Legislative Priorities

2026 Legislative Priorities

Student Support & Accountability

• Allow the use of federally recognized high school equivalency assessment options to demonstrate High School Diploma Equivalency in addition to the General Education Diploma (GED). This provides learners with multiple, valid pathways to earn a high school equivalency credential. Offering more than one option reduces barriers related to testing format, cost, and accessibility while preserving the rigor and recognition of the credential. It aligns Florida with other states promoting choice and increases opportunities for learners to complete education and access workforce or higher education options.


• Allow the highest valid score from PM2 or PM3 to be used for school grades and for grade-level promotion determinations (where applicable). This preserves the summative role of PM3 while honoring demonstrated mastery achieved by PM2, improves fairness to students, and stabilizes school accountability by reducing single-day test risk. 


• Create a rolling, 3-year average growth rate (e.g., based on audited prior-year participation and award outlays) to set a predictable, annual cap on total new FES awards statewide for the subsequent fiscal year. The cap would be recalculated annually using the most recent 3 years, with authority for the Legislature to add a limited contingency reserve if demand exceeds the cap for priority groups (e.g., students with disabilities, foster/at-risk) to allow for fiscal predictability for the state and planning stability for districts, while preserving access through a transparent, data-driven cap mechanism.


• Amend Florida Statutes and Department of Education policy to include PM1 and PM2 assessments for Algebra 1, in addition to the existing B.E.S.T. Algebra 1 EOC (PM3), to provide early and mid-year data to guide instruction, support student learning growth throughout the year, and align Algebra 1 with the FAST progress monitoring model used in earlier grades.


• Allow acceleration points to be included in the high school grades calculation formula for students graduating with the Florida Fine Arts Seal.

Funding Priorities

• Continue funding increases of at least 5% in base student allocation (BSA) along with covering the cost of FRS increases and continue to protect all students funded in the FEFP from having funding prorated.


• Support FLDOE-recommended increases in Mental Health and Transportation categoricals.


• Support increase in ESE Guaranteed categorical to meet the increasing needs of ESE students and the demands of IDEA.


• Provide weighted VPK funding for students with disabilities to cover the additional costs of specialized teacher training and smaller, specialized classrooms.

Schools of Hope

Modify the current statute or require modifications to the current State Board of Education (SBE) rule to include the following:

• Provide weighted VPK funding for students with disabilities to cover the additional costs of specialized teacher training and smaller, specialized classrooms.


• Modify the data collected for the Florida Inventory of School Houses (FISH) Report to ensure all students present in a school are counted regardless of age or program. Align the FISH report and Schools of Hope application timelines and require notices to be based on the current year’s FISH report.


• Provide a safe harbor for growing school districts and new schools for districts that can demonstrate projected population increases based on building development and other reliable data.


• Provide accountability measures for operators not designated by the SBE as Hope Operators who attempt to apply to school districts for co-location space.

Effective Communication With a Legislator

As a Floridian, one of your greatest responsibilities is to help elect the legislators who represent you and the state's more than 14 million other residents. But your role in the democratic process of government does not end at the polls. By sharing your opinions and ideas with your Representatives and Senators in Tallahassee, you help them decide what to do about the issues and pending legislation that affect us all. They value your suggestions and encourage you to express them.

Your legislators receive a huge amount of phone calls and mail from their constituents. Unfortunately, their full agendas limit their ability to personally respond to them all. How, then, can you be sure your voice is heard? Here are some tips to help you get the most impact out of your communications with your legislators in Tallahassee.

How a Bill Becomes a Law

Either house may originate any type of legislation; however the processes differ slightly between houses.

A legislator sponsors a bill, which is referred to one or more committees related to the bill's subject. The committee studies the bill and decides if it should be amended, pass, or fail. If passed, the bill moves to other committees of reference or to the full house. The full house then votes on the bill.

If it passes in one house, it is sent to the other house for review. A bill goes through the same process in the second house as it did in the first. A bill can go back and forth between houses until a consensus is reached. Of course, the measure could fail at any point in the process.

Watch Florida Governmental Meetings

Visit The Florida Channel to watch committee meetings, House and Senate sessions and more.

POLK COUNTY
LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION

Sen. Ben Albritton
District 27

Capitol Office Address:
409 The Capitol,
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300
850-487-5027

District Office Address:
150 N. Central Ave.
Bartow, FL 33830-4742
863-534-0073

[email protected]

Sen. Colleen Burton
District 12

Capitol Office Address:
408 Senate Building,
404 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300
850-487-5012

District Office Address:
1375 Havendale Blvd., NW
Winter Haven, FL 33881
863-413-1529

[email protected] 

Rep. Jon Albert
District 48

Capitol Office Address:
1301 The Capitol,
402 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300
850-717-5048

District Office Address:
337 Avenue C Southwest
Winter Haven, FL 33880-3262

[email protected]

Rep. Jennifer Kincart Jonsson
District 49

Capitol Office Address:
1302 The Capitol,
402 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300
850-717-5049

District Office Address:
210 East Main Street
Bartow, FL 33830-4631

[email protected]

Rep. Jennifer Canady
District 50

Capitol Office Address:
418 The Capitol,
402 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300
850-717-5050

District Office Address
PO Box 5211
Lakeland, FL33807-5211
863-450-4795

[email protected] 

Rep. Josie Tomkow
District 51

Capitol Office Address:
418 The Capitol,
402 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300
850-717-5051

District Office Address:
209 Palmetto Street
Auburndale, FL 33823-3444
863-292-7003

[email protected]