Eligibility in a fledgling state swimming lesson voucher program could be revamped to accommodate more older children and fewer babies under a bill moving its way through the state Legislature.
The House Health Care Budget Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to pass HB 85 along to its next committee. Filed by St. Augustine Rep. Kim Kendall, the bill ups the age eligibility from four years to seven years while eliminating the opportunity for swimming lessons for babies under age 1 who she said are most apt to drown in a bathtub at home.
“So, ages zero to one, the babies show reflexes that looks like swimming but they’re too young to actually lift their head up enough to be able to breathe out of water and the majority of infant death from drowning at the age of 1 happen in bathtubs at home,” she said adding that the babies who take the lessons have “to come back later, at an older age, to repeat the course.”
Department of Children and Family data show that in 2025 a total 112 children died in Florida from drowning. Seventy-three of the children were between the ages of 1 and 3. Three were babies under the age of 1.
In 2024, 106 children drowned, of which 65 were between the ages of 1 and 3 and two were babies under age 1.
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In Florida, drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death in children ages 1 to 4, according to the Department of Health website advertising the swim voucher program.
Florida ranked highest in the nation between 2019 and 2021 for unintentional drowning deaths among children ages 1 to 4 and birth to 9, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control data.
To help abate the problem, the Legislature two years ago earmarked $500,000 and directed the DOH to create a voucher program for children living in families at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, which is $64,300 for a family of four.
The DOH received 16,663 applications during the program’s first year of operations and awarded 4,945 vouchers, a legislative staff analysis shows.
Of the near 5,000 vouchers awarded that year, the analysis shows:
- 646 were given to babies under the age of 1;
- 1,036 were given to 1-year-olds;
- 1,160 were awarded to 2-year-olds;
- 1,107 were awarded to 3-year-olds;
- 952 were awarded to 4-year-olds;
- 44 were awarded to children 5 and older.
The Legislature in 2025 agreed to double the funding in the program to $1 million and to require that children with autism and in active-duty military families be given first priority. The staff analysis did not include a break-out of awards by age cohort for that year.
There’s no detailed information in the staff analysis about the number of children with autism who received the swim vouchers in 2025 or who have drowned.
But Kendall said that up to one-third of the children between the ages of 4 and 12 who drown have autism and that 58% of the children between the ages of 5 and 12 who drown have autism.
The bill doesn’t contain any additional funding but Kendall said she’s been told some of the contracted swim lesson vendors have tried to stretch the money available to accommodate more children by teaching group swim lessons.
Kendall told committee members she’s proposing the changes in age eligibility in an effort “to take a great program and simply make it more efficient.
