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HB 1279FLORIDA · STATEWIDESession 2026passed_both
Passed

Florida HB 1279 updates professional licensing, school health policies, and vocational service disclosures

Original title: Education

May 5, 2026

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

Where This Stands

Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Signed

Currently passed_both. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Signed.

Last action
Ordered engrossed, then enrolledMar 13, 2026

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

The Frame

What this does

These changes impact the operational requirements for vocational service providers, child care facilities, and school districts, while altering the standards for professional licensure and student health access.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Individuals who are blind or visually impaired

They will receive written disclosures regarding the availability of free services from fee-based providers.

Vocational rehabilitation service providers

They must now apply to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation rather than simply registering.

Child care providers

They are subject to new determinations by the Department of Children and Families regarding the primary cause of class I violations.

What changed

Current stage: passed_both.

What's next

Signed.

Summary

This bill mandates that providers of fee-based services for the blind or visually impaired disclose the availability of free alternatives and shifts registration requirements for vocational service providers to an application-based process. It also updates regulations for marriage and family therapist licensing, virtual instruction, school health epinephrine devices, and child care provider violation assessments.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What must providers for the blind now disclose?
They must disclose in writing whether the services they offer for a fee can be obtained elsewhere at no cost.
How does the bill change student access to epinephrine?
It allows students to carry any FDA-approved , broadening the scope beyond just auto-injectors.

Why It Matters

These changes impact the operational requirements for vocational service providers, child care facilities, and school districts, while altering the standards for professional licensure and student health access.

News Coverage

Lobbying Activity

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation

on behalf of Cleveland Clinic Foundation

$130,000

2026

HEALTH ISSUESMEDICARE/MEDICAID

Quantum computing Immigration Issues National Institute of Health CHILDReN Act EARLY Minds Act Interoperability Issues Brain Health 340B Graduate Medical Education Workforce Issues Payer Accountability Organ Transplant Legislation Healthy Competition Act Price Transparency

ACG Advocacy

on behalf of DREXEL UNIVERSITY

2026

BUDGET/APPROPRIATIONS

General issues impacting higher education. Research and development funding for specialty materials. Appropriations for University funding. Issues related to pediatric hospitals.

725 STRATEGIES

on behalf of Schuerger Law Group

2026

EDUCATION

Lobbying to restart PCP referrals on student loan collections

ACG Advocacy

on behalf of March Fourth

2026

EDUCATIONCIVIL RIGHTS/CIVIL LIBERTIES

School safety/security.

ADOBE INC

$450,000

2026

COMPUTER INDUSTRYDEFENSEGOVERNMENT ISSUESCOPYRIGHT/PATENT/TRADEMARK

IT Modernization and Digital Service delivery issues; Digital Service Delivery IT Acquisition, and Content Authenticity and digital provenance issues; Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI); artificial intelligence; content provenance; privacy; technology in and competition issues; AI innovation and the economy; Content provenance and AI Labelling; IT modernization; Support for H.R. 9112 - CREATOR Act

ACTE

$20,000

2026

EDUCATIONBUDGET/APPROPRIATIONSLABOR ISSUES/ANTITRUST/WORKPLACE

Providing information surrounding the benefits of supporting career and technical education (CTE); Supporting the work of the House and Senate CTE Caucuses; Supporting the Skills Saving Account Act, H.R. 464; Supporting the Loan Forgiveness for Educators Act, S.4576/H.R.8896; Providing input for K-12 AI Literacy and Readiness Act, H.R. 8747; Supporting the Early Childhood Workforce Advancement Act, S. 4597/H.R.8937; opposing Interagency Agreements between the Department of Education and other agencies; sharing recommendations for the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.

AARP

$4,110,000

2026

HEALTH ISSUESMEDICARE/MEDICAIDLAW ENFORCEMENT/CRIME/CRIMINAL JUSTICEPHARMACY

P.L. 119-21, One Big Beautiful Bill Act H.R. 8867, Planning for Long-term Aging Needs (PLAN) Act H.R. 5861, Legacy Act of 2025 H.R. 9393, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. H.R. 9396, the Prior Authorization Accountability Act. S. 4916, the Aging with Artificial Intelligence Act. H.R. 8100, Safe Staffing Saves Lives Act. S. 3886, Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act. H.R. 6766/S. 3492, the Essential Caregivers Act of 2025. H.R. 7966/S. 4118, Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act. S. 2120, the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 H.R. 5575, the Firefighters Assisting Seniors to Emergency Response (FASTER) Act of 2025. H.R. 3954/S. 4641, Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act. H.R.5554/S.2831, Stand Strong for Medicare Act. S. 3439/H.R. 6735, Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act and efforts related to the bill S. 1227/H.R. 2491, Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act S. 668/H.R. 3183, Supporting Access to Falls Education and Prevention and Strengthening Training Efforts and Promoting Safety Initiatives (SAFE STEPS) for Veterans Act of 2025 CMS-1851-P, Hospice Proposed rule. CMS-1843-P, Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed rule. CMS-1844-P, Home Health Proposed rule. No bill number. Health care transparency. No bill number. Discussed use of artificial intelligence and health data technology. No bill number. Discussed health-related policies and activities around the fall respiratory virus season. No bill number. Discussed health insurance affordability proposals. No bill number. Discussed Nursing Home staffing standards, safety, and quality. No bill number. Discussed Nursing home transparency and ownership requirements. No bill number. Discussed home health, hospice, and long-term care. No bill number. Discussed falls prevention. No bill number. Discussed social isolation. No bill number. Discussed HUD Assisted Living Requirements No bill number. Discussed family caregiving. No bill number. Discussed AARP paper on Medicare Caregiver Training Services. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid community engagement interim final rule, including the family caregiver exemption. No bill number. Discussed the paid direct care workforce in long-term care. No bill number. Discussed the unaffordability of long-term care. No bill number. Discussed Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program and Medicaid HCBS spousal impoverishment protections. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid fraud and family caregivers, Medicaid self-direction programs. No bill number. Discussed sandwich generation family caregiver hearing and submitted a statement for the record discussing family caregivers and sandwich generation caregivers, programs that support them, AARP caregiving resources, and federal policies to support sandwich generation caregivers and caregivers more broadly. No bill number. Discussed long-term care. No bill number. CMS-2453-NC; Medicaid Program; 2028 Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Quality Measure Set Submitted comments No bill number. Discussed expanding access to home care. No bill number. Discussed the increasing cost of home care No bill number. Discussed HSA use for telehealth chronic care management services/subscriptions. No bill number. Discussed artificial intelligence and technology

1607 STRATEGIES, LLC

on behalf of inspHIRE IO Corp. DBA Candidly

2026

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS/INVESTMENTS/SECRETIREMENT

Student loan and retirement security issues. Implementation of SECURE 2.0 of 2022 Act. Access to student loan payment data to allow employees to match student loan payments with retirement savings payments. Issues related to Stop Student Debt Relief Scams Act of 2019.

2020 STRATEGIES LLC

on behalf of PDE Action

2026

EDUCATION

Federal Scholarship Tax Credit DC Opportunity Scholarship Program Returning Education to the States

on behalf of Center for Creative Education, Inc.

2026

Senate LDAView filing →

Voting Record

Sponsors

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Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Shift to Application-Based Oversight

The bill moves vocational service providers from a passive registration model to an active application model with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

Connected Entities

organizationUnited States Food and Drug AdministrationThe federal agency that approves epinephrine delivery devices.Map →
organizationDepartment of Children and FamiliesThe department responsible for determining if a child care provider is the primaMap →

Sources

Open source document

openstates.org

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance60
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy20
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz10
    Current news / social attention level

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