SB 176 Florida Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Public Postsecondary Education Safety Policies and Procedures

Summary

Public Postsecondary Education Safety Policies and Procedures; Requiring state universities and Florida College System institutions to adopt and implement specified policies and procedures relating to safety; providing requirements for such policies and procedures; requiring state universities and Florida College System institutions to annually review and update the policies and procedures, etc.

Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Mar 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

S 176 Filed → S 176 c1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended from an initial draft to a committee substitute version, significantly changing the language of the safety policies required of state universities and Florida College System institutions. The original draft focused on protecting against 'physical threats' and 'conduct or language that would cause a reasonable person to believe physical safety is at risk,' while the committee substitute narrows the scope to 'acts of violence or attempted violence' and 'credible threats' as legally defined. This change makes the requirements more specific and potentially easier to enforce by referencing existing legal definitions.

Scope change

The scope of protected conduct was narrowed from general physical threats and concerning language to specific acts of violence, attempted violence, and credible threats as defined in existing Florida law.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the definition of threats from general 'physical threats' and 'conduct or language that would cause a reasonable person to believe his or her physical safety is at risk' to specific 'acts of violence or attempted violence' and 'credible threats as defined in s. 784.048(1)(c)'.

Revised the introductory language of Section 1(1) to change from 'protect the physical safety of its students, faculty, staff, and visitors' to 'prevent, report, and respond to' specific acts of violence and credible threats.

TECHNICAL

Added metadata headers including bill title, committee information, and filing dates that were not present in the original draft.

Changed page numbering from 'Page 1 of 2' and 'Page 2 of 2' to a single continuous document format with line numbers.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 19, 2026

How they voted

38–0

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 40

Feb 19, 2026

D Democratic11

11 Yea

100% Yea

I Independent1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican28

26 Yea 2

92% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

CS passed; YEAS 37 NAYS 0

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable by- Rules; YEAS 24 NAYS 0

upper

Feb 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Rules, 02/10/26, 9:00 am, 412 Knott Building

upper

Jan 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending reference review under Rule 4.7(2) - (Committee Substitute)

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

CS by Appropriations Committee on Higher Education; YEAS 5 NAYS 0

upper

Jan 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Appropriations Committee on Higher Education, 01/28/26, 3:45 pm, 110 Senate Building

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Now in Appropriations Committee on Higher Education

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Favorable by Education Postsecondary; YEAS 6 NAYS 0

upper

Jan 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

On Committee agenda-- Education Postsecondary, 01/13/26, 4:00 pm, 301 Senate Building

upper

Nov 3, 2025

Committee

Referred to Education Postsecondary; Appropriations Committee on Higher Education; Rules

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors