Florida SB 428: Drowning Prevention

Bill Text

428 
Drowning Prevention 
2026-03-18T08:55:01Z 
Revising the purpose of the Swimming Lesson Voucher Program; revising the age requirements for children receiving a voucher through the program; requiring the Department of Health to develop educational materials on drowning prevention safety measures and safe bathing practices for specified purposes; 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. 
ENROLLED 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
er 

 ENROLLED 
 2026 Legislature SB 428, 1st Engrossed 

 2026428er 
 1 
 2 An act relating to drowning prevention; amending s. 
 3 514.073, F.S.; revising the purpose of the Swimming 
 4 Lesson Voucher Program; revising the age requirements 
 5 for children receiving a voucher through the program; 
 6 creating s. 383.3363, F.S.; requiring the Department 
 7 of Health to develop educational materials on drowning 
 8 prevention safety measures and safe bathing practices 
 9 for specified purposes; specifying requirements for 
 10 such materials; requiring hospitals, birth centers, 
 11 and home birth providers to provide the educational 
 12 materials to new parents and caregivers as part of 
 13 their postpartum education and care; requiring 
 14 childbirth educators to provide the informational 
 15 materials to parents or caregivers receiving 
 16 childbirth education; amending ss. 383.318 and 
 17 395.1053, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made 
 18 by the act; providing an effective date. 
 19 
 20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 21 
 22 Section 1. Subsection (1) and paragraph (b) of subsection 
 23 (2) of section 514.073, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 
 24 514.073 Swimming Lesson Voucher Program.— 
 25 (1) There is created within the department the Swimming 
 26 Lesson Voucher Program. The purpose of the program is to 
 27 increase water safety and prevent drownings in this state by 
 28 offering vouchers for swimming lessons at no cost to families 
 29 with an income of no more than 200 percent of the federal 
 30 poverty level who have one or more children between 1 and 7 4 
 31 years of age or younger. 
 32 (2) The department shall do all of the following to 
 33 implement the program: 
 34 (b) Establish a method for members of the public to apply 
 35 for swimming lesson vouchers and for determining an applicant’s 
 36 eligibility. The department shall establish eligibility criteria 
 37 necessary for a family to receive one or more vouchers from the 
 38 program, including, but not limited to, the following: 
 39 1. The age of each child for whom a voucher is being 
 40 sought, who must be between 1 and 7 may be no more than 4 years 
 41 of age. 
 42 2. The family income level, which may be up to 200 percent 
 43 of the federal poverty level. 
 44 3. The family’s address of residency in this state. 
 45 Section 2. Section 383.3363, Florida Statutes, is created 
 46 to read: 
 47 383.3363 Education on drowning prevention safety measures 
 48 and safe bathing practices.— 
 49 (1) The Department of Health shall develop educational 
 50 materials on drowning prevention safety measures and safe 
 51 bathing practices to be distributed to parents or caregivers as 
 52 part of postpartum or childbirth education provided by 
 53 hospitals, birth centers, home birth providers, and childbirth 
 54 educators in this state. The materials must include, but need 
 55 not be limited to, instruction on all of the following: 
 56 (a) The increased risk of drowning for infants and toddlers 
 57 in bathtubs, pools, and other water sources, citing available 
 58 data on such drownings. 
 59 (b) Water safety measures parents can employ to prevent 
 60 drowning, emphasizing the importance of constant supervision of 
 61 infants and children while they are around water and the 
 62 benefits of early childhood swimming lessons and water 
 63 competency programs as an added layer of protection from 
 64 drowning. 
 65 (c) Additional safety hazards in the home setting and 
 66 evidence-based safe bathing practices. 
 67 (2) Hospitals, birth centers, and home birth providers 
 68 providing maternity, prenatal, and newborn services shall 
 69 provide the educational materials developed under subsection (1) 
 70 to the parents or caregivers of a newborn as part of their 
 71 postpartum education and care. 
 72 (3) Childbirth educators shall provide the educational 
 73 materials developed under subsection (1) to the parents or 
 74 caregivers receiving childbirth education. 
 75 Section 3. Paragraph (j) is added to subsection (4) of 
 76 section 383.318, Florida Statutes, to read: 
 77 383.318 Postpartum care for birth center clients and 
 78 infants.— 
 79 (4) The birth center shall provide a postpartum evaluation 
 80 and follow-up followup care that includes all of the following: 
 81 (j) Provision