CS/HB 7043 - Students Attired for Education (SAFE) Act

• District school boards may adopt standard student attire policies requiring solid-colored clothing and collared shirts, with small logos permitted but no mottos or slogans.

• Standard attire policies must allow parents to opt their students out for religious purposes or disabilities and apply districtwide to at least kindergarten through eighth grade to qualify for civil liability immunity.

• Creates a safe schools allocation providing minimum funding to all districts, with remaining funds distributed two-thirds based on crime rates by county and one-third based on student enrollment; districts failing to comply with reporting requirements lose their allocation.

• Establishes $10 per student incentive payments (kindergarten through grade 8) for districts implementing compliant districtwide standard attire policies upon superintendent certification by September 1 each year.

• Appropriates $10 million in recurring General Revenue Fund dollars for the 2015-2016 fiscal year to fund the incentive payment program, with undisbursed funds reverting annually on June 30.