CS/HR 1335 Summary

• The Florida House of Representatives acknowledges abuses suffered by children confined at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys (opened 1900 in Marianna) and the Florida School for Boys at Okeechobee (opened 1955), including beatings, chaining to walls, child labor, and sexual abuse.

• A 2013-2016 forensic investigation by the University of South Florida found 55 burial sites at Dozier School—24 more than officially recorded—with incomplete death records and families often denied access to remains or notified after burial.

• Six state-led investigations were conducted within Dozier School's first 13 years of operation, and a 1958 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing included testimony from a school psychologist describing severe beatings with leather straps as "brutality."

• More than 500 former students from both schools have reported physical, mental, and sexual abuse by staff during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, with lasting trauma continuing into adulthood; Dozier School was closed in 2011 following investigations.

• The House regrets the cruel and unjust treatment, apologizes to confined boys and their families, and commits to protecting children in state care from abuse and violations of human decency.