SB428 expands eligibility for the Swimming Lesson Voucher Program from children 4 years old or younger to children between 1 and 7 years old.

The Senate passed SB428 on February 25, 2026, by a vote of 36 to 0. We have assigned minuses to the yeas because the Florida Legislature has no business using taxpayer money to subsidize swimming lessons. Teaching a child to swim is the responsibility of parents, not the state. Taxation in the name of "drowning prevention" for "low income" families is neither just nor charitable. Like every form of "social welfare," this voucher program relies on the discriminatory and unconstitutional use of public funds. It provides "public assistance" to "eligible" families, who have little or no tax liability, at the expense of others. The purpose of the U.S. Constitution, especially the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment, is to "promote the general Welfare" of all Americans, not "cradle-to-grave" or "nanny-state" policies, which involve reckless spending and go far beyond the proper role and scope of government.