The bill amends Florida Statutes to establish new evaluation criteria for certified school counselors and to exempt individuals seeking employment as school counselors from certain educator certification requirements. Specifically, it modifies section 1012.34 to require that evaluation criteria for certified school counselors be based on the Florida School Counseling Standards adopted by the State Board of Education. Additionally, it clarifies that evaluation criteria for instructional personnel who are not classroom teachers or certified school counselors must be based on the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices, which may include specific job expectations related to student support.

Furthermore, the bill renumbers subsection (6) of section 1012.55 and introduces a new subsection (6) that states individuals seeking employment as school counselors are exempt from specific educator certification requirements outlined in section 1012.56(2)(g) and (i). This legislation is set to take effect on July 1, 2026.

Statutes affected:
H 753 c1: 1012.34