Florida Policy Institute

Thousands of Vulnerable Immigrant Seniors and Children Living Lawfully in the U.S. Are Going Hungry Under H.R. 1 One of the cuts made to SNAP by H.R. 1 is to significantly limit the categories of legal immigrants who can qualify for benefits to people who are: lawful permanent residents (LPR and green card holde...

New restrictions under federal law (H.R. 1) have led to thousands of immigrants, including children and older adults, losing food assistance in Florida.

Cuts to SNAP hurt families -- and they have adverse impacts throughout communities.

www.floridapolicy.org/posts/thousa...

As FPI CEO Sadaf Knight notes, SB 1758 would push thousands of Floridians — including deeply low-income parents and young adults — off Medicaid and into the healthcare coverage gap.

Read the full press release here:
www.healthyfla.org/single-post/...

Building New Narratives on Work and Opportunity in the US South YouTube video by The Aspen Institute

ICYMI: During a recent discussion hosted by @aspeninstitute.bsky.social on work & opportunity narratives in the U.S. South, Alexis Tsoukalas, PhD, talks about FPI's efforts to protect child labor laws, historical barriers to worker justice in Florida, and more.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYV2...

Florida Budget Proposals: Paving a Path Toward Austerity Within the context of looming deficits, leaders in the Florida House and Senate clearly believe they are dealing with a spending problem with a simple solution: fewer expenditures. However, there are ...

ICYMI: Although Florida policymakers are facing significant budget challenges, they continue to focus on cutting expenditures while neglecting to raise revenue.

Below, FPI's overview of the Florida House and Senate budget proposals 👇 www.floridapolicy.org/posts/florid...

SB 1052 and HB 1279’s Bans Are Harsh, Limiting Higher Education Enrollment and Financial Support for Immigrants In the 2026 session, the Legislature has introduced two broad education bills — HB 1279 and SB 1052 — with numerous provisions, including removing Title IX gender diversity requirements and limiting h...

On March 3, the Florida House is slated to vote on HB 1279, legislation that aims to further restrict higher education access for immigrants in Florida.

Read more from FPI 👇

www.floridapolicy.org/posts/sb-105...

1968 – Florida’s Teachers Walk Out - Florida Policy Timeline In 1968, Florida still had segregated schools, but Black and white teachers had joined together to stage the first statewide teacher strike in the United States to demand higher pay and improved schoo...

The strike ended when the recently integrated Florida Education Association and the state agreed to increase investments in education.

Learn more at The Florida Timeline 👇 (3/3)
www.floridatimeline.org/timeline/196...

In 1968, Florida still had segregated schools, but Black and white teachers had joined together to stage the first statewide teacher strike in the United States to demand higher pay and improved school budgets. (2/3)

A look back on the Florida teachers strike in February/March 1968 as we close out #BlackHistoryMonth. Black teachers brought their experience with civil rights organizing tactics and support from civil rights leaders to the strike. (1/3)

Yesterday, we released a statement from FPI CEO Sadaf Knight on the signing of HB 693, in which the language that would have taken health insurance access away from lawfully residing immigrant children was amended OUT of the bill.

Read the full statement:
www.floridapolicy.org/posts/statem...

Bill Summary: HB 693 In July 2025, the U.S Congress passed H.R. 1 — titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — which included significant cuts to Medicaid financing, as well as changes to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutritio...

House Bill (HB) 693 aims to impose new standards on Medicaid and SNAP eligibility, a move that would cause undue harm to Florida’s families.

Read more in FPI's bill summary 👇

www.floridapolicy.org/posts/bill-s...

NEW on FPIs blog: Legislation (SB 1758/HB 1453) would implement Medicaid work-reporting requirements in Florida. This would come with steep administrative costs and push even more parents into the health care coverage gap.

Read more below 👇

www.floridapolicy.org/posts/medica...

Schools of Hope Rule Would Continue Shortchanging Florida's Public Schools The proposed rule represents only incremental change.

NEW: Under the FL Dept. of Education's proposed rule, school districts would not have to bear the full financial burden of Schools of Hope co-location; however, they would bear the brunt of “incremental” costs, such as maintenance.

Read more 👇
www.floridapolicy.org/posts/school...

"Floridians are going to be paying for the relief. You're not getting savings out of nothing. You're paying for those savings by cutting services or by paying higher fees or by paying more taxes."

-FPI's Esteban Santis on how HJR 201 would impact Floridians [Via @wusf.org]

Bill Summary: HJR 201, 203, 205, 207, 209, 211, and 213 The measures would cost localities anywhere from $6.7 billion (HJR 205) to $18.3 billion (HJR 201) annually.

Joint resolutions aiming to cut property taxes in Florida would cost localities anywhere from $6.7 billion (HJR 205) to $18.3 billion (HJR 201) annually.

ICYMI: FPI examines what's at stake under property tax reform measures 👇

www.floridapolicy.org/posts/bill-s...

Bill Summary: SB 318 SB 318 would bring much greater transparency and accountability to the state’s universal voucher program.

Senate Bill 318 would implement a number of important measures to increase accountability and transparency in Florida's universal voucher program.

ICYMI: Read FPI's bill summary below 👇

www.floridapolicy.org/posts/bill-s...

“I don’t think [state lawmakers] are treating this as the four-alarm fire that it is."

-FPI's Holly Bullard on the impact of federal cuts to food assistance on Florida's SNAP program. Via @newrepublic.com

ICYMI: A recent poll conducted on behalf of FPI found that 63% of Florida voters believe property insurance relief should be a higher priority for the state Legislature than property tax relief when given a choice between the two.

Learn more 👇
www.floridapolicy.org/posts/florid...

Here in the Sunshine State, guided by our core values and our partnerships with groups across the state, we reaffirm FPI's commitment to removing historical roadblocks to economic mobility so that all Floridians can truly thrive. (2/2)

#MLKDay

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his vast contributions to the fight for civil rights and human dignity. (1/2)

Tomorrow (Jan. 13) marks the start of Florida's 2026 regular legislative session.

Want the latest in Florida policy news, along with info on upcoming webinars and events?

Sign up now for our Policy Matters newsletter 👇

bit.ly/FLpolicynews

Statement on US House Approval of Legislation That Would Extend Enhanced Premium Tax Credits The last thing Floridians can afford right now is a dramatic increase in health care premiums.

"A bipartisan House vote in favor of extending the ACA tax credit enhancements for three years is a bold move in the right direction for the health and financial well-being of 4.7 million Floridians." -FPI CEO Sadaf Knight

Read FPI's full statement below 👇
www.floridapolicy.org/posts/statem...

Schools of Hope Threaten Florida’s Neighborhood Schools According to the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), charter schools “are public schools that operate under a performance contract, or a ’charter’ which frees them from many regulations created f...

FPI's Norín Dollard writes on FL's Schools of Hope expansion:

"It is time for lawmakers to repeal this law and end this drain of taxpayer dollars that harm Florida’s neighborhood schools and students to the benefit of private interests."

Read more👇
www.floridapolicy.org/posts/school...

On this Giving Tuesday, please consider supporting FPI.

Your support helps us continue our work of analyzing the most critical state and federal policies that impact Floridians, as well as sharing our research into 2026 and beyond.

Donate to FPI today at: floridapolicy.org/donate

Hundreds of Schools of Hope letters target even more schools | Florida Coalition for Thriving Public Schools Hundreds of letters, targeting even more schools, threaten public education under Schools of Hope expansion Florida – Charter School operators have so far sent at least 690 letters of intent to schoo...

From the FL Coalition for Thriving Public Schools:

Charter school operators sent at least 690 letters of intent to school districts in FL, staking their claim to space in public schools loosely defined as "under-utilized" by the state.

Read more 👇

floridathrivingpublicschools.org/2025/11/17/h...

How Florida is Spending its Disaster Recovery Dollars — and What it Reveals About Our Priorities More than $4 billion in federal disaster recovery funding is now flowing to Florida communities to help them recover from 2023–2024 storms, reshaping local budgets and recovery efforts from Fort Myers...

NEW: Public infrastructure is the dominant focus among the 12 FL jurisdictions that received Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds for the 2023–2024 storms and also published Action Plans.

Read more from FPI's Ethan Frey 👇 www.floridapolicy.org/posts/how-fl...

Thanks to our colleagues at @floridapolicy.bsky.social for putting together the #FloridaTimeline to help visualize the scope of the issue. @fji-law.bsky.social urges leaders to meaningfully address housing insecurity.

Today is the #SNAPDayOfAction.

42M people – including 3M in Florida – are at risk of losing SNAP benefits on November 1. USDA has a contingency fund but hasn't released it.

Take action now--contact your members in Congress👇
mazon.org/policy_actio...

#SNAPDayOfAction #SNAPDOA

When the Next Storm Hits, Will Florida Be Left on Its Own? Florida faces $14.8 billion in documented unmet recovery needs, even with historic federal funding.

ICYMI: Even with historic federal funding in the wake of recent storms, FPI found that Florida still faces $14.8 billion in documented unmet recovery needs — costs that arise from damages to homes, public infrastructure, and local businesses.

Read more 👇
www.floridapolicy.org/posts/when-t...

FPI has added a new issue area to the timeline—housing policy!

Systemic racism deeply embedded into our state’s laws—over the past 160 years—has kept access to safe and affordable housing out of reach for many Floridians.

View the full timeline: floridatimeline.org

Challenges Ahead: What Census Data Reveals about the Wealth Gap and Uninsured Rate as Florida Braces for H.R. 1 Millions risk losing access to basic needs services, assistance, and health insurance.

H.R. 1 locks in sustained benefits for the wealthiest Americans while weakening basic needs programs for people with low income.

ICYMI--FPI's latest blog post discusses some of measure's provisions against the backdrop of recent Census Bureau data. 👇
www.floridapolicy.org/posts/challe...