Jacksonville, FL — The State Board of Education has approved a new rule intended to make every school in Florida a child trafficking free zone.
The rule requires teachers to educate students in grades K-12 in child trafficking prevention, making Florida the first state in the nation to address the need for instruction on this issue.
Under the new rule, each school district will be required to submit an implementation plan to the commissioner and post the plan on the school district website by December 1 of each year.
Additionally, by July 1 of each year, an annual report must be submitted by each school district to the commissioner to verify completion.
Each plan must include the methods in which instruction will be delivered for each grade level, the professional qualifications of the teacher, and a description of the materials and resources used to deliver instruction.
Governor Ron DeSantis says, children of all ages need to know and understand the hazards of human trafficking and how to protect themselves from dangerous predators.
According to the Florida Department of Education, Florida is ranked third in the nation for reported cases of human trafficking. The department says up to 70 percent of sex trafficking and exploitation starts with predators connecting with youth online.
While there is no standard profile of a child-trafficking victim, reports show that traffickers often target children with a history of sexual abuse, dating violence, low self-esteem and minimal social support.