A Model Red State: Florida in CPAC's 2025 State Ratings

The latest edition of the Florida CPAC Scorecard assesses 14 votes in the State House and 13 votes in the State Senate from the 2025 legislative session. Florida Republicans earned an average score of 88%, a 3% decrease from 2024. Democrats earned an average score of 27%.

The 2025 Florida legislative session featured a strong focus on strengthening individual freedom, parental authority, and state sovereignty. Lawmakers advanced major reforms on education choice, border enforcement, and election integrity, while also reining in local and bureaucratic overreach. Several key bills expanded rights for lawful gun owners, supported homeschooling and charter school autonomy, and took action to stop illegal immigration. Overall, the session underscored Florida’s continued commitment to personal responsibility, limited government, and the defense of core constitutional rights.

Protecting School Choice And Parental Authority

Through H 443, charter schools are granted more autonomy to adopt their own codes of student conduct (subject to parental approval), increased enrollment cap, and access to state data systems. This strengthens the ability of parents and schools to chart a path tailored to student needs over a one-size-fits-all public school model. Giving charter schools equal footing is consistent with the belief that educational freedom is critical to a free society. When state institutions prescribe conduct without parental input, the balance of power shifts from families to bureaucrats; H 443 adjusts that balance. The law promotes competition and innovation among schools, which tends to raise quality and reduce indoctrination risks. In short, it reinforces the concept that public funding should follow the learner, not the institution locked in place.

Youth Labor Freedom And Local Wage Regulation

With HB 1225, Florida barred cities and counties from imposing local minimum wages or contractor-preferences based on wages, and loosened minor hour restrictions (within federal limits). This is a clear affirmation that state and local governments should not restrict employment opportunities for young people via wage floors that price them out of work. By removing local wage mandates, Florida promotes a more dynamic job market and respects the liberty of individuals to negotiate terms rather than be regulated into unemployment. This kind of reform supports the idea that opportunities are best expanded when government steps aside and refrains from intruding.

Balancing access to public school sports and education freedom

SB 248, which allows homeschooled and certain private-school students to join public school sports teams, broadens the scope of choice and choice parity in education. This reform acknowledges that students outside the public school system should not be penalized by being shut out of extracurricular opportunities that are open to their peers. By removing arbitrary barriers, it gives families who choose homeschooling or private schooling a fair chance to engage in community and competition. This strengthens the free-market principle in education: that no matter the schooling pathway, students should have equal access to opportunities—not second-class status. It also enhances viable alternatives to traditional public schooling, which is consistent with promoting diversity of educational models and avoiding monopolistic systems. Allowing participation respects individual choice and supports the concept that education should empower families, not restrict them based on institutional labels.

Read the full brief here.