JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The local representative who helped get Florida families get free swim lessons stopped by Swimming Safari Swim School in Jacksonville on Wednesday.
State Sen. Travis Hutson created legislation that was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that subsidizes swimming lessons through vouchers.
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“We spend all this time, energy, money, trying to protect children from entering the pool, for those that can’t swim. But we haven’t spent a lot of time, unless you can afford it, training your kids to swim. So the idea was to help those that were less fortunate,” Hutson said.
The program will offer vouchers to families with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level with children ages four and under.
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According to a news release from the Florida Swimming Pool Association, the next step “is the creation of Florida Department of Health’s rules to govern the project. FSPA is taking a leading role in the rule development process and will be working with the Department of Health to ensure that the program is implemented in the most efficient and effective manner possible.”
The legislation is set to go into effect on July 1.
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