Board of Education Proposed Rule Changes - Part 1
For the December 16th State Board of Education meeting, the DOE has a large number of proposed rules, 17 to be exact, on the agenda. Since there are so many rules, we are going to take the next couple of weeks to discuss some of them and keep you informed about what you should expect from them.
We will start today with Rule 6A-10.042, Test Administration and Safety. This rule will implement changes made by Senate Bill 7022 (2026). This bill amended statute 1008.23(1)(a), Florida Statutes, to make it harder for the public to see the tests schools give. Among other changes, it would extend confidentiality to the exams and assessment materials held by public schools, district school boards, boards of trustees, the State Board of Education, and the Board of Governors. Those records would be exempt from Florida’s public records law (s. 119.07(1), F.S.) and from the public-records guarantee in the state constitution (s. 24(a), Art. I). There’s also a records-management piece. The bill directs the State Board of Education to write rules setting out how long these records must be kept and how they’re eventually disposed of.
The second rule is 6A-1.0071, Fiscal Reporting Dates. This rule is pretty simple. It applies to the fiscal reporting and budgeting processes of each school district in Florida. It says the annual financial report for each district must be submitted to the Commissioner of Education no later than September 11 of each year. The report is composed of four different forms, which may be obtained from the Department of Education.
The final rule we are going to discuss today is 6A-1.001, District Financial Records. This rule incorporates by reference an updated version of the “Financial and Program Cost Accounting and Reporting for Florida Schools,” or the Red Book publication. Some recent changes in law, accounting principles, and district practices require a revision of this publication, which includes a chart of accounts. The new 2026 version of this publication will replace the aging 2023 version.
Please be on the lookout in a future Friday Facts email for another list of proposed rules for the December Board of Education meeting. We will keep you updated on any changes to these proposed rules.