1002.40 The Hope Scholarship Program.

(1) PURPOSE. — The Hope Scholarship Program is established to provide the parent of a public school student who was subjected to an incident listed in subsection (3) an opportunity to transfer the student to another public school or to request a scholarship for the student to enroll in and attend an eligible private school.

(2) DEFINITIONS. — As used in this section, the term: (a) “Parent” means a resident of this state who is a parent, as defined in s. 1000.21, and whose student reported an incident in accordance with subsection (4). (b) “Program” means the Hope Scholarship Program. (c) “School” means any educational program or activity conducted by a public K-12 educational institution, any school-related or school-sponsored program or activity, and riding on a school bus, as defined in s. 1006.25(1), including waiting at a school bus stop.

(3) PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY. — A student enrolled in a Florida public school in kindergarten through grade 12 is eligible for the educational options described in subsection (4) if the student reported an incident in accordance with that subsection. For purposes of this section, the term “incident” means battery; harassment; hazing; bullying; kidnapping; physical attack; robbery; sexual offenses, harassment, assault, or battery; threat or intimidation; or fighting at school, as defined by the department in accordance with s. 1006.09(6).

(4) SCHOOL DISTRICT OBLIGATIONS; PARENTAL OPTIONS. — Upon receipt of a report of an incident, the school principal, or his or her designee, shall provide a copy of the report to the parent and investigate the incident to determine if the incident must be reported as required by s. 1006.09(6). Within 24 hours after receipt of the report, the principal or his or her designee shall provide a copy of the report to the parent of the alleged offender and to the superintendent. Upon conclusion of the investigation or within 15 days after the incident was reported, whichever occurs first, the school district shall notify the parent of the program, offer the parent an opportunity to enroll his or her student in another public school that has capacity, and notify the parent of their eligibility to apply for a scholarship to attend an eligible private school under ss. 1002.394 and 1002.395.

(5) RULES. — The State Board of Education shall adopt rules to administer this section.

History: s. 16, ch. 2018-6; s. 9, ch. 2019-23; s. 3, ch. 2020-95; s. 6, ch. 2021-27; s. 14, ch. 2022-154; s. 7, ch. 2023-16; s. 5, ch. 2024-163.