Florida Senate - 2026 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 318
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LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
12/10/2025 .
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The Committee on Appropriations (Gaetz) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 4198 - 4234
4 and insert:
5 Section 18. (1) The Legislature finds that the educational
6 scholarship programs created pursuant to chapter 1002, Florida
7 Statutes, provide unprecedented school choice in this state and
8 are central to parent empowerment.
9 (a) The Legislature further finds that to protect universal
10 school choice within this state, it is critical to remain good
11 stewards of taxpayer funds, including eligible contributions
12 made to scholarship programs. This state is implementing the
13 nation’s largest school choice program, and it must be
14 safeguarded.
15 (b) To improve the efficiency, accountability, and
16 transparency of the scholarship programs, a single entity that
17 can be held directly accountable to the state must be
18 responsible for the implementation of the programs.
19 (c) Therefore, the Legislature determines that it is in the
20 best interest of this state for the Department of Education to
21 implement the scholarship programs.
22 (2) The Department of Education must provide a report
23 outlining its recommendations for the implementation of the
24 educational scholarship programs, with such implementation set
25 to begin in the 2028-2029 school year.
26 (3) The department’s recommendations must address each of
27 the following program components:
28 (a) The application process.
29 (b) The enrollment and verification process.
30 (c) Student account management and requirements.
31 (d) The payment or reimbursement process.
32 (e) Communication with parents regarding the different
33 scholarship programs and how to apply to a scholarship program.
34 (f) Assistance for parents with scholarship-related
35 questions and issues.
36 (g) Administration of the contributions received pursuant
37 to s. 1002.395(5), Florida Statutes.
38 (4) The department may, for any or all of the program
39 components, recommend itself or any other state agency or public
40 entity, such as school districts or educational consortiums, for
41 implementation of the component. Any contract to implement a
42 component must be awarded pursuant to chapter 287, Florida
43 Statutes, through a competitive procurement process. At a
44 minimum, the department must include an outline of the
45 requirements for each program component which includes all of
46 the following information, as applicable:
47 (a) An estimate of recurring and nonrecurring costs,
48 including an estimate of any administrative costs the department
49 deems reasonable and necessary, and for what purposes the
50 administrative funds may be used.
51 (b) A description, justification, and detailed cost
52 breakdown of any additional resources that the department
53 requires to fully implement the program component.
54 (c) The business, functional, and technical requirements
55 for the program component.
56 (d) A list of roles and responsibilities for the program
57 component which delineates the functionality that will be
58 provided by the department or other entity, as applicable.
59 (e) A proposed implementation timeline that identifies
60 major milestones, dependencies, and the estimated completion
61 dates for the program component.
62 (f) A framework establishing a communication structure and
63 accountability measures which will ensure coordinated,
64 efficient, and transparent interaction among each project
65 component.
66 (g) An outcome-based contracting framework that will be
67 used to measure each contract’s success against specific,
68 objective performance metrics and desired outcomes. This
69 framework may incorporate a system of rewards for exceeding
70 performance goals, and penalties for failing to meet them.
71 (5) If the department recommends administration of any
72 project component by a scholarship-funding organization, the
73 department must include recommendations for eligibility
74 requirements of the scholarship-funding organizations and any
75 other changes to the application process or other procedural
76 requirements it recommends.
77 (6) The department shall also include in its report a plan
78 to ensure that the results from required background screening
79 for education providers who are licensed or who are exempt from
80 licensure through the Department of Children and Families are
81 shared with the Department of Education.
82 (7) The department must submit the report to the Governor,
83 the President of the Seante, and the Speaker of the House of
84 Representatives no later than December 1, 2026, and must include
85 any statutory changes that may be necessary to implement the
86 department’s recommendations.
87 (8) This section expires July 1, 2027.
88
89 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
90 And the title is amended as follows:
91 Delete lines 232 - 236
92 and insert:
93 cross-references; providing legislative findings;
94 requiring the Department of Education to provide a
95 specified report regarding recommendations for
96 implementing the educational scholarship programs;
97 providing requirements for the recommendations;
98 authorizing the department to make recommendations to
99 specified entities; requiring certain contracts to be
100 awarded through a competitive procurement process;
101 requiring the department to include an outline of
102 requirements for each program component; providing
103 requirements for the outline; requiring the department
104 to include recommendations for eligibility
105 requirements of scholarship-funding organizations
106 under specified circumstances; requiring the
107 department to include a specified plan in its report;
108 requiring the department to provide, by a specified
109 date, the report to the Governor and the Legislature;
110 providing for expiration;