Florida Student Conduct Rights Under § 1006.60

If you face a conduct charge at a Florida state university or Florida College System college, section 1006.60(3), Florida Statutes (2026), sets the minimum your school’s code must give you: written notice at least 7 business days ahead, the witness list and all known evidence at least 5 business days ahead, a presumption that no violation occurred, an impartial hearing officer, the right to stay silent, an advisor or lawyer who may take part, a complete record, and an appeal.

Which schools it covers

The statute applies to each “Florida College System institution” and each “state university”: the 28 public colleges and 12 state universities listed in section 1000.21. Each adopts its own code, which must give students and student organizations these protections “at minimum.” Penalties can reach “probation, suspension, dismissal, or expulsion.” The protections took effect July 1, 2021 (chapter 2021-159, Laws of Florida).

Private colleges are not covered; the statute does not mention them. At a private Florida college, start with the school’s own published code.

Notice: what it must say and when

You have the “right to timely written notice,” and it must include:

• “the allegations to be investigated”;
• “the citation to the specific provision of the code of conduct at issue”;
• “the process to be used in determining whether a violation has occurred and associated rights”; and
• “the date, time, and location of the disciplinary proceeding.”

It is timely if provided “at least 7 business days before the disciplinary proceeding,” and may go to your school e-mail and, if you are under 18, to your parent (section 1006.60(3)(a)). At state universities, Board of Governors Regulation 6.0105 counts those days “excluding legal holidays” and allows less notice “in cases of emergency” or where “waived by the student.”

The evidence, five business days ahead

At least 5 business days before the proceeding, the school must give you a “listing of all known witnesses who have provided, or will provide, information against” you, and all “known information relating to the allegation, including inculpatory and exculpatory information”: what hurts you and what helps you. If either is missing, say so in writing. State universities may also review “any information the accused student intends to use” five business days ahead, so have yours ready.

The burden is on the school

You have the “right to a presumption that no violation occurred.” The school “has the burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that a violation has taken place,” meaning “it is more likely than not” that you committed it (section 1006.60(3)(b)). You do not have to prove your innocence.

An impartial decision-maker, and silence

You have the “right to an impartial hearing officer” (section 1006.60(3)(c)). Outside sexual misconduct cases, Regulation 6.0105 gives state university students “a right to a disciplinary proceeding conducted by a committee or panel,” waivable only in writing, where the university permits.

You have the “right against self-incrimination and the right to remain silent,” and “Such silence may not be used against the student” (section 1006.60(3)(d)). If police are involved, get advice first: under Regulation 6.0105, a state university “is not required to postpone disciplinary proceedings pending the outcome of a criminal prosecution.”

Your advisor or lawyer may take part

You have the “right to have an advisor, advocate, or legal representative, at the student’s or student organization’s own expense, present at any proceeding, whether formal or informal.” And: “Such person may directly participate in all aspects of the proceeding, including the presentation of relevant information and questioning of witnesses” (section 1006.60(3)(g)). You also have the “right to present relevant information and question witnesses” (3)(e), and your advisor “may not serve in any other role” (3)(f).

At state universities, Regulation 6.0105 adds that the advisor “shall not testify for the student” and that “questioning of witnesses shall be facilitated by the person or body conducting the disciplinary proceeding.” Check how your code runs questioning before the hearing. More: can a lawyer speak at a campus conduct hearing?

Record, decision, and appeal

Record. You have the “right to an accurate and complete record of every disciplinary proceeding,” including any appeal, “available for copying upon request” (section 1006.60(3)(i)). Ask for it in writing.

Decision. The statute does not say the decision must be in writing. At state universities, Regulation 6.0105 requires it to be “presented to the accused student in writing.” At a Florida College System college, check its code.

Appeal. You may appeal the final decision “directly to the vice president of student affairs, or any other senior administrator designated by the code of conduct, who must hear the appeal and render a final decision,” and who “may not have directly participated in any other proceeding related to the charged violation” (section 1006.60(3)(h)). The statute sets no deadline; the codes below allow five to ten business or class days. At state universities, Regulation 6.0105 requires a final appeal decision that suspends or expels you to give notice of your “right to appeal to an external judicial forum.” Why a finding matters later: Florida colleges can now point to a rule when they say no for past misconduct.

A deadline for charging you

Every code must set “a time limit for charging a student or student organization with a violation of the code of conduct,” with “a description of those circumstances in which that time limit may be extended or waived” (section 1006.60(3)(j)). Find it and check your dates. At FIU, a report may be filed within ninety calendar days of the incident or of someone learning of it, and the university then has one hundred eighty calendar days to charge.

What the statute does not address

• Interim suspension. At state universities, Regulation 6.0105 says an accused student “shall remain eligible to attend classes and university activities pending the university’s disciplinary decision, and until any appeal is concluded,” except where the president or a designee determines that health, safety, or welfare is involved, or the decision imposes suspension or expulsion.
• Academic integrity. Academic honesty penalties sit in a separate subsection, (5), and the statute does not say in so many words whether the subsection (3) list reaches a cheating case. FSU runs honor cases under a separate policy in which a support person may not speak for the student. Ask your school in writing which rules apply.
• Title IX. At state universities, Regulation 6.0105 requires Title IX sexual harassment cases to comply with the federal regulations.

Florida school pages

• UCF. UCF-5.009 lets an advisor, advocate or legal representative fully participate; appeals run ten business days. See also UCF’s conduct letters, decoded.
• FAU. The advisor “may directly participate in all aspects of the Hearing, including the presentation of relevant information and questioning of witnesses”; appeals are due within five business days.
• USF. USF6.0021 gives “the right to presumption that no violation occurred” and five business days to appeal.
• UF. Regulation 4.040 lets you inspect the file five Class Days before the hearing; appeals run ten Class Days.
• FSU. Your advisor’s name is due three business days ahead; conduct appeals run five business days.

Every Florida College System college has a page in the Florida schools index; Florida student defense covers what comes after a final decision.

Common questions

Does section 1006.60 apply to private colleges in Florida?

No. It covers Florida College System institutions and state universities and does not mention private colleges. At a private college, start with the school’s own published code.

Can my lawyer question witnesses at a Florida public college or university?

The statute says your advisor, advocate or legal representative “may directly participate in all aspects of the proceeding, including the presentation of relevant information and questioning of witnesses.” Check how your code runs questioning.

How much notice do I get?

At least 7 business days’ written notice, and the witness list and all known information at least 5 business days before the proceeding. At state universities, legal holidays do not count.

If you have been charged at a Florida college or university, tell me what happened: your school and program, what happened and where it stands, any deadline, and whether you are still enrolled. More on how these cases work: student conduct charges and hearings, and what to do first: the first 48 hours after a conduct letter.