New state law requires yearly autism training for teachers - including in Levy County
House Bill 851 mandates autism-specific training for every Florida school district each year; a UF-Alachua County partnership offers one model for how districts might meet it.
A statewide mandate, not a local pilot
A Florida law that took effect in July now requires every school district in the state, including the Levy County School District, to offer autism-specific training to teachers and administrators at least once per school year. The requirement comes from House Bill 851, and it applies regardless of a district’s size or location. What districts must teach is spelled out in the bill itself: “evidence-based practices” covering academic instruction, behavioral supports, communication strategies and inclusive classroom practices for students “across all levels of need.”
The law does not specify a single statewide curriculum. Instead, it requires each district to develop its training in consultation with its assigned Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, or CARD, a network of university-affiliated centers that serve groups of Florida counties.
One district’s approach
In Alachua County, the University of Florida College of Education is partnering with Alachua County Public Schools and UF CARD to build the required coursework. UF CARD, based at the university, serves Alachua County and 13 other Florida districts, according to the college; the source material reviewed for this story does not identify which other counties fall under that center’s coverage area, so it is not established here whether Levy County is among them.
Macy Geiger, the UF College of Education’s project manager for the effort, said the goal is training that “helps educators support students with autism and strengthen inclusive practices across schools in Florida.” UF CARD director Ann-Marie Orlando said the center views it as “our responsibility to help educators have access to evidence-based strategies and practical tools that can be implemented in the classroom.” Alachua County Deputy Superintendent Catherine Atria framed the work around ensuring “every student deserves a learning environment where they have the opportunity to thrive.”
What this means for Levy County
The law’s reach is what puts this on our beat. HB 851 does not exempt small or rural districts, and Levy County Schools are bound by the same annual training requirement as Alachua County or any of Florida’s 67 districts. What differs is execution: each district must work with its own assigned CARD center to design or adopt training that meets the bill’s standard, and districts have latitude to add sessions beyond the required minimum “based on demand and need,” according to the source article.
That leaves open questions for families and educators on this coast. Which CARD center is assigned to Levy County, what training format the district has chosen or is developing, and whether any sessions have already been delivered since the law took effect in July are not addressed in the material available for this story. The Florida Department of Education defines autism spectrum disorder, for purposes of state education law, as a range of pervasive developmental disorders that adversely affect a student’s functioning and require specially designed instruction and related services, the same definition districts statewide, including Levy County, must work from in building compliant training.
What to watch
Because HB 851 is a new, ongoing requirement rather than a one-time rule, the practical test will be in each district’s annual compliance, not just whether a training session occurs, but whether it reflects the evidence-based content the statute specifies. Florida & Cedar Key News has not yet confirmed Levy County Schools’ training plan or CARD assignment; readers with information on the district’s approach, or questions for the school board, can reach out as we follow up locally.