracking of indicators like attendance, suspensions, and course failures, and mandates that school-based teams monitor this data and intervene with students exhibiting two or more indicators. The bill also clarifies the process for reporting and investigating bullying and harassment, expands the duties of internal auditors to include fraud and waste detection, and requires school districts to adopt strategic plans that align financial resources with long-term goals. Additionally, it updates provisions related to compulsory student attendance, including changes to truancy petition criteria and attendance record-keeping for both public and private schools, and modifies requirements for obtaining a high school equivalency diploma to allow students to take the exam at age 16. The bill also introduces new requirements for approving school leader preparation programs, enhances parental access to homework and educational records, and clarifies the process for notifying parents of out-of-field teachers, while also addressing professional development for school leaders and the suspension of educator certifications for failing to report certain incidents.