The Florida Legislature adjourned sine die March 13 after passing 237 bills in its 60-day session. Lawmakers returned to Tallahassee for three special sessions: congressional redistricting, property taxes and the state budget. On Monday, June 29, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a $117.6 billion budget that included back-of-the-bill appropriations and $810 million in line-item vetoes.
On June 23, during FCAN’s 2026 Legislative Session Recap Webinar, special guests Rep. Jennifer Kincart Jonsson, R-Polk, and Nicole Washington of Washington Education Strategies joined FCAN staff to discuss higher education legislation and appropriations passed during the 2026 session, and expanded on FCAN’s recently released policy recap brief and budget recap brief.
Session Overview
House Bill 1279 makes several changes to Florida’s K-12 and higher education systems. The law provides bonuses to Florida teachers of advanced courses, creates a uniform system for weighing honors and accelerated courses in GPA calculations, establishes applied algebra courses aligned with career and technical education programs, amends the four-year graduation metric to provide more flexibility for engineering programs, and adjusts the access metric to incentivize greater first-year Pell student enrollment.
Kincart Jonsson said she sponsored the bill after growing concerned about academic pressure on Florida students competing for admission to the state’s preeminent universities, and about rising out-of-state enrollment at those schools. While the final version did not include the 95% Florida resident enrollment ratio she had advocated for, it retained the provisions above.
“I’m going to continue to push our university system serving our Florida students first. I’m not going to give up on that,” she said.
Kincart Jonsson also discussed House Bill 1105, which she sponsored during the 2025 session and which was signed into law. As outlined in FCAN’s 2025 Session Recap, this bill requires promotion of the Gold Seal CAPE (GSC) Scholar award, a subset of the Bright Futures Scholarship Program, within career academies and career-themed courses students may already be enrolled in. The award covers the cost of tuition and fees for applied technology diplomas, technical degrees or career certificate programs.
Kincart Jonsson said her work reflects a broader commitment to expanding opportunity across all pathways, including non-college certificates, job training programs, and initiatives such as the Open Door Grant Program, which provides tuition scholarships for short-term credential programs. She credited her experience as a mother, business owner and community member with shaping that focus.
House Bill 753
House Bill 753 clarifies that school counselors are exempt from educator certification requirements, including exams (General Knowledge and Professional Education) unrelated to counseling, and that they will be evaluated using Florida School Counseling Standards rather than standards designed for classroom teachers.
House Bill 757
This session, lawmakers focused on school safety, particularly at the postsecondary level. House Bill 757 expands the School Guardian Program to Florida colleges and state universities that choose to participate. The law allows school employees or faculty certified through the Guardian Program to carry firearms on campus in response to threats.
Senate Bill 1246
Senate Bill 1246 expands the Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) Fund to allow in-kind contributions, such as donated space, equipment and other goods and services from medical facilities, to qualify for state matching grants to nursing programs.
Other Workforce Bills
Lawmakers passed several policies this session to expand Florida’s workforce in high-need industries.
- House Bill 1081 expands cybersecurity learning opportunities for students, particularly through internships and employment.
- House Bill 1343 establishes a half-credit course in insurance and personal finance. Completing the course counts toward a Customer Representative License.
- The Legislature passed House Bill 325, which would have allowed incarcerated individuals to earn commercial driver’s licenses, but the governor vetoed it.
Higher Education Budget Highlights
Nicole Washington provided an overview of the fiscal year 2026-2027 budget. After $810 million in line-item vetoes, Gov. DeSantis signed a $117.6 billion budget effective July 1.
- Florida Student Assistance Grant (FSAG): $269 million
- Bright Futures: $705.2 million
- Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) Grant: $136.9 million
- State University System: $3.8 billion
- No funding allocated to preeminent universities
- Florida College System: $1.7 billion
- $30 million increase to the Florida College System Program Fund apportioned to the institutions through the FCS funding model
- Workforce Development Capitalization Incentive Grant: $40 million to support school districts and Florida College System institutions to expand career and technical education programs that lead to CAPE industry certifications. CAPE refers to the Career and Professional Education Act (2007), which created opportunities for secondary and, later, postsecondary students to earn industry certifications.
- Pathways to Career Opportunities Grant: $20 million to support apprenticeship and preapprenticeship opportunities, including dedicated funding for teacher apprenticeships.
- Open Door Grant Program: $25 million to cover the cost of career and technical education programs at district career centers and Florida College System institutions
- Nursing education initiatives: $130 million
- $100 million to the Prepping Institutions, Programs, Instruction, and Learning through Excellence for Nursing Education (PIPELINE) program.
- $30 million to the Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) Fund.
- No tuition increase for in-state students
Nicole Washington also noted a new policy change in the budget-implementing bill that allows state university boards of trustees to set tuition for graduate and professional programs and out-of-state fees for nonresident students.
FCAN thanks Rep. Kincart Jonsson and Nicole Washington for joining this conversation. FCAN will continue monitoring college access policy across Florida and will begin previewing the 2027 legislative session this fall.
Show Notes: