Florida Department of Education Responds to Letter
In November, FAC sent a letter to the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Education after we had received complaints from parents who were denied access to their children’s school events.
Below is the response from the Department of Education confirming that there is no State law that precludes a parent who is required to register from attending a parent-teacher conference, graduation, school play or other events in their child’s life, so long as they meet the conditions set forth in the Statute (§ 856.022). If you are a parent, not on probation and your child’s school is preventing you from attending such an event, please know the law and remind them of it.
February 17, 2020
Ms. Gail Colletta
Dear Ms. Colletta:
Commissioner Richard Corcoran, Florida Department of Education (Department), asked the Department’s Office of Safe Schools to respond to your November 8, 2019, correspondence regarding “children of parents who are required to register as sexual offenders.” The Office of Safe Schools is pleased to respond on behalf of the Commissioner.
For assistance, we contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) office of Missing Persons & Offender Registration. FDLE provided the following information:
We are not aware of any restrictions in Florida’s sex offender registration statutes related to a registrant’s ability to participate in or be present at school functions or meetings. There is a procedure outlined in section 856.022, Florida Statutes, that applies when a registrant plans to attend an event at a child care facility or school.
However, individuals required to register may also be required to adhere to other court ordered restrictions and/or laws in terms of their contact or proximity with children or others, which may impact their ability to attend events at a child’s school.
Factors that could impact such a scenario include:
-
- The individual is currently under supervision for their offense and may require permission from their probation officer or may have a court ordered restriction impacting their attendance;
- The victim(s) of their offense is a student, faculty, or staff member at the school where they wish to attend the function, and the individual is restricted from contact or proximity to victim(s) and/or their school/place of work; or
- The individual must comply with other court ordered directives, local laws and ordinances, or school board policies.
We are not familiar of any specific policies or procedures that districts have in place that may influence these scenarios. Individual districts would be best place to contact for that information.
Should you have additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Ms. Debra Sheets by calling 850-245-7859 or email [email protected].
Sincerely,
Damien Kelly, Executive Director
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Sounds like more garbage like the South Florida retroactive residency restrictions. The state freely admits that they have no authority to do certain things, but they also seem to allow the counties and municipalities to do those very things that they are not permitted to do. Welcome to Florida.
Michigan is a good example on this. It took the Michigan Supreme Court to get Michigan legislators off of ‘top dead center’.
Here in Volusia I was told I could not even go pick up my son if he were sick. In the response it says we must comply with local laws, ordinances, and school board policies. By no means am I saying this response is a negative, but I feel like it’s a political answer. Well there is no law against it according to the state, but your local laws might not allow it, so you are still in the same place.
Sometimes we have a tendency to forget that we are a “registrant” because something happened in our life and whether it be right or wrong, we are now fighting to make laws and rules more livable for our self and our family. Being nasty to folks that have nothing to do with making the rules and laws will get us no place. If we can be patient and level headed when dealing with others, we have a better chance of getting changes made. If not for us but for future people in our situation. Lets show people we are not “nasty” people but are people trying to make things better by changing peoples minds about us and the laws we have to live by, which are very unfair.
Just a thought, but wouldn’t Florida Statute § 856.022 be considered forced speech and therefore a violation of my first amendment rights? I pay taxes for schools and school events, now I have to “speak” about myself before I can attend? I fly under the radar, not for my benefit, but for my daughter’s. If I were to attempt to attend an event, the whole school faculty would then become aware, and by extension, the students. My daughter is in the same classes as two different teacher’s children. You know she would then become stigmatized. It’s all b.s.
Don’t harm children in anyway ever!
I’m gonna guess that don’t really care if you’re on the registry for “harming a child” or skinny dipping in a lake. If you’re on the registry- you’re a scumbag. Period.
Except with the Registries. Then it is okay. Most children who have parents who are forced to register are being harmed. Most are known and all of those are bullied. I expect every single child.
People who support Registries don’t care about children.
I suppose that ‘harm’ is only in the eye of those in power. They cannot see beyond their own limited vision as long as they can go home feeling good about themselves.