Florida's 2026 Legislative Session

The 2026 Legislative Session officially kicked off on January 13, 2026 and there is a lot to pay attention to over the next 60 days. There are two bills in particular that could have major implications for the freedom to read and access to information in schools that we are watching. Below is a brief overview and links to more information.

Concerned citizens should email their state legislators and express their opposition to these bills. If you do not know who yours are, follow this link and enter your information on the flhouse.gov site or this link for the flsenate.gov site.

HB 1119/SB 1692 shifts control over school library books away from parents and local communities and gives it to the state. Under this bill, families and school districts lose the ability to decide what is age-appropriate for their students. Instead, the Florida Department of Education becomes the authority, and last summer we saw what exercising that authority looks like as state leaders attacked, threatened, and publicly berated Hillsborough County.

Consequences if the Bill Advances

• Districts remain legally exposed, facing lawsuits from both parents and the state
• Taxpayers pay the price as litigation drains funds from classrooms
• Educators over-remove out of fear, reducing academic rigor
• Parents lose choice, and students lose access to college-level reading
• Public schools become less competitive with private options that face fewer restrictions

Bottom Line

You can call it whatever you want, but when books are prohibited statewide from all public school libraries regardless of parental support, Floridians will call it book banning. Rather than fixing constitutional flaws identified by the courts, HB 1119/SB 1692 expands them. The responsible path is to table this bill until the 11th Circuit rules and craft a solution that respects parental rights, local control, and the Constitution.

HB 1119 has cleared the House floor with an 84-28 vote. SB 1692 never made it to Committee in the Senate, but HB 1119 has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee.

HB 1071/SB 1090 limits how school districts can spend money and strengthens the state’s authority over what is taught in public schools. The bills are almost completely identical, but an important policy difference lies in the reproductive health instruction consent section. The current parent opt-out in the law should be retained.

Consequences if the Bill Advances

• Increased restrictions on how educational funds can be used, with broad prohibitions that could limit local autonomy and programs serving underrepresented communities.
• Expanded state control over curriculum and instructional materials, allowing for forced use, removal, or sanctioning of materials with little consideration of local needs or content concerns. (An amendment was adopted on 2/10 that reduces mid-year disruptions and moves decision-making power to the SBOE instead of the Commissioner)
• Altered consent mechanisms for health and reproductive education under SB 1090, imposing an opt-in requirement while the House sponsor encouraged parents that are concerned over the content of the embryonic development video to opt-out from that specific portion of reproductive health 

Bottom Line

Taken together, HB 1071 and SB 1090:

• Reduce local control over education funding and programming
• Risk eliminating or weakening programs that support underrepresented students
• Centralize curriculum decisions with the state
• Limit access to health education (particularly under SB 1090)

This bill reflects a broader shift toward state oversight and uniformity, with significant implications for educational equity, local decision-making, and student access to inclusive learning opportunities. This is a very big bill with some positive aspects that could result in more support for math and literacy and more accountability for charter programs.

HB 1071 is ready for the House floor. Its Senate counterpart never made it to Committee, but a related Committee bill (SB 7036) is moving. Please email both your elected State House and Senate leaders and express your opposition to the spending and curriculum provisions in this bill.

Please be aware HB 31/SB 1106 has been added to our list of concerns. It has passed the House and has a final stop in the Senate. The bill would prohibit the use of library materials that include the term "West Bank." Like the "Gulf of America" bill last year, this could result in viewpoint-based restrictions in our school and public libraries. Please email your legislators in opposition to this bill.