800,000 Reasons to Fight SB 918: How It Threatens Florida’s Black Youth
The bill could push Black kids from classrooms into exploitation. 13th & South speaks with the Florida Policy Institute and the bill’s sponsor, Senator Jay Collins, about what’s at stake.
In Florida, more than 800,000 Black children call this state home. While their futures should be grounded in learning, safety, and opportunity, they are currently being shaped by policies that experts say threaten to trade the classroom for the time clock.
A year after Gov. Ron DeSantis loosened child labor laws, state lawmakers now want to remove more limits. Senate Bill 918, introduced by Senator Jay Collins (R-Tampa), which cleared its first Florida Senate committee in March — comes as Gov. DeSantis says a younger workforce could be part of the solution to replacing “dirt cheap” labor from migrants in the country illegally.
“Why do we say we need to import foreigners, even import them illegally, when you know, teenagers used to work at these resorts, college students should be able to do this stuff,” DeSantis said last month during a panel discussion with President Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan.
Supporters call it a solution to labor shortages caused by anti-immigrant crackdowns. But policy experts warn it could pull Black and working-class youth out of classrooms and into jobs once held by undocumented workers.
“This could be the second year in a row that lawmakers roll back long-standing child labor protections,” Sadaf Knight, CEO of the Florida Policy Institute, tells 13th & South. “Black youth are among those who would be disproportionately impacted. Florida children deserve better from our Legislature.”
SB 918 and What It Means for Black Youth
Senate Bill 918 introduced in February, proposes sweeping changes to Florida’s child labor laws. Here are the key components:
Eliminates work-hour limits for 16- and 17-year-olds, including overnight shifts on school nights.
Expands exemptions allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work longer hours if they are homeschooled, enrolled in virtual school, have graduated early, or qualify based on economic hardship.
Eliminates required meal and rest breaks for 16- and 17-year-olds working 8+ hour shifts.
Rolls back Florida-specific safeguards, aligning with weaker federal labor laws.
Strips state oversight, shifting decisions to parents, schools, and employers.
With nearly a million Black children living in Florida, many of whom already face economic hardship and attend under-resourced schools, this bill could accelerate a dangerous pattern — one that prioritizes youth labor over youth learning.
According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Black youth are more likely to live in communities where labor is a necessity, not a choice. This bill gives employers the legal space to fill jobs vacated by deported immigrants with teenagers who may feel pressure to support their families and to schedule minors for unlimited hours without guaranteed breaks. For Black kids, this could mean sacrificing homework for overnight shifts and missing school for survival.
Moreover, child labor violations have surged nationally — rising 283% between 2015 and 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. In Florida, 209 violations were recorded in 2023 alone, with many found in sectors like food service and amusement, where Black and Brown teens are often overrepresented.
“The priority for state lawmakers should be improving the health and safety of Florida youth, not removing crucial labor law protections,” Knight says.
Research also shows that adolescents working more than 20 hours per week are at increased risk for academic struggles and school disengagement. Chronic absenteeism in Florida remains high, with nearly 20% of students missing 21 or more days in the 2023–24 academic year. This issue disproportionately affects Black students in the South. Laws like SB 918 could worsen that trend — pushing more students out of classrooms and deeper into labor pipelines.
From lost learning time to long-term health risks, the bill threatens to revive a familiar Southern pattern — positioning Black youth as laborers before learners.
What the Bill’s Sponsor Says
In a statement to 13th & South, Senator Jay Collins says that the legislation is about giving families more control — not less.
“This is about trusting parents — not government — with decisions about their own kids,” Collins says. “This bill gives families the freedom to decide when their teenagers can work, while still keeping basic guardrails in place.”
Sen. Collins also mentioned that the bill “removes the red tape that holds back motivated young people who want to work and build real-world experience.”
“There are no mandates in this bill just more options for families,” he adds. “It puts the choice back where it belongs: with the family not the government.”
Don’t Let This Southern Legacy Repeat Itself
Florida has long been a legislative trendsetter, especially in the South, where other states often follow its lead. Arkansas has rolled back teen work permit requirements, and Georgia and Kentucky have floated similar proposals. If SB 918 passes, it could signal to other Southern lawmakers that gutting child labor protections is fair game.
But the danger isn’t just legal or political — it’s deeply racial. As Florida cracks down on undocumented immigrant labor, the bill opens the door for Black teens to take a harmful place in low-wage jobs — a long, exploitative Southern legacy. This quietly recreates a racial labor pipeline we’ve seen before, where Black youth are steered into the most exhausting and least protected work. It shifts the burden of economic survival from one marginalized group to another — and frames it as an opportunity.
And civil rights advocates fought too hard to ensure that Black children could access classrooms, not work sites. SB 918 unfortunately risks undoing that legacy. If replicated, it could erode decades of progress in education equity and youth protection — pushing Black students out of school and back into the kinds of labor conditions previous generations fought to escape.
In a state already grappling with book bans, education censorship, and racial inequity, this bill adds fuel to a fire that’s been burning since Jim Crow.
Florida has at least 800,000 reasons to do better. The real question is — will we speak up for their future, or allow history to repeat itself?
13 & South is a new publication covering news, investigative stories, and insights on social justice, policy, and systemic inequities impacting Southern Black communities. I value your insights, and feedback and invite your perspectives to contribute to future issues. Please feel free to contact me here or follow me on my socials! LinkedIn, Twitter, IG, BlueSky, and Threads.
Quintessa, Florida's actions are unacceptable, and this is a deeply troubling piece. Rolling back child labor protections under the guise of 'freedom' is just a sanitized way of prioritizing profit over the well-being of Black and working-class youth. The history here is undeniable—Southern lawmakers have long found ways to funnel Black children into exploitative labor instead of investing in their education and futures. SB 918 isn’t about ‘opportunity’; it’s about replacing one marginalized workforce with another. We’ve seen this before, and we can’t afford to let history repeat itself. Thank you for shining a light on this.
This is heartbreaking. It seems to me that DeSantis only cares about white kids. Will his kids work??? When his children are working then he can propose this. Then I might believe that he cares. Oh right. I’ve forgotten. He doesn’t