Tallahassee, Fla. (January 5, 2023) — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis awarded $79 million for high-performing nursing education programs in Florida. The funding rewards public postsecondary nursing programs that have gone above and beyond to train Floridians and provides matching funds for scholarship awards, faculty recruitment, equipment and additional educational supports. This funding is through the Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) and Prepping Institutions, Programs, Employers, and Learners through Incentives for Nursing Education (PIPELINE) programs, which are designed to mitigate Florida’s nursing shortage.

These awards continue Governor DeSantis’ commitment to making Florida the number one state for workforce education by 2030. Since 2019, Governor DeSantis has awarded more than $5 billion to workforce education funding, supporting Floridians who aim to start new careers and rewarding institutions that provide high-quality training and education programs.

“These awards will meet a critical need of our state by ensuring we continue to have high-quality nursing graduates and by creating new opportunities for Floridians interested in healthcare,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “I am grateful to the colleges and universities who have gone above and beyond to train the next generation of nurses in our state.”

“Florida is proud to support the education of future nurses, who help save lives and provide quality care every single day,” said Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. “With today’s announcement, we are ensuring that Florida’s future nursing workforce is filled with highly trained and dedicated professionals. This would not be possible without the leadership of Governor DeSantis, who has set a goal to make Florida the number one state in workforce education by 2030.”

Details about today’s $79 million in awards are provided below:

Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE)

A total of $19 million is awarded through the LINE fund for Florida College System institutions, school district postsecondary technical centers, charter technical centers, and independent nonprofit colleges or universities located and chartered in Florida with necessary accreditation requirements. The program provides matching funds on a dollar-to-dollar basis to participating agencies that partner with approved health care providers.

Funds may be used to award scholarships to students who meet in-state tuition residency requirements, recruit additional faculty, purchase equipment and support simulation centers to advance high-quality nursing education programs throughout Florida.

All eligible LINE applicants must also meet performance standards based on the prior year, including:

• A completion rate of at least 70% for certified nursing assistant (CNA) programs.
• A first-time National Council of State Boards of Nursing Licensing Examination (NCLEX) passage rate of at least 70% for licensed practical nurse, Associate of Science in nursing, and Bachelor of Science in nursing programs.

The full list of institutions receiving LINE funding include: AdventHealth University, Seminole State College, Daytona State College, Nova Southeastern University, Indian River County School District, Polk State College, Jacksonville University, Valencia College, Santa Fe College, The College of the Florida Keys, Bethesda College of Health Sciences, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Hillsborough Community College, Southeastern University, St. Petersburg College, Broward College, Barry University, Northwest Florida State College, South Florida State College, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, Indian River State College, Florida Southern College, Tallahassee Community College, Miami Dade College, University of Miami, and College of Central Florida

Prepping Institutions, Programs, Employers, and Learners through Incentives for Nursing Education (PIPELINE)

A total of $60 million has been distributed to school districts with licensed practical nursing programs ($20 million) and Florida College System institutions with licensed practical nursing and registered nursing programs ($40 million) through the PIPELINE program. Performance funds are based on the following criteria:

• The number of nursing education program completers, by program.
• The first-time NCLEX passage rate of the institution’s nursing education program completers, by program.
• Excellence among nursing education programs with an average first-time NCLEX passage rate above the national average.