HB0157 • 2026

School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program

Budget Education

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee ; Hinson ; (CO-INTRODUCERS) Chaney ; Daniels ; Gossett-Seidman ; Hunschofsky ; López, J. ; Valdés
Last action: 2026-03-13
Official status: House - Died in Education & Employment Committee
Effective date: 2026-07-01

Plain English Breakdown

The official text states the bill 'passed both chambers and reached final enrollment' in metadata, but also lists a last action as 'Died in Committee'. This contradiction regarding the bill's actual status is noted from the provided source material.

School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program

This bill creates a program where experienced teachers help other teachers in schools with low grades by offering advice and support.

What This Bill Does

Creates the School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program inside the Department of Education.
Allows school districts to place mentors in schools that received a 'D' or 'F' grade.
Sets rules for who can be a mentor, including having at least three years of experience and a high performance rating.
Pays teacher mentors up to $3,000 as extra money for their work.
Requires the Department of Education to make program standards and contract templates.
Allows funds from the educational enrichment allocation to pay for this mentoring program.

Who It Names or Affects

School districts and charter schools with low grades
New teachers or teachers rated as needing improvement, developing, or unsatisfactory
Teachers who struggle with managing student behavior
Experienced current or retired teachers acting as mentors

Terms To Know

Mentor: An experienced teacher who gives advice and support to another teacher.
Stipend: A fixed sum of money paid for a specific service or role, up to $3,000 in this program.
Educational Enrichment Allocation: Money set aside by the state to help schools provide extra learning activities and services.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not say how many mentors each school can hire.
It is unclear if all districts will have enough money from their allocation to fund this program fully.
The specific details of the contract template are decided later by the Department of Education.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

039495

Committee amendment H 157 Filed • Hinson

Adopted without Objection 2/4/2026

Plain English: This amendment changes how the bill describes agreements between teachers by requiring them to follow specific rules and use an official form.

The bill now requires a standard contract template for teacher mentors and mentees.

The text only shows what words were added, not the full sentence or context of line 50.
It is unclear exactly which 'standards' are required because that part of the original bill was removed without being shown here.

979653

Committee amendment H 157 c1 • Hinson

Filed

Plain English: This amendment sets specific limits on how many student teachers retired or current classroom teachers can mentor at one time.

Retired classroom teachers who act as mentors are allowed to work with up to five mentees at a time.
Current classroom teachers who act as mentors are limited to working with only one mentee at a time.

The amendment text does not explain the full details of the mentoring program or how it is funded, so those parts cannot be explained here.
The exact dollar amount for any payment mentioned in line 7 ($3,000) is unclear without seeing the original bill context.

141803

Committee amendment H 157 c1 • Hinson

Filed

Plain English: This amendment sets a rule that every mentor-mentee pairing in the school teacher training program must last for exactly one grading period.

Each relationship between a mentor and a mentee will be limited to one grading period.

783279

Committee amendment H 157 c1 • Hinson

Filed

Plain English: This amendment replaces existing text with a new list of rules requiring teachers to teach history accurately, use fair curricula that follow the Florida Educational Equity Act, keep information private, avoid personal agendas, and help mentees develop skills.

Teachers must present historical events using accurate facts supported by evidence and scholarly research.
Any curriculum used must support fairness and equal opportunity as defined in the Florida Educational Equity Act while encouraging respectful discussion of different views.
Mentors are required to keep information confidential unless a law says they cannot, and they must not push their own personal goals on mentees.
The amendment adds specific duties for mentors to help students build skills.

The provided text cuts off at the end of item (g), so the full details about developing skills are missing.
It is unclear what exact rules were in lines 58-61 before this amendment removed them, as that original text was not included.

289029

Committee amendment H 157 c1 • Hinson

Filed

Plain English: This amendment changes the bill to say that a teacher training program can only happen if there is money in the budget for it.

The text adds a rule stating the Teacher Training and Mentoring Program depends on having available funds.

The provided amendment text cuts off mid-sentence, so the full details of how funding is checked or what happens if there are no funds cannot be explained.
Because only a small part of line 85 was shown, it is unclear exactly which words were removed before this change.

Bill History

2026-03-13 House
• Died in Education & Employment Committee
2026-02-24 House
• Added to Education & Employment Committee agenda
2026-02-13 House
• Added to Education & Employment Committee agenda
2026-02-06 House
• Referred to Education & Employment Committee • Now in Education & Employment Committee
2026-02-04 House
• Favorable with CS by PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee • Reported out of PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee • Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a) • CS Filed • 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1)
2026-02-02 House
• Added to PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee agenda
2026-01-29 House
• Favorable by Education Administration Subcommittee • Reported out of Education Administration Subcommittee • Now in PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee
2026-01-27 House
• Added to Education Administration Subcommittee agenda
2026-01-13 House
• 1st Reading (Original Filed Version)
2025-10-21 House
• Referred to Education Administration Subcommittee • Referred to PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee • Referred to Education & Employment Committee • Now in Education Administration Subcommittee
2025-10-14 House
• Filed

Official Summary Text

School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program; Establishes School Teacher Training & Mentoring Program within DOE; provides DOE, teacher mentor, & mentee requirements; & authorizes award of stipends.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

CS/HB 157 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb157-01-c1
Page 1 of 4
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the School Teacher Training and 2
Mentoring Program; creating s. 1012.988, F.S.; 3
establishing the School Teacher Training and Mentoring 4
Program within the Department of Education; providing 5
the purpose of the program; authorizing school 6
district and charter schools to place certain 7
classroom teachers as teacher mentors in specified 8
schools for specified purposes; providing requirements 9
for teacher mentors and mentees; authorizing teacher 10
mentors to receive a stipend and work with multiple 11
classroom teachers; providing department and teacher 12
mentor responsibilities; authorizing the State Board 13
of Education to adopt rules; amending s. 1011.62, 14
F.S.; authorizing specified funds to be used for the 15
School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program; 16
providing an effective date. 17
18
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 19
20
Section 1. Section 1012.988, Florida Statutes, is created 21
to read: 22
1012.988 School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program.—23
(1) The School Teacher Training and Mentoring Program is 24
established within the Department of Education. The purpose of 25

CS/HB 157 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb157-01-c1
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

the program is to increase the effectiveness and involvement of 26
classroom teachers and improve student achievement, classroom 27
management, and excellence in the state's public schools. 28
(2)(a) School districts and charter schools may place 29
retired classroom teachers or current classroom teachers in 30
schools earning a grade of "D" or "F" to act as teacher mentors 31
to: 32
1. New classroom teachers; 33
2. Classroom teachers who are rated as needs improvement, 34
developing, or unsatisfactory on the prior year's performance 35
evaluation under s. 1012.34; or 36
3. Classroom teachers identified by the school 37
administrator as struggling with behavior management within the 38
classroom. 39
(b) Each teacher mentor selected by the school district, 40
charter school, or charter management organization must have: 41
1. At least 3 years of teaching experience in 42
prekindergarten through grade 12. 43
2. Earned a highly effective rating on most recent 44
performance evaluation under s. 1012.34. 45
(c) Each teacher mentor may receive a stipend up to 46
$3,000. The teacher mentor may work with multiple classroom 47
teachers. 48
(3) The Department of Education shall establish program 49
standards and a standard contract template for the teacher 50

CS/HB 157 2026

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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

mentor and mentee which outlines the responsibilities of each 51
person and establishes the framework and goals of the program. 52
(4) Each teacher mentor must: 53
(a) Not have an official management relationship with his 54
or her mentee. 55
(b) Provide direction, advice, and a neutral sounding 56
board to his or her mentee. 57
(c) Maintain confidentiality, unless prohibited by law. 58
(d) Not have a personal agenda other than assisting his or 59
her mentee in developing and reaching the mentee's goals. 60
(e) Help his or her mentee in developing skills and 61
expertise, including drawing upon the teacher mentor's own 62
personal experiences. 63
(5) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to 64
administer this section. 65
Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 66
1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 67
1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual 68
allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each 69
district for operation of schools is not determined in the 70
annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing 71
the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as 72
follows: 73
(7) EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT ALLOCATION.— 74
(a) The educational enrichment allocation is created to 75

CS/HB 157 2026

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hb157-01-c1
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

assist school districts in providing educational enrichment 76
activities and services that support and increase the academic 77
achievement of students in grades kindergarten through 12. 78
Educational enrichment activities and services may be provided 79
in a manner and at any time during or beyond the regular 180-day 80
term identified by the school district as being the most 81
effective and efficient way to best help the student progress 82
from grade to grade and graduate from high school. Funds from 83
the educational enrichment allocation may be used for the School 84
Teacher Training and Mentoring Program under s. 1012.988. For 85
fiscal year 2023-2024, the educational enrichment allocation 86
shall consist of a base amount as specified in the General 87
Appropriations Act. Beginning in fiscal year 2024-2025, the 88
educational enrichment allocation shall consist of the base 89
amount that includes a workload adjustment based on changes in 90
the unweighted full-time equivalent membership. Beginning in 91
fiscal year 2025-2026, and each year thereafter, the statewide 92
average base amount as specified in the General Appropriations 93
Act shall be used for any new educational entity funded in the 94
Florida Education Finance Program. 95
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 96