The Historic Florida Capitol in the foreground and the Florida Capitol behind it. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix)
Special Olympians in Florida will be exempt from high school physical education course requirements if the governor signs a bill unanimously approved by the Florida House and Senate.
The Senate Thursday gave final approval to Sen. Lori Berman’s SB 556, which allows students who compete in the Special Olympics for a year to be exempt from the one credit physical education requirement to graduate from high school.
“This legislation empowers our students with disabilities and promotes a more inclusive, efficient education system in Florida, as well as reducing administrative burdens and costs to schools districts by expanding the options available for special needs students to meet state standards,” Berman said of the bill, her last in the Florida Legislature after a 16-year career spanning eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate.
“And I couldn’t think of a better bill for it to be my last bill to present,” Berman, a Boca Raton Democrat, said.
The House version passed unanimously on Feb. 4 and is sponsored by Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, a Republican from Highland Beach.
The idea came from Palm Beach County School Board, Berman said. She and Gossett-Seidman both represent the county.
Berman told the story of a student with special needs who felt stigmatized in her physical education class to the point she dreaded going to school.
Special Olympics offers sports such as track and field, basketball, bowling, cheer, cycling, equestrian, figure skating, and power lifting. According to the bill analysis, in 2023 Florida was home to nearly 70,000 Special Olympics athletes.
Last session, lawmakers passed a bill that permits two years of marching band to satisfy the physical education requirement, consistent with a law granting the exemption for students who play a sport for two years.