Health Care Practitioner Maternal Mental Health Continuing Education Requirements

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Health Care Practitioner Maternal Mental Health Education

This bill requires health care practitioners to complete continuing education on maternal mental health as part of their license renewal process.

What This Bill Does

• Requires health care practitioners to include specific topics in their continuing education for license renewal, such as screening and treatment options for maternal mental health disorders.
• Specifies that the curriculum must cover best practices for identifying and treating mental health issues during pregnancy and after childbirth.
• Allows boards or the Department of Health to update the curriculum based on new research findings.
• Permits successful completion of this education to count towards continuing education requirements for certain specialties.

Who It Names or Affects

• Health care practitioners who need to renew their licenses, such as those in pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, or clinical psychology.

Terms To Know

Continuing education

Training that professionals must complete regularly to keep up with new developments in their field.

Licensure renewal

The process of renewing a professional license, which is required periodically by law.

Limits and Unknowns

• It's not clear how the bill will be enforced or what penalties might apply if practitioners do not complete the required education.
• The bill does not specify how often health care practitioners need to renew their licenses.

Official Summary Text

Health Care Practitioner Maternal Mental Health Continuing Education Requirements; Providing curriculum requirements relating to maternal mental health for the required continuing education hours for licensure renewal; requiring a board, or the Department of Health if there is no board, to periodically update specified curriculum and accept the successful completion of such curriculum as credit toward continuing education requirements, etc.

Current Bill Text

Florida Senate
-
2026

SB 866

By
Senator Sharief

35-01559-26 2026866__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to health care practitioner maternal
3 mental health continuing education requirements;
4 creating s. 456.63, F.S.; providing curriculum
5 requirements relating to maternal mental health for
6 the required continuing education hours for licensure
7 renewal; requiring a board, or the Department of
8 Health if there is no board, to periodically update
9 specified curriculum and accept the successful
10 completion of such curriculum as credit toward
11 continuing education requirements; providing an
12 effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Section 456.63, Florida Statutes, is created to
17 read:
18
456.63

Continuing education on maternal mental health.—

19
(1)

Continuing education hours required for licensure

20
renewal for health care practitioners must include all of the

21
following:

22
(a)

The best practices in screening for maternal mental

23
health disorders.

24
(b)

The range of maternal mental health disorders.

25
(c)

The range of evidence-based treatment options,

26
including the importance of allowing a mother to be involved in

27
developing a treatment plan.

28
(d)

When an obstetrician or a primary care physician should

29
consult with a psychiatrist versus making a referral.

30
(2)

A board, or the department if there is no board, shall:

31
(a)

Periodically update any curriculum developed pursuant

32
to subsection (1) to account for new research.

33
(b)

Accept the successful completion of the curriculum

34
under subsection (1) as credit toward the continuing education

35
requirements for renewal of a license by a health care

36
practitioner who practices in the specialty of:

37
1.

Pediatrics;

38
2.

Obstetrics and gynecology;

39
3.

Psychiatry; or

40
4.

Clinical psychology.

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