Education zingers die on the vine this Legislative Session

Several prominent education bills fell short this Legislative Session, including to to rename campus roads after Charlie Kirk, limit international college students’ enrollment, target certain books in public schools, and more.

For the second year in a row, the House passed a bill filed by Rep. Doug Bankson to target “materials harmful to minors” in public school libraries. But the measure failed to gain momentum in the Senate.

House Republicans were pushing for HB 1119, which would have banned public schools from considering a book’s literary, artistic, political or scientific value when deciding whether to remove books.

Bankson, an Apopka Republican, argued his bill would close a loophole from a 2023 law that made it easier for adults to challenge books in school libraries. He warned that books that are inappropriate for children are still appearing on the shelves.

But Democrats and First Amendment advocates argued Bankson’s bill would only wrongly remove books from Florida’s schools.

“It matters what we do in this chamber. It matters for future generations and book banning is something that I cannot be a part of,” House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell said on the House floor.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) sent a letter to the Senate, urging them to kill HB 1119 after the House passage.

“To be clear, not every book is appropriate for every student,” FIRE’s Public Advocacy Director Aaron Terr wrote. “Again, FIRE recognizes that school districts have a responsibility to assess whether library materials are appropriate for students of different ages. But any such assessment must be carefully crafted to ensure that students are not broadly denied the opportunity to read age-appropriate works that speak to their particular interests.”

Another bill to require students to learn cursive failed to advance this year.

For the second straight year, the House passed legislation to require elementary school students to learn cursive and be tested on their proficiency at the end of fifth grade. The rules would have gone into effect ahead of the 2026-27 school year.

House lawmakers supporting the bill said too many adults today don’t know basic skills, like how to sign a check or their mortgage.

“If our students can’t read cursive, they can’t read the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution or even a grandparent’s handwritten letter,” said Rep. Toby Overdorf, a Palm City Republican who co-sponsored the bill, during Committee.

The House backed HB 127 with a 111-0 vote in early February. But the Senate was cooler on the cursive requirements. An identical bill filed by Sen. Erin Grall was referred to three Senate Committees without ever being called to a vote.

Another bill falling short of the finish line would have required teachers to take an oath.

“I do solemnly swear that I will support, protect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and the Constitution and Government of the State of Florida; that I am duly qualified for employment as a classroom teacher in this state,” part of the nearly 120-word oath said. “I will serve as a positive role model in both conduct and character, so help me God.”

Rep. Tom Fabricio’s oath bill (HB 147) was referred to two House panels without ever getting a vote. Sen. Clay Yarborough’s companion measure (SB 430) was temporarily postponed at the Senate Education Pre-K Committee in January.

Several higher education bills also failed to advance.

Sen. Ileana Garcia and Rep. Kevin Steele and filed identical bills (SB 1428, HB 113) to require all public universities and state colleges to rename a campus road after Kirk, a conservative political activist and Turning Point USA co-founder. Kirk was assassinated last year while speaking at Utah Valley University.

Garcia and Steele’s legislation would have renamed Florida State University’s Chieftain Way, the University of Florida’s Stadium Road, the University of Central Florida’s Gemini Boulevard South, the University of South Florida’s USF Alumni Drive and other schools’ roads after Kirk.

If schools failed to rename the roadways within 90 days of the bill passing, the state could have withheld school funding.

However, the legislation did not get called to a Committee vote during the 2026 Session.

Similarly, Sen. Jonathan Martin and Rep. Berny Jacques filed identical bills (SB 1276, HB 721) to limit how many international students can enroll at Florida’s state universities and colleges.

Under their proposal, students who are not permanent residents could make up only up to 10% of a school’s enrollment.

International students are lucrative recruits since they pay higher tuition than in-state students. But Jacques, a Seminole Republican who was born in Haiti, argued the state’s higher education institutions should prioritize educating Floridians and Americans.

“Florida’s public institutions were designed to serve our public, not citizens of nations abroad,” he said in a statement to the Tallahassee Democrat after he filed the bill last year.

The House and Senate bills failed to advance through a single Committee in either chamber.