How Florida’s $115 Billion Budget Will Change Education, Healthcare
Florida lawmakers finalized an $115 billion state budget on May 24, resolving disputes over education funding, including protections for schools against enrollment-driven cuts and maintaining a $4.5 billion voucher program, while also allocating resources for healthcare initiatives like cancer research and HIV treatment programs. The agreement, approved after months of negotiations, balances Senate and House proposals and includes adjustments like restricting private school capital funding to rural counties and removing a $50 million medical technology fund despite prior legislative support.
Florida lawmakers reached a final budget agreement worth nearly $115 billion late on May 24, ending months of negotiations between the House and Senate. The budget, set to begin July 1, sits between the Senate’s preferred level and the House’s $113.6 billion proposal, resolving disputes over spending priorities and fiscal restraint after the regular session adjourned without a deal on March 13. In education, lawmakers preserved the $4.5 billion voucher and scholarship program for homeschooling and private school tuition, incorporating it into the main K-12 funding formula despite tensions over mismanagement concerns highlighted by an audit. Protections were also included to prevent steep funding cuts for school districts facing declining enrollment, such as those in Union and Glades counties. A $7 million allocation for capital improvements at private schools in disadvantaged areas was amended to target only rural counties with fewer than 10,000 residents, with funds required by December 1. Florida State University received approval to use existing funds to acquire Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare through long-term payments and investments. Additionally, the University of South Florida’s Manatee-Sarasota campus was transferred to New College of Florida after late-stage negotiations. In healthcare, the Cancer Innovation Fund, supported by First Lady Casey DeSantis, was allocated $20 million, a compromise between the House’s proposal to eliminate funding and the Senate’s $30 million request. The AIDS Drug Assistance Program secured $75 million to prevent access disruptions for patients after emergency funding expired on June 30. However, a $50 million fund created under a 2024 law championed by former Senate President Kathleen Passidomo was removed from the budget, though existing Health Innovation Council resources will continue supporting medical technology initiatives. Security funding for Governor Ron DeSantis post-office term was excluded from the final agreement, as the House rejected the Senate’s proposal. Lawmakers also failed to extend security provisions to major party gubernatorial nominees following the August primary.
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