Fla. Stat. § 1012.55 — Florida Code / Title XLVIII / Chapter 1012 / Part III / Section 1012.55
1012.55 Positions for which certificates required.
Status: in_force

(1)(a) The State Board of Education shall classify school services, designate the certification subject areas, establish competencies, including the use of technology to enhance student learning, and certification requirements for all school-based personnel, and adopt rules in accordance with which the professional, temporary, and part-time certificates shall be issued by the Department of Education to applicants who meet the standards prescribed by such rules for their class of service. (b) Each person employed or occupying a position as school supervisor, school principal, teacher, library media specialist, school counselor, athletic coach, or other position in which the employee serves in an instructional capacity, in any public school of any district of this state shall hold the certificate required by law and by rules of the State Board of Education in fulfilling the requirements of the law for the type of service rendered. Such positions include personnel providing direct instruction to students through a virtual environment or through a blended virtual and physical environment. (c) The Department of Education shall identify appropriate educator certification for the instruction of specified courses in an annual publication of a directory of course code numbers for all programs and courses that are funded through the Florida Education Finance Program. However, the state board shall adopt rules authorizing district school boards to employ selected noncertificated personnel to provide instructional services in the individuals’ fields of specialty or to assist instructional staff members as education paraprofessionals. (d) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to allow an individual who meets the following criteria to be eligible for a temporary certificate in educational leadership under s. 1012.56(7): 1. Earning a passing score on the Florida Educational Leadership Examination; 2. Documenting 3 years of successful experience in an executive management or leadership position; and 3. Documenting receipt of a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution of higher learning. A person operating under a temporary certificate must be under the mentorship of a state-certified school administrator during the term of the temporary certificate. (e)1. The department shall issue a 3-year temporary certificate in educational leadership under s. 1012.56(7) to an individual who: a. Earned a passing score on the Florida Educational Leadership Examination. b. Served as a commissioned or noncommissioned military officer in the United States Armed Forces for at least 3 years. c. Was honorably discharged or has retired from the United States Armed Forces. d. Is employed full time in a position for which an educator certificate is required in a Florida public school, state-supported school, or nonpublic school that has a Level II program under s. 1012.562. 2. A Level II program under s. 1012.562 must accept an applicant who holds a temporary certificate under subparagraph 1. The department shall issue a permanent certification as a school principal to an individual who holds a temporary certificate under subparagraph 1. and successfully completes the Level II program.

(2)(a)1. Each person who is employed and renders service as an athletic coach in any public school in any district of this state shall: a. Hold a valid temporary or professional certificate or an athletic coaching certificate. The athletic coaching certificate may be used for either part-time or full-time positions. b. Hold and maintain a certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, first aid, and the use of an automated external defibrillator. The certification must be consistent with national evidence-based emergency cardiovascular care guidelines. 2. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to any athletic coach who voluntarily renders service and who is not employed by any public school district of this state. (b) Completion of a sports safety course shall count for 6 hours of required school district inservice instruction for athletic coaching certification if the course is approved by the Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors and meets the following requirements: 1. The course consists of at least eight modules. 2. The course immediately provides an individual with a “merit” certificate at the time of successful completion. 3. The course is delivered through hands-on and online teaching methods. 4. The course is a hands-on course taught by either a state-licensed athletic trainer who holds a current certificate from the Board of Certification or a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. 5. Hands-on course material is less than 120 pages. 6. The course covers sports safety specifically, excluding coaching principles and procedures for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. 7. The course is authored or approved by at least 10 health care professionals, including doctors of medicine, doctors of osteopathy, registered nurses, physical therapists, and certified athletic trainers. 8. The course is revised and reviewed for updates at least once every 30 months. 9. The course is available to the general public for a retail price under $50. 10. Each course examination is automated and taken online with a score of 80 percent or better for successful completion.

(3) Each person employed as a school nurse shall hold a license to practice nursing in the state, and each person employed as a school physician shall hold a license to practice medicine in the state.

(4) A commissioned or noncommissioned military officer who is an instructor of junior reserve officer training shall be exempt from requirements for teacher certification, except for the background screening pursuant to s. 1012.32, if he or she meets the following qualifications: (a) Is retired from active military duty, pursuant to chapter 102 of Title 10 U.S.C. (b) Satisfies criteria established by the appropriate military service for certification by the service as a junior reserve officer training instructor. (c) Has an exemplary military record. If such instructor is assigned instructional duties other than junior reserve officer training, he or she shall hold the certificate required by law and rules of the state board for the type of service rendered. An instructor of junior reserve officer training under this subsection may receive funding through the Florida Teachers Classroom Supply Assistance Program under s. 1012.71.

(5) A person who is employed as a school social worker is exempt from the educator certification requirements in s. 1012.56(2)(g) and (h) relating to the mastery of general and subject area knowledge.

(6) Notwithstanding this section and ss. 1012.32 and 1012.56, or any other provision of law or rule to the contrary, the State Board of Education shall adopt rules to allow for the issuance of a classical education teaching certificate, upon the request of a classical school, to any applicant who fulfills the requirements of s. 1012.56(2)(a)-(f) and (11) and any other criteria established by the department. Such certificate is only valid at a classical school. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “classical school” means a school that implements and provides professional learning in a classical education school model that emphasizes the development of students in the principles of moral character and civic virtue through a well-rounded education in the liberal arts and sciences that is based on the classical trivium stages of grammar, logic, and rhetoric.

History: s. 727, ch. 2002-387; s. 15, ch. 2004-295; s. 1, ch. 2009-88; s. 34, ch. 2010-154; s. 7, ch. 2013-185; s. 52, ch. 2018-7; s. 1, ch. 2024-33; s. 24, ch. 2024-101; s. 114, ch. 2025-6; s. 1, ch. 2025-62.