SB0372 • 2026

Public Postsecondary Tuition and Fee Waivers for Sheriff’s Office Employees

Education Labor

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor: Trumbull
Last action: 2026-03-13
Official status: Senate - Died in Appropriations Committee on Higher Education
Effective date: 2026-07-01

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's status indicates it did not pass the Appropriations Committee and thus has not taken effect as of March 13, 2026.

Public Postsecondary Tuition and Fee Waivers for Sheriff's Office Employees

This bill requires state universities and Florida College System institutions to waive tuition and fees for sheriff’s office employees who meet certain criteria.

What This Bill Does

Requires state universities and Florida College System schools to offer free tuition and fees for up to six credit hours per term for eligible sheriff's office employees.
Specifies that the Chief Financial Officer must work with colleges and universities to make it easier to verify employment status of sheriff’s office employees.
Defines who qualifies as a full-time employee of a sheriff’s office, including sworn law enforcement officers, correctional officers, and civilian staff.

Who It Names or Affects

Sheriff's office employees
State universities and Florida College System institutions

Terms To Know

sheriff’s office employee: A full-time sworn law enforcement officer, correctional officer, or civilian staff member of a sheriff’s department.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill did not pass the Appropriations Committee and therefore has not taken effect as of March 13, 2026.
It is unclear if there are sufficient funds allocated to support this initiative.

Bill History

2026-03-13 Senate
• Died in Appropriations Committee on Higher Education
2026-01-14 Senate
• Now in Appropriations Committee on Higher Education
2026-01-13 Senate
• Favorable by Education Postsecondary; YEAS 6 NAYS 0 • Introduced
2026-01-08 Senate
• On Committee agenda-- Education Postsecondary, 01/13/26, 4:00 pm, 301 Senate Building
2025-11-17 Senate
• Referred to Education Postsecondary; Appropriations Committee on Higher Education; Fiscal Policy
2025-11-04 Senate
• Filed

Official Summary Text

Public Postsecondary Tuition and Fee Waivers for Sheriff’s Office Employees; Requiring state universities and Florida College System institutions to waive tuition and fees for sheriff’s office employees; providing requirements for the waiver of tuition and fees for sheriff’s office employees; providing requirements for a person to be considered a sheriff’s office employee, etc.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Florida Senate
-
2026

SB 372

By
Senator Trumbull

2-00790-26 2026372__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public postsecondary tuition and
3 fee waivers for sheriff’s office employees; amending
4 s. 1009.265, F.S.; requiring state universities and
5 Florida College System institutions to waive tuition
6 and fees for sheriff’s office employees; providing
7 requirements for the waiver of tuition and fees for
8 sheriff’s office employees; providing requirements for
9 a person to be considered a sheriff’s office employee;
10 providing an effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. Subsections (1), (2), and (5) of section
15 1009.265, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
16 1009.265 State employee
and sheriff’s office employee
fee
17 waivers.—
18 (1) As a benefit to the employer and employees of the state
19
and each sheriff’s office in the state
, subject to approval by
20 an employee’s agency head
or sheriff,
or the equivalent, each
21 state university and Florida College System institution shall
22 waive tuition and fees for state employees
and sheriff’s office

23
employees
to enroll for up to 6 credit hours of courses per term
24 on a space-available basis.
25 (2) The Chief Financial Officer, in cooperation with the
26 Florida College System institutions and state universities,
27 shall identify and implement ways to ease the administrative
28 burden to Florida College System institutions and state
29 universities, including, but not limited to, providing easier
30 access to verify state
or sheriff’s office
employment.
31 (5) For purposes of this section
:
,

32
(a)
Employees of the state include employees of the
33 executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state
34 government, except for persons employed by a state university.
35
(b)

Employees of a sheriff’s office include any full-time

36
sworn law enforcement officer, correctional officer, or civilian

37
employee of the sheriff’s office.

38 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.