Home » State Early Childhood Policy Landscapes » Florida Early Childhood Policy Landscape

Florida

Florida, like all states, has a unique early childhood policy landscape that is shaped by economics, demographics, political history, coalitions, and other factors that create a state-specific environment for policy advocacy.

State early childhood policy progress is dependent both on the state’s environment and the numerous efforts—by the organizations listed on this page, other organizations, parents, policymakers, practitioners, and more—who work both independently and collaboratively to achieve wins for young children.

2025 State Early Childhood Policy Environment and Progress

Early Childhood Landscape:

Research shows that family economic security is foundational to children’s overall wellbeing. Research also shows that widespread disparities in opportunity (especially by race) drive wide disparities in outcomes. States with policies that offer strong support to young children and their families are more likely to see 1) declining numbers of children in low-income households and 2) low racial disparity among those children.

Young Children in Low-Income Households: Declining

Approximately 41 percent (826,000) of the state’s children 0-8 live in households below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (2022). This number represents a decrease from 48 percent (957,000) in 2017.¹

Racial Disparity Among Young Children Living in Low-Income Households: High

Black, Hispanic/Latino, and/or Native children aged 0-8 are significantly more likely to be living in households below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level than are Asian and non-Hispanic White children.²

(NOTE: Selecting for age 0-8, state, and race can yield small cell sizes that can make percentages less accurate. Bars marked with S indicate data with extremely small cell sizes, which is not displayed. Bars marked with C should be interpreted with caution. Though the cell sizes are larger, they still fall below a threshold of reliability.)

Advocacy Landscape:

State General Fund Appropriations: Increasing

In June of 2025, Florida’s governor signed the fiscal 2026 budget after vetoing $567 million in spending. The budget, as provided by the General Appropriation Act, totals $115.1 billion in all funds, a decrease of $3.5 billion, or 2.9 percent, compared to the fiscal 2025 budget (as cited in the governor’s recommended budget agency report). The general revenue portion of the fiscal 2026 budget is $50.6 billion, an increase of $797.2 million, or 1.6 percent, over the fiscal 2025 budget. The March 2025 revenue estimating conference estimated net general revenues of $50.2 billion for fiscal 2026, an increase of 1.9 percent over the updated fiscal 2025 estimate. The state has total reserves of $15.7 billion, including $4.9 billion in the state’s rainy day funds.²

Key Revenue Sources (excluding federal transfers):⁴

- - General Sales Taxes: $1,950 per capita
  - Charges: $1,727 per capita

Florida does not levy an individual income tax. Charges are public payments connected with a specific government service, such as tuition paid to a state university, payments to a public hospital, or highway tolls.

State Budget Rules:⁴

Florida uses an annual budget. The legislature must pass a balanced budget, but it can carry a deficit over into the following year. Florida further limits annual revenue growth with a budget rule based on personal income. This is a binding rule that requires a legislative supermajority or vote of the people to override. After voters approved Amendment 5 in 2018, Florida now also requires a two-thirds supermajority vote in each chamber of the state legislature for legislation containing any new tax or fee or any increase to an existing tax or fee. There are also limits on total authorized debt and debt service incurred by the state.

Permanent State Funding Stream Dedicated to Early Childhood: Yes (Enabling)

Since 1946, Florida state law has allowed for the creation of special local taxing districts that dedicate their revenue to funding child-and-youth services or early childhood supports. Once created by local voters, taxpayers pay a portion of their property taxes to a local Children’s Service Council that administers the funds.⁵

Political Alignment: Aligned Republican

During the 2025 session, the state’s Senate and House were both Republican controlled. The state’s Governor was also a Republican.⁶

Types of Common Ballot Measures Available:⁷Seven

- Legislature-Initiated Constitutional Amendments – A constitutional amendment that appears on a state’s ballot as a ballot measure because the state legislature in that state voted to put it before the voters.
- Voter-Initiated Constitutional Amendments – An amendment to a state’s constitution that comes about through the initiative process.
- Commission-Referred Amendments: Ballot measures that are ordered to appear on a state’s ballot through the authority of a commission, which itself has been given that authority by a prior act of the state’s legislature or in a constitutional amendment.
- Advisory Questions – A type of ballot measure in which citizens vote on a non-binding question.
- Automatic Ballot Referrals – A ballot measure that is set under state law or a state’s constitution to automatically appear as a statewide ballot question under certain circumstances.
- Constitutional Convention Referrals – A ballot measure asking the people to approve or disapprove of holding a convention.
- Legislature-Initiated State Statutes – A proposed statute added to the ballot by the legislature for approval or disapproval by voters.

Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Organizations Include:

Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Multi-State Initiatives Include:⁸

2025 Policy Progress:

Highlights from the state’s early childhood policy advocacy community include:⁹

HB 859 passed in 2025 and was included in the Education bill signed into law by the governor, resetting eligibility for the School Readiness program to the State Median Income (SMI) as opposed to the Federal Poverty Level. It changes the definition of “economically disadvantaged” to mean those making 55 percent of the SMI or less (equating to $53,921) and allows eligibility to be determined by income at or below 55 percent of the SMI. It also creates a uniform wait list for Early Learning Coalitions to utilize, factoring in household income. Finally, it requires the state’s Early Learning Estimating Conference to factor in historical population changes and enrollment when calculating future investments in the SR program.

SB 1102 makes it easier for child care and early learning providers to qualify for and receive School Readiness program special needs differential funding, as well as for children to be approved for School Readiness disability accommodations in the first place. This policy allows for disability accommodations to be approved by either a licensed health care professional, mental health professional, or an educational psychologist and codified in either an Individualized Education Program or Individual Family Service Plan. Finally, the bill creates new training requirements for providers receiving special needs funding in the form of training on social and communicative delays and “inclusive practices”. It will go into effect in 2027.

SB 738‘s enactment reduces numerous burdens on child care providers. It requires Florida’s Department of Children and Families to create an abbreviated inspection plan for child care providers that are already in good standing (lack violations or complaints), as well as create up to three new tiers of licensing violations for standardization. It also compels DCF to eliminate “unnecessary and duplicative” inspections of child care facilities, family child care homes, and large family child care homes and reduces the ability of municipalities to levy special assessments against preschools. It removes a requirement for providers to give parents literature about child drop-off safety and vaccination. Finally, it requires DCF to provide free online training and background checks for new child care personnel, with background checks to be completed within three days. If not completed within three days, personnel may be designated a 45-day provisional hire, where they must be under supervision by a previously screened and trained employee.

Ongoing Grantee Areas of Advocacy:

The Children’s Movement of Florida, our lead ally in the state, is a leading voice on early childhood issues in Florida, advocating for the policies and investments that help each child thrive in their first five years: amplifying the voices of parents and educators; engaging elected officials; and highlighting the role of business leaders. The Movement chairs the state’s Early Learning Consortium, a collaboration of state-level organizations working to ensure that policies for young children from birth to kindergarten effectively support their growth, development, and readiness for success in school and life; and leads The Future Project, a collaboration with parents, educators, and others to create and implement an actionable roadmap for the future of early learning policy and funding in Florida.

Children’s Movement of Florida is working to advance early childhood policies in several areas that align with the Alliance’s birth-through-eight policy framework:

Early Care and Education

Child Care

Child Care Workforce

Pre-School and Pre-K

Child and
Maternal Health

Early Intervention

Maternal Health

Infant & Child Health

Family
Supports

Family Economic Security

Early Childhood Infrastructure

Early Childhood Governance

RECENT ADVOCACY SNAPSHOT:

Alliance for Early Success Early Childhood State Policy Advocacy

Four States Showcase the Power and Impact of Engaging Families and Valuing Their Stories

March 1, 2025

Statewide engagement is vital to building a strong early childhood infrastructure that is responsive to families’ diverse needs and where educators are recognized and supported. Advocates who want to see what this looks like in practice need look no further than North Carolina, Florida, Missouri, and Louisiana—where coalitions and organizations are transforming new statewide learning and relationships into tangible plans.

NOTES:

¹Kids Count Data Center, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Children Ages 0 to 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, January, 2024.

²National Center for Children in Poverty, Children Ages 0 through 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, October 2024, NCCP analysis of ACS 5-Year Estimates – Public Use Microdata Sample 2018-2022.

³National Association of State Budget Officers, Proposed and Enacted Budgets, FY 2026.

⁴Urban Institute, State Fiscal Briefs, April 2025.

⁵Alliance for Early Success, State Examples of Dedicated Funding Streams, 2025

⁶National Conference of State Legislatures, 2025 State & Legislative Partisan Composition, January 31, 2025.

⁷Ballotpedia, Ballot Measures by State, Kids Count Data Center, 2025.

⁸Alliance for Early Success, Multi-State Initiatives for Early Childhood Policy Advocacy, July, 2024.

⁹Alliance for Early Success, State-Wide Advocacy Highlights Survey, April-October, 2025.