Governor DeSantis signs new Florida law providing free swimming lesson vouchers

TAMPA, Fla. - Swimming lessons just got a whole lot cheaper in Florida after Governor DeSantis signed a bill that will subsidize swimming lessons through vouchers. 

SB 544 will roll out the Swimming Lesson Voucher Program, effective July 1, within the Department of Health. The program will offer vouchers to families with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level with children ages four or under.

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This bill was personal for Senator Travis Hutson, who crafted the legislation. He had a young nephew who accidentally fell into a pool but survived because he knew how to float from taking swim lessons.

He said he was fortunate enough to also put his own kids through swim lessons but thought about the less fortunate. He wanted lower-income families to have access to a resource that could help save lives. 

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"It takes a second to take your eye off a child," Senator Hutson (R - St. Augustine) said. "And if they fall in, if they don't know how to flip and float, that could be detrimental with those seconds starting to be taken away."

For years, Florida has had the most unintentional drowning deaths of children between 1 and 4 years old for years, according to the Department of Children and Families.

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So far in 2024, 18 children have died from drowning across the state. Most were between 1 and 3 years old. 

The bill was funded by $500,000. The Department of Health will now work to establish a network of swimming lesson providers in the voucher program.