Florida's teachers unions spent years blocking pay raises for the very teachers they claimed to represent.
Now those same unions are headed to DeSantis' desk – and he's calling it a "huge win."
Florida just passed a bill that could wipe out every teachers union in the state that can't prove it actually has the support of the people it represents.
What the Bill Actually Does
SB 1296 passed the Florida House 73–37 on Wednesday and is now heading to Gov. Ron DeSantis for his signature.
The new rule is simple: a union must get more than half of all bargaining-unit members to vote in favor of recertification – not just a majority of whoever shows up.
That one change is seismic.
Right now, teachers unions typically see about 30% turnout in recertification votes, with 97% of those voters saying yes.
Under SB 1296, everyone who doesn't vote counts as a no.
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Union bosses who've been coasting on the apathy of their own members are suddenly going to have to prove they matter.
Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, the Republican who carried the bill in the House, explained exactly why this was necessary: "We have example after example where a bargaining unit represents hundreds or thousands of employees and only a handful vote in favor of continuing the union."
The bill also cuts off taxpayer-funded time for union activities that have nothing to do with representing workers – no more using your salary to lobby legislators, attend political conferences, or campaign against conservative candidates.
Police, firefighters, and corrections officers are exempt, respecting the unique role of public safety personnel.
The Florida Education Association Earned This
The FEA didn't hide what it thinks of the workers it claims to represent.
At a recent press conference, FEA officials nodded along while a speaker described student protests against ICE raids as "rational" and "required."
The National Education Association – the FEA's parent organization – passed a resolution last year dedicating resources to help students organize against ICE enforcement.
That's what Florida taxpayers have been funding.
DeSantis said it plainly: "Some of the school unions were holding up the pay increases. They had the money in July of 2022, and we got into the end of the year – labor leaders still had not given pay increases to their teachers because they were trying to leverage that for other things to benefit the school unions."
It wasn't just 2022.
In Orange County, teachers were approved for nearly 10% raises in 2024.
Nine months of FEA bargaining later, teachers didn't see a single extra dollar until April – nearly halfway through the school year those raises were supposed to fund.
School board and district officials blamed the union for dragging it out.
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The FEA blamed the district.
Florida taxpayers and parents watched children's teachers go without earned pay while union bosses fought over leverage.
Wisconsin Proved Accountability Works
Florida isn't inventing something new here.
Wisconsin passed a nearly identical reform in 2011 under Gov. Scott Walker – and the results were clear.
Research published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that restricting union bargaining power in Wisconsin produced a significant increase in student test scores, with the gains most pronounced among low-income kids.
Districts could finally pay great teachers more instead of following seniority schedules that rewarded time served over performance.
Florida's 2023 reform – SB 256, which ended automatic payroll deductions for union dues and raised membership thresholds – already decertified more than 100 bargaining units representing roughly 69,000 workers.
Those were unions that couldn't survive once workers had to actively choose to fund them.
SB 1296 goes further, asking unions to prove every single year that the workers they claim to represent actually want them there.
Any union that genuinely serves its members should clear that bar easily.
The FEA has spent years holding teacher pay hostage, cheering student protests against federal immigration enforcement, and filing lawsuits to block every reform that might make it answer to someone.
Now it has to answer to the teachers it claims to speak for – or it's gone.
Florida parents should be counting the days.
Sources:
- Anita Padilla, "Florida House passes union reform bill, tightening rules for teachers and other public workers," Florida Politics, March 11, 2026.
- Steven Walker, "Florida Legislature sends 'union busting' bill to DeSantis' desk," Orlando Sentinel, March 11, 2026.
- Corey DeAngelis, "Florida bills ensure that teachers unions put educators, students first," The Washington Times, March 10, 2026.
- Freedom Foundation, "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs sweeping union reform bill into law," May 9, 2023.
- Barbara Biasi and Wayne Sandholtz, "The Political Consequences of Controversial Education Reform: Lessons from Wisconsin's Act 10," National Bureau of Economic Research, April 2025.
