Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas joined Gov. Ron DeSantis at a bill-signing event at Jean Ribault High School on Friday, May 22, 2026. | Noah Hertz, Jacksonville Today
Published on May 22, 2026 at 1:50 pm
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Gov. Ron DeSantis traveled to Jean Ribault High School on Jacksonville’s Northside on Friday morning to sign two bills centered around the biggest supporters of high school athletics — coaches.
Citing a dire need to supplement coaches’ salaries, DeSantis signed Senate Bill 538 into law. That will allow school districts to supplement coaches’ pay with money raised by high school booster clubs.
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Another change allows districts to classify coaches as administrative personnel, separating them out from teachers when it comes to salaries and salary negotiations.
Outside Florida, it isn’t uncommon for high school football coaches to earn significantly more than their Florida counterparts. Many coaches often work all year even when they are not compensated for that entire period.
Florida Coaches Coalition Executive Director Andrew Ramjit says the new law is one his organization championed for years.
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He says the change will allow Florida’s coaches to be compensated in line with the hard work they perform.
“Today is validation for thousands of coaches who spent years feeling ignored, undervalued and pushed to the side within our public schools,” Ramjit said Friday morning. “For five years, our organization fought to have this issue of coaches compensation taken seriously.”
Helping coaches support students
The second bill DeSantis signed into law, Senate Bill 178, loosens restrictions on coaches’ ability to spend their own money on their students.
Dubbed the “Teddy Bridgewater Act,” the new law was inspired by the former Miami Dolphins quarterback’s suspension from his coaching job at Miami Northwestern High School.
According to WLRN, Bridgewater’s suspension came after the district found that he had spent thousands of dollars paying for students’ Uber rides and meals, something coaches are not allowed to do.
“Obviously it got the attention of some of our legislators in the Florida Legislature,” DeSantis said, “and so they passed the bill to now allow coaches to use personal funds, if they choose, to support their players with items like food, transportation, physical therapy and even rehabilitation services.”
DeSantis said the new law will help level the playing field for athletes who need a hand up the most.
“Student athletes often face challenges outside of school that can affect their ability to participate fully in athletics,” he said. “This legislation creates a structured and transparent way for coaches to provide assistance using their own personal funds, if they want to, with safeguards like parental consent, reporting minimums and then oversight.”
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Deputy Laveranues Coles spoke during the bill-signing event in support of the change. A Ribault alum himself, Coles is also a former NFL wide receiver who played with teams including the New York Jets.
He said he couldn’t believe that coaches who supported him as a high school student in Jacksonville could have violated state statutes.
“I was invested in by the entire community. Not only by coaches, teachers and everybody, from when we didn’t have the ability to have shoes, clothes on our back, the things that people take for granted on a daily basis,” Coles said. “Our coaches were there for us, all of our young kids in the community.”
Both new laws will go into effect July 1 of this year.
— Dan Scanlan contributed to this report
