Maternal Health and Early Learning

HB 1029 2026

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to maternal health and early learning; 2
providing a short title; creating s. 383.012, F.S.; 3
requiring the Department of Health to establish a 4
certain home visit program for expectant mothers; 5
providing program requirements; amending s. 383.305, 6
F.S.; authorizing the Agency for Health Care 7
Administration to authorize reduced fees for an 8
applicant or licensee for certain birthing centers; 9
amending s. 383.31, F.S.; removing acceptance criteria 10
for birthing centers; creating s. 383.55, F.S.; 11
defining the term "blood pressure monitor and cuff"; 12
requiring the department to provide a blood pressure 13
monitor and cuff to an expectant mother for certain 14
purposes; requiring the department to create certain 15
educational materials; creating ss. 395.3043 and 16
395.6071, F.S.; defining the terms "doula" and 17
"midwife"; authorizing a doula or midwife to be 18
present with his or her client during childbirth 19
inside of a hospital; creating s. 402.822, F.S.; 20
requiring the Department of Children and Families to 21
provide certain incentives for certain early learning 22
centers; creating ss. 458.355 and 459.075, F.S.; 23
revising continuing education requirements for 24
physicians to include a review of certain Medicaid 25

HB 1029 2026

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payments for certain persons; amending s. 1002.83, 26
F.S.; providing requirements for child care facilities 27
that receive support from early learning coalitions; 28
amending s. 1003.21, F.S.; revising the date by which 29
children must attain a certain age to be required to 30
attend school regularly; providing an effective date. 31
32
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 33
34
Section 1. This act may be cited as "The Motherhood 35
Initiative." 36
Section 2. Section 383.012, Florida Statutes, is created 37
to read: 38
383.012 Home visit program for expectant mothers.— 39
(1) The Department of Health shall expand the current home 40
visit program to include a home visit program for expectant 41
mothers within the Healthy Start program, which shall include 42
Healthy Start Care Coordination Programs. 43
(2) The program shall: 44
(a)1. Conduct screenings for expectant mothers for 45
depression and substance abuse disorders provided by a 46
registered nurse, or licensed practical nurse licensed under 47
part I of chapter 464. 48
2. The department shall refer at-risk expectant mothers 49
for mental health treatment. 50

HB 1029 2026

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(b) Ensure an expectant mother is monitoring her blood 51
pressure and shall provide and review the educational materials 52
created under s. 383.55(3) with the expectant mother. 53
(c) Include a 3 hour course on the care of a newborn 54
including, but not limited to, bathing, dressing, and feeding; 55
cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and setting up sleep routines for 56
the newborn and the mother that hospitals and birth centers 57
shall offer to a mother before going home with her newborn. 58
(3) Health insurance providers and Medicaid shall provide 59
coverage for the program, as applicable. 60
Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 383.305, Florida 61
Statutes, is amended to read: 62
383.305 Licensure; fees.— 63
(1) In accordance with s. 408.805, an applicant or a 64
licensee shall pay a fee for each license application submitted 65
under ss. 383.30-383.332 and part II of chapter 408. The amount 66
of the fee shall be established by rule. The Agency for Health 67
Care Administration may reduce the fees for an applicant or 68
licensee under this section for birthing centers in rural and 69
other medically underserved areas. 70
Section 4. Section 383.31, Florida Statutes, is amended to 71
read: 72
383.31 Selection of clients; Informed consent.— 73
(1)(a) A birth center may accept only those patients who 74
are expected to have normal pregnancies, labors, and deliveries. 75

HB 1029 2026

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(1)(b) The criteria for the selection of clients and the 76
establishment of risk status shall be defined by rule of the 77
agency. 78
(2)(a) A patient may not be accepted for care at a birth 79
center until the patient has signed a client informed-consent 80
form. 81
(b) The agency shall develop a client informed-consent 82
form to be used by the center to inform the client of the 83
benefits and risks related to childbirth outside a hospital. 84
Section 5. Section 383.55, Florida Statutes, is created to 85
read: 86
383.55 Coverage of blood pressure monitors and cuffs.— 87
(1) As used in this section, the term "blood pressure 88
monitor and cuff" means a device designed for the purpose of 89
aiding in the treatment of hypertension by measuring blood 90
pressure levels through a validated blood pressure measurement 91
device at home or elsewhere outside of the clinic setting. 92
(2) The Department of Health must provide a blood pressure 93
monitor and cuff for an expectant mother to monitor for 94
preeclampsia and must provide any necessary repairs or 95
replacement parts for the blood pressure monitor and cuff. 96
(3) The department shall create educational materials on 97
the use of the blood pressure monitor and cuff, including, but 98
not limited to, the proper use of the blood pressure monitor and 99
cuff and the urgent maternal warning signs and symptoms provided 100

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by the Hear Her campaign of the United States Centers for 101
Disease Control and Prevention. 102
Section 6. Section 395.3043, Florida Statutes, is created 103
to read: 104
395.3043 Doula and midwife services.— 105
(1) As used in this section, the term: 106
(a) "Doula" means a nonmedical professional who provides 107
physical, emotional, and informational support to individuals 108
and families before, during, and after childbirth. 109
(b) "Midwife" has the same definition as in s. 467.003. 110
(2) A doula or midwife may be present with his or her 111
client during childbirth inside of a hospital. 112
Section 7. Section 395.6071, Florida Statutes, is created 113
to read: 114
395.6071 Doula and midwife services.— 115
(1) As used in this section, the term: 116
(a) "Doula" means a nonmedical professional who provides 117
physical, emotional, and informational support to individuals 118
and families before, during, and after childbirth. 119
(b) "Midwife" has the same definition as in s. 467.003. 120
(2) A doula or midwife may be present with his or her 121
client during childbirth inside of a rural hospital. 122
Section 8. Section 402.822, Florida Statutes, is created 123
to read: 124
402.822 Twenty-four hour early learning centers.—The 125

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Department of Children and Families shall provide incentives for 126
early learning centers to remain open 24 hours for the children 127
of first responders, health care practitioners, and people of 128
other industries who work nontraditional hours. Incentives for 129
child care facilities may include, but need not be limited to: 130
(1) Raising subsidy rates for child care outside of 131
traditional hours. 132
(2) Authorizing local agencies to restructure their 133
subsidy systems. 134
(3) Authorizing counties to create contract nontraditional 135
hours slots for child care providers or to create shared service 136
agreements. 137
Section 9. Section 458.355, Florida Statutes, is created 138
to read: 139
458.355 Continuing education; Medicaid payment 140
information.—The continuing education requirements prescribed by 141
the board for a physician under this chapter or chapter 459 must 142
include education on the mandatory Medicaid payments for a 143
pregnant woman for the duration of her pregnancy and for the 144
postpartum period consisting of the 12-month period beginning on 145
the last day of her pregnancy. 146
Section 10. Section 459.075, Florida Statutes, is created 147
to read: 148
459.075 Continuing education; Medicaid payment 149
information.—The continuing education requirements prescribed by 150

HB 1029 2026

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the board for a physician under this chapter, or chapter 458 151
must include education on the mandatory Medicaid payments for a 152
pregnant woman for the duration of her pregnancy and for the 153
postpartum period consisting of the 12-month period beginning on 154
the last day of her pregnancy. 155
Section 11. Subsection (15) of section 1002.83, Florida 156
Statutes, is amended to read: 157
1002.83 Early learning coalitions.— 158
(15)(a) Each school district shall, upon request of the 159
coalition, make a list of all individuals currently eligible to 160
act as a substitute teacher within the school district, pursuant 161
to rules adopted by the school district pursuant to s. 1012.35, 162
available to an early learning coalition serving students within 163
the school district. 164
(b) Child care facilities as defined in s. 402.302 may 165
employ individuals listed as substitute instructors for the 166
purpose of offering the school readiness program, the Voluntary 167
Prekindergarten Education Program, and all other legally 168
operating child care programs. 169
1. Child care facilities that receive support from early 170
learning coalitions shall be called early learning centers. 171
2. The Department of Education will ensure appropriate 172
instruction and pacing of an approved curriculum for each early 173
learning center. 174
Section 12. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 175

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1003.21, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 176
1003.21 School attendance.— 177
(1)(a)1. All children who have attained the age of 5 6 178
years or who will have attained the age of 5 6 years by February 179
1 of any school year or who are older than 5 6 years of age but 180
who have not attained the age of 16 years, except as otherwise 181
provided, are required to attend school regularly during the 182
entire school term. 183
2. Children who will have attained the age of 5 years on 184
or before September 1 of the school year are eligible for 185
admission to public kindergartens during that school year under 186
rules adopted by the district school board. 187
Section 13. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 188