Education

Added Section 8, which creates a new statute (s. 1004.0983) requiring state universities and Florida College System institutions to adopt written safety policies for preventing and responding to violence and credible threats, including provisions for reporting, protective measures, and annual reviews.

Modified the marriage and family therapist licensure criteria in Section 4, changing the deadline for degrees conferred without specific emphasis from September 1, 2032, to September 1, 2027.

Modified the eligibility criteria for the out-of-state fee waiver in Section 16, changing the effective academic year from 2022-2023 to 2026-2027.

Modified deadlines for submitting comments on specialized transfer degrees in Section 10, changing the timeframe from 30 days to 60 days.

Modified the financial thresholds for Florida College System institutions in Sections 23 and 24, changing the minimum carry-forward balance requirement from 7.5% to 7 percent for institutions with fewer than 15,000 FTE students.

Modified the committee assignments and bill identifiers throughout the document to reflect the transition from Committee Substitute 1 to Committee Substitute 2 and updated the associated tracking numbers.

Added a new section requiring entities offering services to blind or visually impaired individuals to disclose in writing whether those services can be obtained for free through public agencies.

Added new provisions regarding marriage and family therapy licensure, including specific degree requirements and foreign education equivalency standards.

Modified residency rules to prevent students from losing resident tuition status solely because their parent is serving outside the state in military or civilian capacities.

Added new requirements for public postsecondary institutions to seek accreditation from specific agencies within a set timeframe.

Changed the committee from Education Postsecondary to Appropriations and Education, and updated the bill title to reflect the Committee Substitute status.