FL S1548

Creates new felony offense under section 800.101 making it a second-degree felony for authority figures (employees, volunteers, or contractors at schools) to solicit or engage in sexual conduct, romantic/intimate relationships, or lewd conduct with students.

Requires school districts to adopt ethical conduct standards, mandate training for instructional personnel and administrators, require reporting of misconduct affecting student health/safety/welfare to law enforcement, and prohibit confidentiality agreements that conceal such misconduct.

Expands disqualification from educator certification and employment requiring direct student contact to include conviction under the new section 800.101 offense and applies disqualification standards to all persons requiring contact with students, not just instructional personnel and administrators.

Requires district school superintendents to report misconduct by instructional personnel or school administrators to law enforcement and to notify parents within 30 days of learning of allegations; provides forfeiture of superintendent's salary for one year for failure to comply.

Requires school districts to immediately notify the Department of Education when an employee subject to a legally sufficient misconduct complaint resigns or is terminated before investigation concludes, and mandates the department place an alert on the person's certification file.