Florida's Latest News

Gov. DeSantis approves bills to help high school athletes, including one inspired by Teddy Bridgewater

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation designed to make things easier for high school athletes by removing barriers from letting coaches and boosters help them out.

SB 538 lets districts use money raised by high school booster clubs to pay coaches and activity sponsors, which DeSantis said will supplement their current District stipend.

DeSantis said Districts can now classify athletic coaches as administrative personnel and negotiate salary compensation outside of typical collective bargaining, giving them flexibility in retaining talent.

The bill also ensures that all students, including those at charter, private and homeschool settings, have access to extracurricular activities and athletics.

“Parents have never been more empowered on education matters than in any state in the country, in our entire country’s history. So this is really leading the way, and we’re excited that so many parents have been exercising those options, but the sports are a really big part of that,” DeSantis said ahead of the signing Friday in Jacksonville at Ribault High School.

DeSantis signs bill expanding school guardian program to colleges, universities

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Friday to expand the armed “school guardian” program to Florida’s colleges and universities. The law builds on changes made in the public-school system after the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

DeSantis maintained that the guardian program deters potential perpetrators and will make colleges and universities “safer.”

“They don’t know whether they’re going to be able to face resistance, so that they try to gravitate toward gun free areas, where they know basically people are going to be sitting ducks,” DeSantis said during an event at the Idea Center in Miami. “The guardian, it puts the bad guys on the defense. They don’t know who is going to be able to offer them resistance.”

The new law (HB 757) requires institutions to train faculty to detect and respond to mental health issues, adopt an active assailant response plan, adopt post-incident family reunification plans and imposes felony charges for discharging a weapon within 1,000 feet of a campus.

Fort Myers woman bids for state rep after DeSantis taps elections chair

Susan Frantz has entered the race for Florida House District 78 following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointment of the seat's incumbent, Jenna Persons-Mulicka, as Lee County Supervisor of Elections.

Frantz, a Fort Myers business owner and Republican, transferred her candidacy from the 2028 cycle to the 2026 election Wednesday, May 20. She entered the race with approximately $130,000, she shared.

"I’m running to safeguard constitutional freedoms, keep extremist ideas out of our classrooms, and preserve Lee County as an affordable place for families seeking opportunity in the Free State of Florida," Frantz said in a statement. "I’ve been blessed to call this community my home my entire life and I’m ready to fight for our conservative values in Tallahassee."

Frantz is the founder of Frantz Marketing Solutions, which she has operated for more than 15 years. She also serves on the advisory board for Florida Gulf Coast University’s Lutgert College of Business and on the board for the nonprofit Our Mother’s Home.

Tampa City Council narrowly approves nonbinding Rays stadium deal

The vote came down to Bill Carlson.

Seconds before the Tampa City Council member voted on a nonbinding stadium agreement with the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, it wasn’t clear what he would decide.

Approve the agreement, and propel the city’s negotiations with the baseball team forward? Or deny it, and pitch the Rays’ $2.3 billion Tampa stadium proposal into uncertainty?

“When this comes back to us, I’m 99.9% sure that I’m going to vote no,” Carlson said. “But today, because the Rays asked only in regard to their ability to get state funding, I’m going to reluctantly vote yes.”

In the end, he joined council members Alan Clendenin, Naya Young and Luis Viera in approving the nonbinding memorandum of understanding with the team. Charlie Miranda, Lynn Hurtak and Guido Maniscalco voted no.

The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency board, composed of the seven city council members, will vote on the nonbinding agreement in June.