Florida Legislative Highlights | Week of March 10-14, 2025

Foundation Priorities Advance in House

Two FFF priorities advanced through their first committee stops this week. 

• HB 949, sponsored by Rep. Demi Busatta, passed unanimously through the House Education Administration Committee. The bill would expand Florida’s existing phone-free school policy during instructional time to full-day phone-free schools.
• HB 1145, sponsored by Rep. Jason Shoaf, passed unanimously through the House Careers and Workforce Committee. The bill would make charter schools eligible for the Workforce Capitalization Incentive Grant Program and expand the state’s existing Money-Back Guarantee Program. The bill would require that Florida College System Institutions and participating school districts increase the number of Money-Back Guarantee Programs from three to six if students cannot find employment at a certain wage within six months of graduation. 

Workforce Education Proposals Move Forward

Several pieces of legislation advanced in both the House and Senate this week, including expanded opportunities for students with disabilities and career exploration activities.

Both Sen. Don Gaetz and Rep. Kim Kendall advanced different versions of bills intended to support the workforce education for students with disabilities.

• SB 102, sponsored by Sen. Gaetz, would require the Department of Education and Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities to establish a workforce credential program for students with disabilities allowing students to earn badges to signal specific skills to meet employer needs.
• HB 127, sponsored by Rep. Kendall, would require the Department of Education and Florida Center for Students with Unique Abilities to establish a workforce micro-credential program for students with disabilities within existing career and technical education frameworks that would allow a student to signal their skills to employers.

In addition to these bills, HB 571, sponsored by Rep. Kendall, passed the House Careers and Workforce Committee. The bill would require districts to schedule work-based learning at a time that ensures the greatest number of students can benefit. The bill would also require high schools to host career fairs for students aged 16 and older with employers that are currently offering paid work experience.

School Choice Improvements March Forward

Rep. Kendall’s HB 569 was voted out of the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. The bill responds to numerous instances across the state where private and charter school operators have been unfairly treated by local zoning and permitting actions.

The legislation:

• Ensures charter schools won’t be subject to building code requirements that traditional public schools are not subject to;
• Ensures charter schools won’t be forced to obtain special exemptions or conditional use approvals for facility development;
• Creates an education impact fee credit for developers who provide a contribution or improvement to a school district or charter school near the development; and,
• Protects private schools from local governments imposing unfair traffic ordinances and requirements during school hours or if the requirements would limit enrollment in the school.

In addition, Rep. Shane Abbott’s HB 151 and Sen. Corey Simon’s SB 248 passed through their respective committees this week. Both bills would expand access to sports offered at a public school to any private school student if their school does not offer the sport. Sen. Simon’s version additionally expands access to public school sports for students participating in a home education instructional program.

Senate’s Anti-Accountability and School Choice Legislation Progresses

The Senate Pre-K 12 Appropriations Committee passed Senate Bill 166, sponsored by Sen. Corey Simon. SB 166 proposes to make several changes to district operations as well as broader policy changes that water down student expectations, system accountability and fair funding for charter schools. There is no House companion to SB 166.

Specifically, SB 166 would:

• Turn two diagnostic tests in grade 3 into high stakes tests for student promotion to grade 4. Students already have multiple pathways for promotion to grade 4; changing these tests into high stakes exams will fundamentally change the character, nature and use of the tests.
• Reduce high school graduation standards by removing the requirement that students pass the Algebra I end-of-course and 10th grade English Language Arts assessments. Instead, the bill proposes to allow the score on each of these assessments to count for 30% of a student’s final grade.
• Increase the amount of Title I funds by 5% that a public school district can withhold from charter schools.
• Repeal annual contracts for educators, reinstating the ability for collective bargaining units to negotiate multi-year contracts.