HB 879 Florida House · 2025 Regular Session

Young Adults who are Homeless or were in the Child Welfare System

Summary

Young Adults who are Homeless or were in the Child Welfare System; Requires each Florida College System institution & state university, in consultation with State Office on Homelessness, to develop plan to prioritize placement of certain students in residence halls or dormitory residences; provides responsibilities for Office of Continuing Care, Florida College System institutions, & state universities; requires that certain institutions & universities give priority to certain students for housing & work-study opportunities; prohibits institutions & universities from requiring cosigner or guarantor to obtain housing for certain students; requires certain entities to administer certain federal programs & vouchers; provides requirements for administering such programs & vouchers; requires specified entities to document certain actions & provide certain assurances to landlords.

Issues: ✓ Education ✓ Housing

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 21, 2025 Last action Apr 29, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

H 879 c1 → H 879 c2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill was amended to clarify its scope and strengthen protections for vulnerable students. The changes expand housing priority eligibility to include students at risk of homelessness, prohibit institutions from requiring cosigners for certain students, and update the statute number for new provisions. These modifications make the bill more inclusive and provide stronger safeguards against housing barriers for young adults in foster care or experiencing homelessness.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include students at risk of homelessness and to prohibit cosigner requirements for students receiving specific housing support, while also clarifying the statute sections affected.

ELIGIBILITY

Housing priority eligibility now includes students who are at risk of experiencing homelessness, not just those currently experiencing homelessness or formerly in foster care.

REQUIREMENT

New prohibition prevents Florida College System institutions and state universities from requiring a cosigner or guarantor to obtain housing for students receiving housing support under specific state programs.

Terminology was updated from 'programs' to 'opportunities' for work-study and from 'maintain records' to 'document actions' for better clarity on institutional responsibilities.

TECHNICAL

The bill's title was updated from CS/HB 879 to CS/CS/HB 879 to reflect committee concurrence, and the statute section number changed from 409.14521 to 409.14525.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 17, 2025

Committee

Bill referred to House Calendar

lower

Apr 17, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Education & Employment Committee

lower

Apr 17, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with CS by Education & Employment Committee

lower

Apr 15, 2025

Lower · Passed

Added to Education & Employment Committee agenda

lower

Apr 2, 2025

Lower · Passed

Now in Education & Employment Committee

lower

Apr 2, 2025

Committee

Referred to Education & Employment Committee

lower

Apr 1, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported out of Careers & Workforce Subcommittee

lower

Mar 31, 2025

Lower · Passed

Favorable with CS by Careers & Workforce Subcommittee

lower

Mar 27, 2025

Lower · Passed

PCS added to Careers & Workforce Subcommittee agenda

lower

Mar 2, 2025

Lower · Passed

Now in Careers & Workforce Subcommittee

lower

Mar 2, 2025

Committee

Referred to Education & Employment Committee

lower

Mar 2, 2025

Committee

Referred to Higher Education Budget Subcommittee

lower

Mar 2, 2025

Committee

Referred to Careers & Workforce Subcommittee

lower

2 primary · 15 co-sponsors