Standards for the use of reasonable force were developed and adopted by the State Board of Education in 1997. These standards were distributed to all public school district superintendents. These 1997 standards have stood as the generally applicable guidelines for school personnel to use in situations where reasonable force may be used to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment. Although the State Board adopted standards, these were never formally adopted as rule. Evaluation of the standards resulted in the determination the standards for the use of reasonable force should be updated and formally adopted as rule. Six rule development workshops were conducted throughout the state and included: March 17, 2008 – St. Petersburg College, Clearwater Campus, Teaching Auditorium; March 18, 2008 – Broward County Schools, Piper High School, Media Center, Sunrise, Florida; March 19, 2008 – Seminole County Schools, Educational Support Center, Sanford, Florida; March 20, 2008 – St. Johns County Schools, Fullerwood Learning Center, St. Augustine, Florida; March 21, 2008 – Jackson County Schools, Cottondale High School, Cottondale, Florida; August 26, 2008 – Conference Call, Tallahassee, Florida