Legislation Concerning Transitions between Schools and Juvenile Justice Programs

Local school districts in Florida are responsible for the delivery of education in state-run juvenile justice facilities located in their counties. Each district school board is required to make provisions for high school level students to earn credits toward high school graduation while in residential and nonresidential juvenile justice education programs, including for the transfer of credits and partial credits earned.

School districts and juvenile justice education providers must begin transition planning upon a student’s placement in a juvenile justice education program. The individualized transition plan required for each student must include, at a minimum, services and interventions that address the student’s assessed educational needs and post-release education plans; servicing to provide during and after release, including those for continuing education and postsecondary education; and specific monitoring responsibilities to determine whether the transition plan is being implemented and whether the student has access to the services need for reintegration. The transition team must include representatives of the school district where the student will return. Upon release, school districts are required to place students in educational programs “based on their needs and their performance in the juvenile justice education program” and are explicitly prohibited from “maintain[ing]a standardized policy for all students returning from a juvenile justice program.”  Fla. Stat. § 1003.52 (2016).