Your Voice Makes a Difference!
Your Voice Makes a Difference!
So, what happened with the dereg bill last week?
We talked a LOT about the #BeautyofEducation and how necessary education is for the success of beauty industry professionals and businesses. Unfortunately, House Bill 7047 passed out of committee. But not without significant discussion about how the severe cut in cosmetology and barbering education hours will impact the industry. Several legislators remarked that they had received many calls and emails about this – YOUR calls and emails. Legislators are hearing your concerns, and responding to your request for help. Your involvement has made a difference and it’s changing the conversation. We encourage you to contact the legislators on the committees hearing these bills! Click below for the legislators' names and contact information, and ask them NOT to support this legislation!!
What do we do next?
We keep going! House Bill 7047 has only one committee stop left and then it could go to the floor for a vote. Senate Bill 802 has two committee stops. Please continue to reach out to the legislators below and ask for their help. Share with them how important these education hours are to professional development and success. Here are some talking points you can use in your calls and emails:
- Florida’s hours for barbering and cosmetology specialty licenses are already some of the lowest in the country. Further reductions will compromise the safety of Florida citizens and the success of Florida students and business owners.
- The reduction in hours will reduce eligibility for federal aid and leave instructors with insufficient time to teach students the necessary skills on which they can build their careers.
- Regarding the Esthetic Industry, Florida is currently 58% BELOW the National Average of 620 required hours. To reduce to 165 hours would be an additional 37% reduction. This reduction will put our students behind their industry colleagues.
- Estheticians are increasingly more present in Dermatology and Plastic Surgery medical practices. Even at the present number of hours, schools are having significant difficulty placing students without providing additional training over and above the required hours. To cut the hours further will threaten the ability of these students to achieve solid career placement.
- Cutting hours will not create jobs. It will grant licenses to students and push them out into the marketplace without adequate skills and knowledge on which to build a thriving career. We would not lower the standards in other professions or areas of study and applaud our ability to have more people achieve that lower standard. We should not do that in regards to this profession.
- This will place the burden of training and the risk of client safety on the backs of our business owners. They will assume the cost of providing the training necessary to supplement the insufficient training the students will receive in school. It will also place the risk on the business owner if they hire someone who lacks the skill and training to safely and competently provide service to clients.
What else can I do?
Get the word out and share your experience. Share what your education has meant to you and don't forget to tag @FloridaRetail on twitter. Talk about how you feel the reduction of education hours will impact you and your industry. #BeautyofEducation
