Florida 2026 Session Status: Introduced Bipartisan · 15 R · 6 D cosponsors

HB 1059 — CS/CS/HB 1059: Speech and Debate Education

Last action — Laid on Table

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced January 06, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 54% · moderate confidence

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 23 sponsors

    1 primary, 22 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (15 R · 6 D) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Speech and Debate Education; Designates Florida Speech & Debate Week annually in February; subject to legislative appropriation, establishing Florida Debate Initiative, Inc., (FDI) as statewide speech & debate organization that performs certain functions in support of Florida Civics & Debate Initiative (FCDI) in DOE; provides duties of FDI & FCDI.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

31 added · 145 removed

31 line(s) added, 145 removed.

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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 CS/CS/HB 1059 2026 A bill to be entitled An act relating to speech and debate education;
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 CS/HB 1059 2026 A bill to be entitled An act relating to special observances for speech and debate;
683.221, F.S.;
683.338, F.S.;
designating Florida Speech and Debate Week annually in February;
establishing Florida Speech and Debate Week in the state;
providing purposes for the annual observance;
authorizing specified entities to observe Florida Speech and Debate Week;
creating s.
1000.09, F.S.;
subject to legislative appropriation, establishing the Florida Debate Initiative, Inc., (FDI) as a statewide speech and debate organization that performs certain functions in support of the Florida Civics and Debate Initiative (FCDI) in the Department of Education;
providing the duties of the FDI;
providing construction;
authorizing the FDI to establish and maintain certain partnerships;
specifying activities for the FDI and FCDI;
providing authorized uses of funds for the FDI;
requiring the FDI to publish a report online and submit the report to the department annually by a specified date;
specifying requirements for the report;
requiring the FCDI to annually provide certain data to the FDI by a specified date;
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
7 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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9 Section 1.
Section 683.338, Florida Statutes, is created to read:
683.338 Florida Speech and Debate Week.— (1) The first week in November of each year is designated as "Florida Speech and Debate Week" to:
(a) Recognize the academic, civic, and leadership value of competitive speech and debate.
(b) Honor educators, coaches, judges, and school districts that support debate programming.
(c) Inspire students statewide to participate in debate as a pathway to civic engagement.
(d) Promote the state's role as the national leader in scholastic speech and debate.
(2) The Department of Education, local school districts, local governments, and other agencies are encouraged to sponsor events, exhibitions, and recognitions celebrating the impact of speech and debate in the state.
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hb1059-02-c2 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 CS/CS/HB 1059 2026 Section 1.
hb1059-01-c1 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 CS/HB 1059 2026 Section 2.
Section 683.221, Florida Statutes, is created to read:
683.221 Florida Speech and Debate Week.— (1) February 1 through February 7 shall be annually designated as "Florida Speech and Debate Week." (2) Florida Speech and Debate Week shall be observed for all of the following purposes:
(a) To recognize the academic, civic, and leadership value of competitive speech and debate.
(b) To honor educators, coaches, judges, and school districts that support debate programming.
(c) To inspire students statewide to participate in debate as a pathway to civic engagement.
(d) To promote Florida's role as the national leader in scholastic speech and debate.
(3) Public and charter schools, state agencies, and other entities may observe Florida Speech and Debate Week.
Section 2.
Section 1000.09, Florida Statutes, is created to read:
1000.09 Competitive speech and debate.— (1) CREATION, DESIGNATION, AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—Subject to legislative appropriation and in alignment with, and in support of, the Department of Education and the program it operates called the Florida Civics and Debate Initiative (FCDI), the Florida Debate Initiative, Inc., (FDI) is established as Page 2 of 6 CODING:
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words underlined are additions.
hb1059-02-c2 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 CS/CS/HB 1059 2026 this state's nonprofit statewide speech and debate organization that manages, develops, and expands K–20 civics, speech, and debate programs.
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(a)1.
The FDI shall support and expand access to statewide civic literacy and speech and debate programs by undertaking the following, which list is not exhaustive:
a.
Educating and training coaches and students.
b.
Training judges and volunteers.
c.
Promoting educational competition opportunities.
d.
Leading training and leadership development experiences.
e.
Establishing competition standards.
f.
Maintaining statewide data reporting.
g.
Assisting the FCDI, upon its request, in civics-focused education, training, and programming initiatives.
2.
This paragraph may not be construed to prohibit schools, districts, or students from participating in civics, speech and debate activities, leagues, or competitions not operated or supervised by the FDI.
(b) The FDI may establish and maintain partnerships with school districts, charter schools, state agencies, postsecondary institutions, nonprofit organizations, private entities, and national or international organizations to achieve the purposes of this section, including collaborative efforts with the FCDI.
In such collaboration:
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hb1059-02-c2 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 CS/CS/HB 1059 2026 1.
The FCDI and FDI shall jointly host and operate the annual National Civics and Debate Championship known as The Great Debate, a nationally recognized synthesis of civics education and debate competition that challenges students' civic knowledge, debate skills, and endurance through multi-day, multi-event competition.
2.
The FCDI shall lead specific civics immersion events, including FCDI Day at the Capitol and the Great American Civics Challenge, which includes the Ronald Reagan Presidential Debates and the We The People Civics Showdown.
3.
The FDI shall provide logistical support, debate tournament operations support, and tournament coordination support for The Great Debate and other collaborative initiatives to advance statewide speech and debate opportunities.
(2) AUTHORIZED USES OF FUNDS.—The FDI may expend program funds on all of the following:
(a) Administrative operations, including staffing, insurance, compliance, reporting, and statewide infrastructure.
(b) Programmatic operations, including curriculum, training, summer programs, workshops, camps, and mentorship programs.
(c) Tournament operations, including logistics, staff, judge training, technology, awards, and regional team operations.
(d) Travel, lodging, training, and transportation for Page 4 of 6 CODING:
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words underlined are additions.
hb1059-02-c2 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 CS/CS/HB 1059 2026 participants, including local, state, and national travel to competitions hosted by the FDI, FCDI, or other civics, speech, and debate organizations.
(e) Public-private partnership development, including sponsorship and philanthropic support.
(f) Memberships, affiliations, and participation fees related to civics education, speech, debate, leadership, and academic competition programs, provided such memberships, affiliations, and participation advance the purposes of this section.
(3) REPORTING.—The FDI shall make publicly available online and submit, no later than December 31 of each year, an annual report to the Department of Education which includes all of the following:
(a) Student participation in statewide FDI programs, by district and demographics.
(b) The number of active student teams in statewide FDI speech and debate programs.
(c) Competitive and educational outcomes of statewide FDI programs.
(d) A categorized summary of all expenditures.
No later than November 1 of each year, the FCDI shall provide the FDI with the FCDI's most current reporting and data regarding paragraphs (a)-(d) above in order for the FDI to Page 5 of 6 CODING:
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hb1059-02-c2 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 CS/CS/HB 1059 2026 accurately report on the outcomes and expenditures related to any joint programming.
Section 3.
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hb1059-02-c2
hb1059-01-c1
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Action History

  1. Laid on Table

  2. Added to Second Reading Calendar

  3. Bill referred to House Calendar

  4. 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 2)

  5. CS Filed

  6. Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a)

  7. Reported out of Education & Employment Committee

  8. Favorable with CS by Education & Employment Committee

  9. PCS added to Education & Employment Committee agenda

  10. Now in Education & Employment Committee

  11. Referred to Education & Employment Committee

  12. 1st Reading (Committee Substitute 1)

  13. CS Filed

  14. Laid on Table under Rule 7.18(a)

  15. Reported out of Student Academic Success Subcommittee

  16. Favorable with CS by Student Academic Success Subcommittee

  17. PCS added to Student Academic Success Subcommittee agenda

  18. 1st Reading (Original Filed Version)

  19. Now in Student Academic Success Subcommittee

  20. Referred to Education & Employment Committee

  21. Referred to PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee

  22. Referred to Student Academic Success Subcommittee

  23. Filed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 22 co-sponsors · 141 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • Education & Employment Committee

Co-sponsors (22)

Not signed on (141)

141 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 141 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

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Subjects

education
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Frequently asked questions

What does HB 1059 do?
Speech and Debate Education; Designates Florida Speech & Debate Week annually in February; subject to legislative appropriation, establishing Florida Debate Initiative, Inc., (FDI) as statewide speech & debate organization that performs certain functions in support of Florida Civics & Debate Initiative (FCDI) in DOE; provides duties of FDI & FCDI.
Who sponsors HB 1059?
HB 1059 is sponsored by Education & Employment Committee, Student Academic Success Subcommittee, Valdés, Susan L. (Republican), Trabulsy, Dana (Republican), Tendrich, Debra (Democrat), Stark, Paula A. (Republican), Sapp, Judson (Republican), Partington, Bill (Republican), Nix Jr., Danny (Republican), Michael, Kiyan (Republican), López, Johanna (Democrat), Kendall, Kim (Republican), Hinson, Yvonne Hayes (Democrat), Harris, Jennifer "Rita" (Democrat), Dunkley, Lisa (Democrat), Daniels, Kimberly (Democrat), Berfield, Kimberly (Republican), Benarroch, Yvette (Republican), Barnaby, Webster (Republican), Bankson, Douglas Michael "Doug" (Republican), Booth, Erika (Republican), Yarkosky, Taylor Michael (Republican), and Gerwig, Anne (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 1059?
This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced January 06, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
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