As the 2021-2022 school year comes to a close, the Eagle Eye takes an in-depth look at the recent legislation passed in the state of Florida.
Florida passes 26 bills affecting education in the 2022 legislative session
During the 2022 Florida legislative session, in which the regular session started on January 11 and wrapped up on March 14, 285 bills of the 3,373 bills filed were adopted. Several of these bills affected education; 26 education-related bills passed and 36 failed.
Florida Legislative sessions last for 60 consecutive days and occur every year. The legislature can convene outside of a regular session by a special session, which could potentially be called by the Florida governor and allows the legislature to meet outside of a regular session, or a joint proclamation issued by the senate president and house speaker. An extension of a regular session or special session needs a three-fifths vote from each house in order to extend.
In the session, Florida’s budget increased 10% to $112.1 billion with roughly $650 million in tax cuts. Bills introduced and passed targeted many “hot-button” issues, including abortion, the LGBTQ+ community, race, education, mask mandates and standardized testing.
The bills passed and signed into law, in addition to other actions taken by Gov. Ron DeSantis or the legislature, will likely affect Florida’s upcoming elections. The midterm elections will decide Florida’s next governor, cabinet members, House and Senate members as well as United States senators and representatives.
