DeSantis pledging $26M to fund nursing education across Florida

More funding for nursing education in Florida

Governor Ron DeSantis pledged his commitment to higher education with more funding for nursing in the state of Florida.

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Governor Ron DeSantis is doubling down on his commitment to Florida’s nursing industry as he announced additional funding for state colleges, universities and private education during a press conference on the campus of St. Petersburg College.

On top of the nearly $500 million that DeSantis has invested since 2022, he announced on Tuesday morning that he is giving an additional $26 million to make sure Florida’s nursing force continues to surpass expectations.

This money will help fund programs like PIPELINE and LINE, which are designed to increase the number of quality nursing students in Florida by offering performance-based grants and matching funds.

Big picture view:

Right now, DeSantis says that Florida is facing a significant nursing shortage and, according to the Florida Hospital Association, the state is in need of nearly 60,000 nurses within the next 10 years.

He went on to say that the additional funding the state is providing will go a long way in addressing that.

"We're now producing 1,000 plus additional nurses than we were before those, every year between our state colleges and our state universities. And so that's a meaningful increase," DeSantis said.

By the numbers:

Of the $26 million, $20 million will go to state colleges and $6 million will go to state universities.

The money is also used to recruit faculty, purchase equipment and to support simulation centers.

DeSantis says that the funding will impact 20 of the 28 state colleges and the nursing students enrolled there.

READ: USF expands 4-year nursing program to St. Pete campus to help statewide shortage

What they're saying:

Florida Commissioner of Education Stasi Kamoutsas says he hopes this money will ensure that students stay in the state to work after graduation.

"I’m so thankful that this investment is going specifically towards the nursing programs to be able to beef up those programs, to be able to give those students an opportunity to not only see value in themselves, but to give back to their communities."

The backstory:

Since the inception of the LINE and PIPELINE programs in 2022, $61.5 million has been given to state colleges and $24 million has been given to state universities.

DeSantis says that Florida’s colleges and universities work well together to ensure that course credits are easily transferable. He also mentioned that roughly 90% of Florida’s nursing students pass their exams on the first try.