Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Tuesday that expands the state’s swimming lesson voucher program, making children between the ages of 1 and 7- eligible for the state’s swimming lesson voucher program. Before the expansion, it was only available to children 4 years old and under.
Drowning is the leading cause of accidental deaths in children between the ages of 1 and 4 in Florida. According to the Florida Senate’s Bill Analysis and Fiscal Statement, children between the ages of 1 to 7 made up nearly 20% of the drawing deaths in the state in 2024.
State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) said the legislation is centered around prevention. It was inspired by advocates and families who had a drowning tragedy and want to help save lives.
“It ensures that new parents have access to drowning prevention information resources,” Eskamani said. “It requires that those parents be educated on the risks of drowning, including in something as daily as bath time…our hope is by expanding the eligibility for that program, more kiddos can get trained on how to swim and be able to teach others around them to protect themselves and protect others.”
In 2024, Florida passed SB 547 that established the state’s swimming voucher program. In this fiscal year, the Department of Health received 16,663 applications for swimming lesson vouchers. Out of those applications, the DOH awarded vouchers to 4,945 applications.
“We don't have enough vouchers for the amount of requests that come in,” Eskamani said. “There is a need for the legislature to increase funding for these programs, because there really is a high, high demand for it…we are also trying to reach families that have a high risk of elopement and drowning. But beyond that specific allocation for that specific demographic of Floridians, there's a lot more we need to do to increase funding for this program.”
As part of the law, the Department of Health will now require hospitals, birth centers, home birth providers, and childbirth educators to give educational materials on drowning prevention to parents and caregivers postpartum.
The law expanding the program will take effect on July 1.
