SB 1036 Florida Senate · 2026 Regular Session

School Counselors

Summary

School Counselors; Requiring that evaluation criteria for certified school counselors be based on specified standards; providing that persons seeking employment as school counselors are exempt from specified educator certification requirements, etc.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status in committee 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Mar 6, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

S 1036 c1 → S 1036 c2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to expand its scope from solely exempting school counselors from certification requirements to also mandating specific evaluation criteria for them. The version now requires that school counselor evaluations be based on the 'Florida School Counseling Standards' and adds a new section to the state code detailing these evaluation procedures.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a single exemption provision to a comprehensive personnel evaluation framework that includes specific standards for school counselors.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement that evaluation criteria for certified school counselors must be based on the Florida School Counseling Standards adopted by the State Board of Education.

Added detailed provisions requiring annual performance evaluations for all instructional personnel, including specific criteria for classroom teachers, administrators, and other staff.

ELIGIBILITY

Changed the statutory citation from s. 1012.55 to s. 1012.34 to align the school counselor exemption with the newly added personnel evaluation procedures.

Updated the exemption language to apply to persons 'seeking employment' as school counselors rather than just those already employed.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 17, 2026

How they voted

24–0

Passed

Total votes 24

Feb 17, 2026

D Democratic5

5 Yea

100% Yea

I Independent1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican18

18 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review -under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (24-0)

senate

Feb 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Rules, 02/17/26, 12:00 pm, 412 Knott Building

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable by Appropriations Committee on Pre-K - 12 Education; YEAS 10 NAYS 0

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Pre-K - 12 Education, 02/04/26, 1:00 pm, 37 Senate Building

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Upper · Passed

Now in Appropriations Committee on Pre-K - 12 Education

upper

Jan 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Jan 15, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Education Pre-K - 12, 01/20/26, 1:00 pm, 412 Knott Building

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

upper

Jan 7, 2026

Committee

Referred to Education Pre-K - 12; Appropriations Committee on Pre-K - 12 Education; Rules

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors