On Friday, June 14, 2024, the Florida Governor signed Supported Decision-Making (SDM) into law! Florida joins the 23 other states and the District of Columbia that have passed SDM laws. Now that SDM is law, Florida courts must consider SDM before more restrictive options like guardianship or guardian advocacy. Notably, education law has also been amended to explicitly allow SDM agreements as a method by which students can provide informed consent to allow parental involvement in educational decisions after the age of 18.
What is Supported Decision-Making?
Supported Decision-Making is a process that we all use to make choices in our lives. Everyone needs help making decisions every day. So, we ask for help from friends, family members, advocates, and any other trusted person to help us understand. Once we get the information about what’s going on and what we need to do, we can make a good decision.
Supported Decision-Making can be formalized in an agreement where you detail all the areas in your life that you would like support in making your decisions. In the agreement, you can say who you want to support you in each area, and how you do and do not want to be supported. You can change the agreements at any time.
Congratulations to the self-advocates who made this possible! Disability Rights Florida is excited that Floridians with disabilities now have another meaningful alternative to guardianship.