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Legislative Session

2025 Legislative Session

The Florida 2025 Legislative Session will convene on March 4, 2025.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for a special session to address immigration, condominium regulation, agricultural relief in response to natural disasters, replenishing the My Safe Florida Home program, and the citizens’ initiative petition process.  

JPEF will follow and report on education bills during the regular session. 

The Duval County School Board has adopted its legislative agenda, which includes more funding for transportation, strengthening workforce development through career and technical education, and more flexibility in requirements for teacher certification. 

Flexible Certification Requirements

Flexible Certification for Teacher Recruitment and Retention: Expand F.S. 1012.993 to streamline certification for teachers of students with unique abilities, allow temporary waivers for experienced educators to re-enter the field, and expedite workforce entry for out-of-state teachers through uniform agreements. Support creating counselor apprenticeships and internship certifications to address staffing needs.

School Safety and Funding for New Mandates

Advocate for adequate funding to implement new state-mandated school safety initiatives. The district is seeking one million dollars to support items such as School Safety Officers, and an integrated 24/7 call center, fence line monitoring at schools, and a comprehensive surveillance solution for school districts to meet these requirements.

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Increased Funding for Transportation Services

Advocate for enhanced funding for transportation services, seeking an increase—potentially covering the full cost—within the Transportation Categorical of the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP). This adjustment would enable existing financial resources to be redirected toward initiatives that directly promote student success. 

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Strengthen Workforce Development Through Career and Technical Education

Duval County Public Schools urges the Florida Legislature to include CAPE Digital Tool certifications in the middle school grading formula as acceleration points, fostering essential technology skills and advancing workforce readiness statewide. Additionally, the district seeks $850,000 in direct funding to launch a foundational CTE program for elementary students, providing early career exposure and hands-on experience in high-demand industries to build a skilled local talent pipeline, especially for disadvantaged students.

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Supporting FSBA's Priorities for Advancing Education

Supporting FSBA’s Priorities for advancing education with the following:

  • Autonomy on School Start Times: Empowering school districts to determine the best start time based on community stakeholder input, addressing local factors like transportation, logistics, and student health. 

  • Fully fund VPK in Title I Schools and Improve CLASS training Delivery: Fully fund Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) in Title I schools to ensure equitable access to high-quality early education. Advocate for a shift to in person training for Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) training currently mandated by state statute.

Participation in high quality VPK has been linked to significant effects on third grade reading proficiency and better academic outcomes in second grade as compared to non-VPK participants (Maxwell 2017). Previous research on Florida’s VPK system (Bassok, Miller, & Galdo, 2016) so far has found that:

  • Florida is a national leader with respect to state preschool access for 4-year-olds.
  • Florida's preschool program (VPK) increased child care availability by 13%.
  • VPK increased preschool participation by 4-year-olds.
  • The program led to drops in preschool participation among 3-year-olds.

Ensuring quality VPK with a tool such as the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) is essential for achieving the improved academic outcomes for all students (Allee, Clark, Bai, & Roberts, 2022).

A Look Ahead to the Legislative Session

The Consortium of Florida Education Funds hosted a webinar to provide a preview of the 2025 Florida Legislative Session.