Florida’s $115 – Florida lawmakers finalized a nearly $115 billion state budget on May 24, setting how education and healthcare will change starting July 1. The agreement protects schools from enrollment-driven cuts, keeps $4.5 billion for homeschooling and private-school tuit
By late May 24, Florida lawmakers were back in rooms they’d already promised they wouldn’t need again. After negotiations stretched long enough to leave many residents waiting on basic answers—how much their schools would get. whether patients would keep access to care. and what would change with the calendar turning to July 1—the House and Senate leaders reached a final agreement.
The deal is expected to win approval before the end of the week. and it sets Florida’s spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1 at nearly $115 billion. It comes in below the Senate’s preferred level but above a House proposal: the spending plan sits below the Senate’s higher target. yet it is higher than the House-backed plan of $113.6 billion.
The budget ends months of disagreement between the two chambers over overall spending, fiscal restraint, and program priorities. Florida’s regular session ended on March 13 without a budget deal, forcing legislators to reconvene for a second consecutive year.
Education lawmakers moved quickly to stop what could have been a direct hit to schools tied to enrollment declines. The agreement delivers significant protections for Florida schools against funding cuts linked to falling enrollment, while also maintaining support for school choice programs.
One of the biggest education disputes was about Florida’s voucher and scholarship system. Lawmakers resolved it by keeping the $4.5 billion program for homeschooling and private school tuition within the main K-12 funding formula. The decision came after fresh tensions: an audit raised concerns about mismanagement, leading the Senate to push for tighter oversight. The House resisted.
There were also targeted protections aimed at districts facing financial emergencies. After financial strain in Union and Glades counties placed local systems under emergency administration, lawmakers agreed on steps designed to prevent steep cuts to school districts with falling enrollment.
Smaller allocations, too, were shaped by where money would be allowed to go. A $7 million allocation for capital improvements at private schools in financially disadvantaged areas was amended so that funding is restricted to rural counties with fewer than 10. 000 residents. Disbursement is required by December 1.
Higher education provisions followed after negotiation at the end of the legislative process. Florida State University will be allowed to use existing funds to acquire Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare under an agreement that includes long-term payments and major investment commitments. Lawmakers also approved the transfer of the University of South Florida’s Manatee-Sarasota campus to New College of Florida after late-stage negotiations.
Healthcare The healthcare section of the budget reflects a similar mix of compromise and hard boundaries. Lawmakers reached a deal on the Cancer Innovation Fund—an initiative originally supported by First Lady Casey DeSantis. The program will receive $20 million, landing between the House proposal to eliminate funding and the Senate’s request for $30 million.
The budget also preserves and extends medication access. The AIDS Drug Assistance Program will receive $75 million, after earlier emergency funding was set to expire at the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
Lawmakers acknowledged a consequence of earlier reductions: they had pushed some patients toward private insurance simply to maintain access to medication.
Not every proposal survived. A $50 million fund created under a 2024 law championed by former Senate President Kathleen Passidomo was removed from the budget, though existing Health Innovation Council resources will continue to support medical technology initiatives.
Security In the final agreement, one area lawmakers did not settle was security planning after Governor Ron DeSantis leaves office. Security funding for him after he exits the role was not included. The House rejected a Senate proposal that would have provided post-office protection.
Negotiators also failed to agree on extending security provisions to major party gubernatorial nominees after the August primary.
The sequence of wins and misses across the budget is stark: education provisions were tightened to blunt enrollment-related cuts and keep key voucher and scholarship funding inside the core K-12 formula. while healthcare funding moved forward for cancer research and HIV treatment even as other medical technology and security requests fell away. With approval expected before the end of the week and the fiscal year beginning July 1. the political process that dragged residents into uncertainty is now translating into new rules—quickly. and with real consequences for what schools and hospitals can deliver.
Florida budget education funding school choice homeschooling vouchers K-12 formula cancer research AIDS Drug Assistance Program Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare DeSantis security