Youth Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation Pilot Program:
HB 171 creates the Youth Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation Pilot Program within Florida’s Community School Grant Program. The pilot would run for three school years beginning no later than the 2026-2027 school year and would be administered by the Center for Community Schools at the University of Central Florida, in coordination with the Department of Education. Its stated purpose is to reduce juvenile violence by teaching students conflict resolution and peer mediation skills, with an emphasis on integrating the curriculum into the school day and reinforcing those skills throughout the school environment.
The bill directs the center to select middle and high schools to participate, giving priority to schools with higher rates of juvenile violence and with community partners available to support implementation. Participating schools would be required to train staff and, where possible, community partners; provide students with conflict-resolution skills without weakening existing discipline systems; supply data; and complete pre- and post-program surveys. The center would also monitor implementation, collect discipline and violence data before and after the pilot, and submit a final report with enrollment figures, discipline and violence rates, survey results, and recommendations on whether the curriculum should be expanded statewide.
The bill would amend section 1003.64, Florida Statutes, by adding a new pilot-program subsection to the Community School Grant Program. It would not create a permanent statewide mandate immediately, but it would establish a structured, data-driven pilot that could inform future policy on school discipline, violence prevention, and social-emotional learning in middle and high schools. The subsection would expire after the required report is submitted, making the change temporary unless later reenacted or expanded.
The bill appears to have been generally favorable in concept, as reflected by its focus on student safety, violence reduction, and school support, but it did not advance out of the Education & Employment Committee and died there. No committee transcript or vote record is available in the provided materials, so there is no detailed public debate to indicate broad support or opposition. The available record suggests the proposal was treated as a pilot and research-oriented measure rather than a major contested policy change.
The main potential points of contention are likely to have been the use of school time and resources for a new curriculum, the role of outside community partners, and whether conflict-resolution programming should be integrated into discipline practices without undermining existing school authority. Another possible issue is the bill’s targeting of schools with higher juvenile violence rates, which could raise questions about selection criteria, implementation burden, and whether the pilot should be expanded statewide before evidence is available. Because no transcripts or votes are provided, specific objections or supporters cannot be identified from the record.