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HB 423FLORIDA · STATEWIDESession 2026Died in Rules

New Safety Requirements for Students with Disabilities

Original title: Student Elopement

March 13, 2026

Companion · SB 494same policy, Senate version

education student safety disability rights school policy

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The Frame

What this does

The bill aimed to standardize how schools respond to ''—when a student with a disability leaves a supervised area—by requiring specific search procedures and parent notification protocols.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Students with disabilities

The bill would have required the creation of individual safety plans and quick reference guides for students with a history of elopement.

Public school staff

Staff would have been required to participate in training and follow new mandatory elopement response procedures.

School principals

Principals would have been required to serve on the SAFE Team and appoint additional members.

What changed

Last recorded activity March 13, 2026.

What's next

Introduced.

Background

The bill was introduced in the 2026 legislative session to address safety concerns for students with disabilities who may wander away from school supervision. context

Summary

This bill would have required all public schools to create specialized safety teams and individual emergency plans for students with disabilities who are at risk of wandering away from school grounds. It mandated that schools develop 'quick reference guides' for these students to assist staff and emergency responders in locating them quickly.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is 'elopement' in a school context?

The bill defines it as a student with a disability leaving a safe area or school grounds without authorization, provided the behavior is connected to their disability and poses a safety risk.

Who would have been on the SAFE Team?

The team would have included the school principal, an assistant principal, and at least three other members appointed by the principal, including the school resource officer.

Did this bill become law?

No, the bill died in the Rules committee on March 13, 2026.

Why It Matters

The bill aimed to standardize how schools respond to ''—when a student with a disability leaves a supervised area—by requiring specific search procedures and parent notification protocols.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Voting Record

Motion succeededlower3/5/2026openstates_bulkOfficial roll call ↗

Passage, Third Reading

Total

117

Yes

106

Present

Not Voting

Abstain

How they voted (117)

+ 93 more

Full roll-call analysis →

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Standardization of Safety Protocols

The bill attempted to move from school-specific safety policies to a uniform state-mandated framework for handling student elopement.

State Board of Education

Connected Entities

organizationState Board of Education Map →

organizationAmerican Psychiatric Association Map →

organizationFlorida Legislature Map →

organizationSchool Staff Assistance for Emergencies (SAFE) Team Map →

Sources

Open source document

openstates.org

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance65
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy10
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level

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