Senate Bill 120 - Frequently Asked Questions

(From an FAPT training session with district transportation personnel, DOE officials, and

DOC officials on June 30, 2004.)

1.

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Q- What do I do about a child with a disability living in an apartment complex whose

Individual Educational Plan (IEP) requires “door-to-door” pick-up, with a conditional

releasee residing in the same complex?

A- While we would have to seek the legally correct answer, precedent has been that when

there is a conflict between the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

and state law, IDEA normally prevails. In no case, however, should a district put a child

at risk simply to comply with IDEA, and it is presumed that a child in these

circumstances would always be under the custodial supervision of one or more assigned

adults (the parents or guardians before pick-up and after drop-off, and school officials in

between).

2.

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Q- Will the minimum 1,000 feet distance to the bus stop be measured radially (as the

crow flies) or as the walk distance along an available route?

A- Personnel will use available systems established such as computer routing software

and programs or the Global Positioning System (GPS) database, to determine the 1,000

feet radius around the releasee’s residence.

These systems, designed to measure the

distance "as the crow flies," are the preferred method. The 1,000 feet distance will

normally be measured in a straight line from the offender's place of residence to the

nearest boundary line of the school, or school bus stop. The distance will not normally

be measured by a pedestrian route or automobile route. If there are special

circumstances, however, that render it more appropriate to use a walking distance

measurement, the situation should be discussed with the parole officer. Examples would

include a lake, fence, or other obstruction that makes the effective proximity of the

releasee to the bus stop greater than 1,000 feet.

Once the radius is established, the school district will determine whether any prohibited

location(s) is within the 1,000 feet radius. If it is determined that a known school bus

stop is located within or close to this radius, the measuring wheel may be utilized to

obtain another measurement at the discretion of the school district and parole officer and

her/his supervisor.

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The distance will be measured from the property line if the offender's residence is a

single dwelling unit. If the offender's residence is a multi-dwelling unit, such as an

apartment building or duplex, the distance will be measured from the front or back

door of the offender's dwelling unit.

3.

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Q- What do we do about a releasee whose own child (same residence) rides the bus?

A- There are no listed provisions or exemptions within the law for such situations. Our

best suggestion for the select group of conditional releasees, if any, who have children

who qualify for school bus transportation would be to have the bus stop located outside

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is the releasee’s child. Clearly, the courts would not have allowed the child to remain in

the parent’s custody if there was a concern for the child’s safety.

4.

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Q- Will the bill be expanded next year to include more offenders?

A- There is no way to know. Districts would be well advised to keep their legislative

liaisons informed of facts and circumstances surrounding this issue, especially with

regard to measures already in place to limit proximity of children to sexual offenders and

predators, and with regard to whether various potential policies may have unintended

consequences that may compromise student safety (for example, policies that may require

a student to walk by an offender’s home unsupervised in order to reach a safe haven).

5.

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Q- What are the defining criteria for the conditional releasees who may not live within

1,000 feet of a bus stop?

A- Although there are 3,096 offenders currently on conditional release supervision, only

53 are currently subject to this provision of the bill, i.e., they meet the conditions of the

bill regarding subject offenses, the age of the victim, and the offense date(s) and are

currently being supervised in the community. The following summarizes the criteria of

the bill used to calculate the number of conditional release offenders subject to the

requirements of this bill:

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convicted of a crime committed on or after October 1, 1995, or who have been

previously convicted of a crime committed on or after October 1, 1995, in violation of

chapter 794, s. 800.04, s. 827.071, or s. 847.0145, Florida Statutes (sex offenses);

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subject to conditional release supervision, which is a form of post-release

supervision, imposed on certain inmates, after serving the majority of their prison

sentence; (The Florida Parole Commission establishes the terms of supervision and

retains jurisdiction over the case and the DOC supervisors the offenders.); and

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offense must have involved a victim under the age of 18.

6.

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Q- Is there potential for sexual offender numbers to dramatically increase in the future?

A- Although there are no certainties, with the specific criteria sexual offenders must meet

to be subject to SB 120 requirements and the fact that the reported average time these

offenders are under condition release supervision is between six and seven months, the

potential for the numbers to increase significantly would be unlikely.

7.

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Q- Must the existing “conditional releasees” move on October 1, 2004?

A- No, according to the bill, “if, on October 1, 2004, any public school bus stop is

located within 1,000 feet of the existing residence of such releasee, the district school

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8.

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Q- How will the Department of Corrections (DOC) officers communicate with the

district?

A- The DOC is developing an electronic form of notification wherein an e-mail will be

sent to the appropriate Director of Transportation with a link to the DOC’s Inmate

Release Information web-site before a subject inmate is released. The link will provide

the releasee’s name, address, photograph, and other identifying information. The

program is also designed to notify affected school districts when an offender relocates to

a new approved residence, when an offender vacates a residence and when the offender

is no longer on conditional release supervision.

9.

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Q- Is the measurement to the door or to the property line?

A- The distance will be measured from the property line if the offender's residence is a

single dwelling unit. If the offender's residence is a multi-dwelling unit, such as an

apartment building or duplex, the distance will be measured from the front or back door

of the offender's dwelling unit.

10. Q- What about proximity to students’ walk paths?

A- Senate Bill 120 did not address this situation. It only referenced certain areas where

children congregate. These locations are specifically mentioned as schools, day care

centers, parks, playgrounds, designated public school bus stops or other places where

children regularly congregate.

11. Q- How will districts be notified when the releasee’s status begins and when it ends?

A- According to the bill, “On October 1, 2004, the department shall notify each affected

school district of the location of the residence of a releasee 30 days prior to release and

thereafter, if the releasee relocates to a new residence, shall notify any affected school

district of the residence of the releasee within 30 days after relocation. Beginning

October 1, 2004, a district school board may not establish or relocate a public school

bus stop within 1,000 feet of the residence of a releasee who is subject to this

subparagraph. The failure of the district school board to comply with this subparagraph

shall not result in a violation of conditional release supervision.” Due to their shared

mission of ensuring public safety, it is expected that DOC will attempt to provide

notification of a releasee’s “relocation” with the same notice they provide prior to the

inmate’s initial release; i.e., we do not expect they will wait the full 30 days allowed by

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12. Q- What about the effect on the students who fall under the McKinney-Vento Homeless

Assistance Act and live in the same area?

A- We will seek legal guidance on this issue, but it appears that it would be a similar

situation to the first question about students with disabilities.

13. Q- How will the districts be

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notified about impending location or relocation of

conditional releasees, and who will be notified?

A- The Department of Education has provided the DOC with the e-mail addresses for the

Director of Transportation of each school district and the Florida School for the Deaf

and Blind. E-mail notices will be forwarded to all affected school district transportation

directors. For that reason and others, it is very important for school district

transportation directors to notify the Department of Education’s School Transportation

office of any changes to their e-mail addresses.

14. Q- Does the school district have influence over where an offender may live?

A- While the school district may have no clear legal standing in the matter, we would

encourage each school district to keep their regional DOC officials informed regarding

future school sites and possible routing changes. This will help eliminate potential last

minute adjustments relating to approval of releasees’ residences.

SB 120 FAQs