Ethics Education

Annual ethics training is a state-mandated requirement for all of Florida's elected and appointed local officers of independent special districts. Learn more about the requirement, the options to complete it, and how to record completion below.

Beginning January 1, 2024, state law requires all elected local officers of independent special districts, and persons appointed to fill those seats if vacant, to complete four (4) specific hours of ethics training annually. If an official is elected on or before March 31, the official must complete their annual ethics training by December 31 of the year their term begins. If their term starts after March 31, the official is not required to complete the required ethics training until December 31 of the following year.

Completion of this class is certified on Form 1 of the financial disclosure document filed by elected and appointed special district officials each year in Florida's local governments. The Commission on Ethics checks completion and investigates any challenges related to this requirement.

The four-hour class must include:

• two hours of Chapter 112, F.S. known as Florida's Ethics Law
• one hour of Chapter 119, F.S. known as the Public Records Law
• one hour of Chapter 286, F.S. known as the Public Meetings Law

Florida Association of Special Districts offers this course virtually. The 4 hour video linked to this page meets the ethics training requirements.

If your district is a member of FASD, the cost for this special district-specific ethics training is $49.00 for each district official. If your district is not a member of FASD, the cost is $79.00 for each district official.

Read all instructions before you click link to take the 4-Hour Ethics Course

For all troubleshooting questions, please contact Florida Institute of Government at (850) 645-6700.

Online Payment Instructions

Step 1: Click the Florida Association of Special Districts Training.
Step 2: You may register multiple attendees at the same time. Add attendees to your cart as needed.
Step 3: You will be asked for a billing email during the checkout phase. Please note the login information will be attached to the email receipt that is sent to the billing representative. The billing representative must forward the login information to those who will be attending the training.

OR

Step 1: Enter your login information if you are already a registered user on the FIOG e-learning site by clicking "I already have an account!"
Step 2: Begin the course! You may return to https://elearning.iog.fsu.edu at any time to continue the course.
Step 3: A certificate will be made available upon completion of any course taken on the Florida Institute of Government E-Learning Platform. All certificates can be accessed at any time by visiting your "My Account" section located at https://elearning.iog.fsu.edu/account/certificates.

Florida Association of Special Districts also offers the four-hour class in person at its annual events:

4-Hour Ethics Training Course