Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
Chapter 6A-19, F.A.C., implements Section
1000.05, F.S., which prohibits
discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, marital status or
handicap against a student or employee in the state system of public education,
as defined in Section
1000.05(1),
F.S. The following definitions shall apply:
(1) Activity. Any organized academic,
vocational, athletic, co-curricular or extracurricular pursuit, undertaking or
assignment conducted under the authority or direction of an institution within
the state system of public education.
(2) Admission. Selection for part-time,
full-time, special, associate, transfer, exchange or any other enrollment,
participation or matriculation, in or at, an education program or activity
conducted under the authority or direction of an institution within the state
system of public education.
(3)
Department. Florida Department of Education.
(4) Discrimination.
(a) Discrimination shall include:
1. Limiting, segregating or classifying
students, employees, applicants for admission, or applicants for employment, in
such a way as to deprive individuals of educational or employment opportunities
or otherwise adversely affect individuals because of their race, sex, national
origin, marital status or handicap;
2. Denying educational or employment
opportunities to individuals because of their race, sex, national origin,
marital status or handicap;
3.
Providing unequal educational or employment opportunities to individuals
because of their race, sex, national origin, marital status or
handicap;
4. Providing
unnecessarily separate educational programs or activities for individuals
because of their race, sex, national origin, marital status or
handicap;
5. Entering into
contractual or other arrangements which utilize criteria or administrative
methods which have the effect of subjecting individuals to discrimination or
which otherwise adversely affect individuals because of their race, sex,
national origin, marital status or handicap;
6. The application of any policy or
procedure, or taking of any admission or employment action, that adversely
affects a qualified handicapped person as a student, employee, applicant for
admission, applicant for employment, a group of students, or a group of
employees based on their handicap;
7. The application of any policy or
procedure, or taking of any admission or employment action concerning the
potential or actual marital status of a student, employee or applicant for
admission or employment that adversely affects a student, employee, applicant
for admission, applicant for employment, a group of students or a group of
employees on the basis of potential or actual marital status, or on the basis
of head of household or principal wage earner status; however, reasonable
practices prohibiting nepotism shall not constitute marital status
discrimination;
8. The application
of any policy or procedure, or taking of any admission or employment action,
that adversely affects a student, employee, applicant for admission, applicant
for employment, a group of students, or a group of employees based on ancestry
or place of birth or of cultural, or linguistic characteristics of a national
origin group;
9. The application of
any policy or procedure, or taking of an admission action, that adversely
affects a student, or applicant for admission, belonging to a national origin
minority group, unnecessarily based on limited-English-language
skills;
10. The application of any
policy or procedure, or taking of any admission or employment action, that
adversely affects a student, employee, applicant for admission, applicant for
employment, a group of students, or a group of employees based on their
race/ethnic category;
11. The
application of any policy or procedure, or taking of any admission or
employment action, that adversely affects a student, employee, applicant for
admission, applicant for employment, a group of students, or a group of
employees based on their gender.
(b) Any policy or procedure, or any admission
or employment action, which can be shown to be predictive of, or significantly
correlated with, essential elements of work behavior or program participation
shall not constitute discrimination. See subsections
6A-19.002(2)
and 6A-19.009(8),
F.A.C.
(c) Efforts or measures
developed by institutions to correct patterns of segregation, patterns of
nonparticipation or underrepresentation among a race, sex, marital status,
national origin or handicap group shall not constitute discrimination. Quotas,
however, shall not be used.
(5) Disproportionate Enrollment. The actual
enrollment of students of a particular race, sex, national origin or handicap
differs from the appropriate pool of potential students, as determined by the
governing board, by race, sex, national origin or handicap by more than two
standard deviations.
(6)
Handicapped Person. Any person who has a physical or mental impairment which
substantially limits one or more major life activities; has a record of such an
impairment; or is regarded as having such an impairment.
(a) Physical or mental impairment.
1. Any physiological disorder or condition,
cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the
following body systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs;
respiratory, including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive, digestive,
genito-urinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine; or
2. Any mental or psychological disorder, such
as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and
specific learning disabilities.
(b) Major life activities. Functions such as
caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing,
speaking, breathing, learning and working.
(c) Has a record of such an impairment. Has a
history of, or has been incorrectly classified as having, a mental or physical
impairment that substantially limits one or more major life
activities.
(d) Is regarded as
having an impairment.
1. Has a physical or
mental impairment that does not substantially limit major life activities but
that is treated by an institution as constituting such a limitation;
2. Has a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits major life activities only as a result of the attitudes of
others and, therefore, is treated by an institution as having such an
impairment.
(7)
Institution. An individual school, as defined in Section
1000.05(4),
F.S., or the school district, as the context may require; a community college;
a university or any other state-supported entity primarily of an educational
nature, e.g., the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind.
(8) Minority. Any individual belonging to one
of the following race/ethnic categories: Black, Not of Hispanic Origin;
Hispanic; Asian or Pacific Islander; American Indian or Alaska
Native.
(9) Office of Equity and
Access. The Department of Education work unit, otherwise known as the Office of
Equity and Access, specifically designated to administer the Department's
implementation activities as defined in Section
1000.05(6),
F.S., except to the extent those duties may be delegated by the Commissioner of
Education to the Chancellor of the State University System pursuant to Section
1000.05, F.S.
(10) Qualified Handicapped Person.
(a) With respect to employment, a handicapped
person who, with reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions
of the job in question;
(b) With
respect to public preschool, elementary, secondary or adult programs, services
and activities, a handicapped person of an age during which nonhandicapped
persons are provided services, or of any age during which it is mandatory under
federal or Florida law to provide services to handicapped persons;
(c) With respect to postsecondary programs,
services and activities, a handicapped person who meets the academic and
nonacademic admissions criteria requisite to participation.
(11) Race/Ethnic Categories. A person may be
included in the race/ethnic group to which he or she appears to belong,
identifies with, or is regarded in the community as belonging. No person shall
be included in more than one race/ethnic group. The race/ethnic categories to
be used are:
(a) White, Not of Hispanic Origin
- All persons having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North
Africa or the Middle East.
(b)
Black, Not of Hispanic Origin - All persons having origins in any of the Black
racial groups of Africa.
(c)
Hispanic - All persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South
American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
(d) Asian or Pacific Islander - All persons
having origins in any of the original people of the Far East, Southeast Asia,
the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands.
(e) American Indian or Alaska Native - All
persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North America, and who
maintain cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community
recognition.
(12)
Reasonable Accommodation. Changes in the work environment which allow a
qualified handicapped employee to perform the essential tasks of the job if
making those changes does not impose an undue hardship on the operation of the
institution. Reasonable accommodation may include: making facilities used by
employees readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons, job
structuring, part-time or modified work schedules, acquisition or modification
of equipment or devices, the provision of readers or interpreters, and other
similar actions. In determining whether an accommodation would impose an undue
hardship on the operation of an institution's program, factors to be considered
include: the overall size of the institution with respect to number of
employees, number and type of facilities, and size of budget; the type of
operation, including the composition and structure of the workforce; and the
nature and cost of the accommodation needed.
(13) Selection Criteria. Any measure,
combination of measures, or procedure used as a basis for any decision on
eligibility for admission, for participation in programs, services or
activities, or for employment and promotion. Selection criteria include the
full range of assessment techniques including course grades; performance tests;
paper and pencil tests; training programs; probationary periods; physical,
education and work experience requirements; formal or informal interviews;
evaluation by prior teachers or employers; and scored or unscored
applications.
(14) Student. Any
person who is enrolled in any instructional program or activity conducted under
the authority or direction of an institution which is a part of the state
system of public education.
Rulemaking Authority
1000.05(5),
1001.02 FS. Law Implemented
1000.05,
1001.02(1)
FS.
New 4-17-85, Formerly
6A-19.01.
