Florida SB 606: Drowning Prevention Education

Bill Text

606 
Drowning Prevention Education 
2026-02-16T11:13:09Z 
Requiring the Department of Health to develop educational materials on drowning prevention safety measures and safe bathing practices for specified purposes; providing requirements for such materials; requiring hospitals, birth centers, and home birth providers to provide the educational materials to new parents and caregivers as part of their postpartum education and care, etc. 
Committee Substitute 2 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
c2 

 Florida Senate - 2026 CS for CS for SB 606 

 By the Committees on Fiscal Policy; and Health Policy; and 
 Senators Smith, Yarborough, Davis, Berman, Sharief, and Jones 

 594-02803-26 2026606c2 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to drowning prevention education; 
 3 creating s. 383.3363, F.S.; requiring the Department 
 4 of Health to develop educational materials on drowning 
 5 prevention safety measures and safe bathing practices 
 6 for specified purposes; providing requirements for 
 7 such materials; requiring hospitals, birth centers, 
 8 and home birth providers to provide the educational 
 9 materials to new parents and caregivers as part of 
 10 their postpartum education and care; requiring 
 11 childbirth educators to provide the informational 
 12 materials to parents or caregivers receiving 
 13 childbirth education; amending ss. 383.318 and 
 14 395.1053, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made 
 15 by the act; providing an effective date. 
 16 
 17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 18 
 19 Section 1. Section 383.3363, Florida Statutes, is created 
 20 to read: 
 21 383.3363 Education on drowning prevention safety measures 
 22 and safe bathing practices.— 
 23 (1) The Department of Health shall develop educational 
 24 materials on drowning prevention safety measures and safe 
 25 bathing practices to be distributed to parents or caregivers as 
 26 part of postpartum or childbirth education provided by 
 27 hospitals, birth centers, home birth providers, and childbirth 
 28 educators in this state. The materials must include, but need 
 29 not be limited to, instruction on all of the following: 
 30 (a) The increased risk of drowning for infants and toddlers 
 31 in bathtubs, pools, and other water sources, citing available 
 32 data on such drownings. 
 33 (b) Water safety measures parents can employ to prevent 
 34 drowning, emphasizing the importance of constant supervision of 
 35 infants and children while they are around water and the 
 36 benefits of early childhood swimming lessons and water 
 37 competency programs as an added layer of protection from 
 38 drowning. 
 39 (c) Additional safety hazards in the home setting and 
 40 evidence-based safe bathing practices. 
 41 (2) Hospitals, birth centers, and home birth providers 
 42 providing maternity, prenatal, and newborn services shall 
 43 provide the educational materials developed under subsection (1) 
 44 to the parents or caregivers of a newborn as part of their 
 45 postpartum education and care. 
 46 (3) Childbirth educators shall provide the educational 
 47 materials developed under subsection (1) to the parents or 
 48 caregivers receiving childbirth education. 
 49 Section 2. Paragraph (j) is added to subsection (4) of 
 50 section 383.318, Florida Statutes, to read: 
 51 383.318 Postpartum care for birth center clients and 
 52 infants.— 
 53 (4) The birth center shall provide a postpartum evaluation 
 54 and followup care that includes all of the following: 
 55 (j) Provision of the educational materials on drowning 
 56 prevention safety measures and safe bathing practices developed 
 57 by the Department of Health under s. 383.3363. 
 58 Section 3. Section 395.1053, Florida Statutes, is amended 
 59 to read: 
 60 395.1053 Postpartum education.—A hospital that provides 
 61 birthing services shall provide each parent with postpartum 
 62 education on the care of newborns, which must include all of the 
 63 following: 
 64 (1) incorporate Information on safe sleep practices and the 
 65 possible causes of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death. into the 
 66 hospital’s postpartum instruction on the care of newborns and 
 67 provide to each parent 
 68 (2) Provision of the informational pamphlet on infant and 
 69 childhood eye and vision disorders created by the department 
 70 pursuant to s. 383.14(3)(h). 
 71 (3) Provision of the educational materials on drowning 
 72 prevention safety measures and safe bathing practices developed 
 73 by the department under s. 383.3363. 
 74 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.