As recently as 2018, the average pay for Florida's teachers ranked only 26th in the nation. Recruiting and retaining quality educators is key to the success of our students and Representative Latvala wanted to ensure that Florida obtains the best teachers in the nation. As Chair of the House Appropriations Committee for K-12, he led the way in passing a budget that provided $500 million in new investment for teacher compensation. 

After the tragic shooting at Parkland Representative Latvala met and worked with the students to help their concerns to be addressed. In 2020, he helped Lori Alhadeff's mom honor her daughter Alyssa, who died at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School by passing Alyssa's Law. This law will increase security on school campuses by connecting teachers with an app on their phones that directly ties to the nearest law enforcement agency and signal them for help the moment a threat is detected.