Gov. Jeb Bush Responds to Passage of Teacher Freedom Legislation 

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Chairman of the Foundation for Florida’s Future, issued the following statement in response to the passage of Senate Bill 1296, which will empower teachers across Florida: 

“Educators deserve a true choice in how they are represented, and Senate Bill 1296 ensures this will happen. 

“For too long, status quo collective bargaining organizations have operated on autopilot with the loudest few driving the conversation. This legislation sets a reasonable threshold for teacher representation that prevents a small minority from making decisions for everyone. 

“I commend Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Jonathan Martin and Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka for championing this legislation and to the many legislators who ensured SB 1296 will be the law of the land.” 

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Senate Bill 1296: 

• Ensures that no teacher’s voice is sidelined by requiring that a majority of covered public employees participate in a certification or recertification election and that a collective bargaining organization receive 50% support from the majority that participate in the election 
• Protects taxpayers from paying for public employees to take leave time for union organizing activities 
• Provides parity for organizations that seek to represent public employees as a counter collective bargaining organization by guaranteeing that a public employer may not provide a benefit to the incumbent collective bargaining organization that is not also provided to a challenging organization