![State Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, chairperson of the House PreK-12 Budget Committee, said "We have to stop the spending" as she unveiled her proposed education budget for fiscal 2026.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 900 506"/%3E "State Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, chairperson of the House PreK-12 Budget Committee, said \"We have to stop the spending\" as she unveiled her proposed education budget for fiscal 2026.")
The big story: Legislative budget proposals have started to roll out, and the message of the session is prepare for less.
“We need to right-size our budget this year,” House PreK-12 Budget chairperson Jenna Persons-Mulicka told her panel Tuesday as she unveiled her recommendations. “We have to stop the spending.”
She said her bottom line figure for PreK-12 came in just under $21 billion, or about $400 million less than the current fiscal year. Among the reductions are a $50 million decrease in school recognition funds and the elimination of 123 vacant state education positions, saving about $8.5 million.
She also recommended a smaller than usual increase in new money for teacher salaries, at $100 million. And the state’s share of total funds per full-time equivalent student, or FTE, would decrease.
While the FTE would go up by $62.21, or 0.69%, it includes a 1.01% decrease in the state share and a 2.74% rise in the local share. The base student allocation would increase by $50.51, or 0.95%.
Among the other numbers that Persons-Mulicka highlighted, $20 million would go into the New World Scholarship program for early learning, $14 million would go toward K-8 student transportation vouchers, and $7 million would go toward security at Jewish day schools. Read the proposal here.
The committee also gave its blessing to a conforming bill that would revise some of the rules for voucher funding, clarify how categorical money is distributed, and reduce the add-on funding weights for some student programs such as career-technical education.
The Senate is scheduled to discuss its budget and funding formula legislation when it meets today. Gov. Ron DeSantis issued his budget request earlier in the spring.
K-12 hot topics
Parent rights: Pasco County rolled out children’s library cards with restricted access to give parents more control over what books their kids can borrow. • Survivors of childhood sexual assault spoke forcefully against proposed changes to Florida’s Parents’ Bill of Rights law as the proposal moved through the Senate Education PreK-12 Committee, USA Today Florida Network reports.
Lunch line: A Republican lawmaker proposed barring Florida schools from serving ultra-processed food. His bill got bottled up after industry pushed back.
Local-option taxes: The Polk County school board is debating whether to seek a property tax referendum to make its salaries more competitive with neighboring districts that have such a tax, Lakeland Now reports.
Immigration enforcement: Several Pinellas County residents urged the school board to stand firm against allowing federal immigration enforcement in local schools, WUSF reports.
Growth: The St. Lucie County school district is nearing completion of two new high schools and started construction on a new K-8 campus, TC Palm reports.
Federal funding: Several Republican-led states including Florida have urged the White House to create education block grants for states to control as the U.S. Department of Education winds down, Associated Press reports.
Bus cameras: A Volusia County man contested a citation that he illegally passed a school bus in Miami Beach, saying he had not been in Miami-Dade County for more than 20 years, WKMG reports. The violation was reversed.
Book challenges: The Brevard County school board removed three books from all school libraries because of their sexual content, Florida Today reports.
Board members: The Trump Administration has nominated Flagler County school board member Derek Barrs to lead the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Florida Politics reports.
In higher ed
University presidents: There’s a rumor circulating that state Sen. Jay Collins is under consideration to lead the University of South Florida. He won’t rule out the possibility. • The role of the university scholar-president is fading in Florida, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. The Board of Governors is set to review ongoing searches when it meets today when it meets today at Florida A&M University.
Flag displays: A measure to bar universities from displaying flags that represent political viewpoints moved through the Senate Community Affairs Committee despite opposition from members of the LGBTQ+ community, Florida Phoenix reports.
Guns on campus: A Senate committee rejected a bill that would have legalized concealed weapons on college and university campuses, Spectrum 13 reports.
Campus merger: New details emerged about proposals to transfer the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus to the control of nearby New College, WUSF reports.
Today in Tallahassee ... The House Education and Employment Committee will consider four bills including HB 261 on school start times when it meets at 11:30 a.m. • The Senate Appropriations Committee on PreK-12 Education will take up three bills including SPB 7030 on voucher funding when it meets at 1 p.m. • The Senate Appropriations Committee on Higher Education will discuss the FY 2026 budget and consider trustee appointments to seven universities when it meets at 3:30 p.m.
Don’t miss a story. Here’s a link to yesterday’s roundup.
Before you go ... This 11-year-old rocks.
