Lawmakers again will be asked to establish a series of steps aimed at helping nursing graduates pass their national licensing examinations and punishing programs whose graduates chronically underperform on those tests.
Florida ranks dead last among the 50 states in NCLEX passing rates, falling 6 percentage points below the 89% national average for first-time test takers in the second quarter of 2025, the Florida Center for Nursing reports. The problem lies squarely in the private, for-profit sector — all but one of Florida’s state universities are above 90% passage rates, and state colleges also perform well.
Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill passed last session that would have cracked down on poor-performing programs. It required programs on probation to provide students who fail the NCLEX with no-cost remediation and for programs with passage rates below 30% to refund students’ tuition and fees. Current law allows programs to miss the required passage rates for five years before being shut down. The vetoed bill would have cut that to three.
In vetoing it, DeSantis wrote that the bill “institutes bureaucratic overreach by allowing the Board of Nursing to impose a host of additional regulations on nursing programs and their directors” and would lead to programs teaching to the test “rather than training students to work in health care.”
State Sen. Gayle Harrell (R-Stuart) plans to refile her version of the bill for this January’s session, saying she would consult with the governor’s office to learn more about his concerns. “I am very happy to work with his office. I think we have got to do something. We cannot continue to be 50 out of 50 states. We need 60,000 new nurses” in Florida.
Her bill includes similar provisions to the vetoed bill, including a requirement that program directors whose students fall short of required passage rates give the state Board of Nursing a remediation plan, but it also establishes three-month “preceptorships.” The Florida Center for Nursing would be tasked with creating a temporary license for nursing graduates working under close supervision. They would take the NCLEX immediately after that intensive, hands-on work period.
Harrell also wants passage rates posted on nursing program websites, whether public or private. She has deep experience in health care, running a medical practice and formerly owning a mammogram center. Her bill should go far — the vetoed legislation passed the House 99-0 and the Senate 26-5.
The status quo, Harrell says, fails the state and the students.
“What you’re doing in that case is making money off the backs of people who are following their dreams and want to be successful. They are not successful, and oh by the way, have about an $80,000 debt when they come out and no job.”