House Bill 1 Update

Please see an update regarding Bill 1 from OCPS below:

 

HOUSE BILL 1 UPDATE

Please see direction below from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) regarding House Bill 1.

Please send all inquiries and/or questions to certification@ocps.net.

The HR certification team will be monitoring this email box and responding to any inquiries and/or questions pertaining to this guidance by the FLDOE.


As you are aware, there is tremendous interest in the new provisions in House Bill 1. Yesterday, the Bureau of Educator Recruitment, Development, and Retention requested guidance to share with the Professional Development Certification Programs (PDCP) contacts, and we wanted to make sure you receive the same guidance.

We have received several questions from PDCP participants regarding the five-year validity period of Temporary Certificates under the new House Bill 1 (HB1). 

The primary question: Does the new legislation encompassed in HB 1 extend the current PDCP program participants for their June 30th renewal deadline? 

 

The Bureau of Educators Certification (BEC) has provided the following guidance:

 

  • Temporary certification applications submitted on or after March 27, 2023, will be eligible for a five-year temporary certificate.
  • The validity period of most temporary certificates is automatically extended from three years to five years.  
    • Temporary Certificates not impacted by HB1:  
      • Military Veterans  
      • Speech-Language Impaired  
      • Athletic Coaching  
      • Educational Leadership (Special) 
      • Exchange Teacher
  • Valid temporary certificates will be updated within the certification management system (Versa) automatically by June 30, 2023.

 

  • Valid temporary certificates already under a two-year extension per the provisions of Rule 6A-4.004(1)(c), Florida Administrative Code, will not be extended.  

 

BEC realizes this is a time sensitive issue for many districts and they are working to complete the implementation details by next month. A forthcoming superintendent’s memo will be disseminated to address the educator certification portions of House Bill 1. 

  

The Bureau of Educator Certification and the Bureau of Educator Recruitment, Development, and Retention are committed to providing updates and guidance related to the recent statutory and rule changes.