Senate Bill sb1670

    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1670

    By Senator Argenziano





    3-767-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to course requirements for

  3         students in community colleges; amending s.

  4         1001.02, F.S.; providing that the required

  5         credit hours in general education courses must

  6         include civics instruction that focuses on

  7         North American national government; providing

  8         an effective date.

  9  

10  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

11  

12         Section 1.  Paragraph (d) of subsection (9) of section

13  1001.02, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

14         1001.02  General powers of State Board of Education.--

15         (9)  The State Board of Education shall prescribe

16  minimum standards, definitions, and guidelines for community

17  colleges and state universities that will ensure the quality

18  of education, coordination among the community colleges and

19  state universities, and efficient progress toward

20  accomplishing the community college and state university

21  mission. At a minimum, these rules must address:

22         (d)  Provisions for curriculum development, graduation

23  requirements, college calendars, and program service areas.

24  These provisions must include rules that:

25         1.  Provide for the award of an associate in arts

26  degree to a student who successfully completes 60 semester

27  credit hours at the community college.

28         2.  Require all of the credits accepted for the

29  associate in arts degree to be in the statewide course

30  numbering system as credits toward a baccalaureate degree

31  offered by a state university.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 1670
    3-767-04




 1         3.  Require no more than 36 semester credit hours in

 2  general education courses in the subject areas of

 3  communication, mathematics, social sciences, humanities, and

 4  natural sciences. At least one of the courses a student must

 5  take to satisfy the social sciences requirement must include

 6  civics instruction that focuses on North American national

 7  government. The required civics instruction applies to each

 8  student who enrolls in a community college for the first time

 9  in the fall semester of 2004 or thereafter.

10  

11  The rules should encourage community colleges to enter into

12  agreements with state universities that allow community

13  college students to complete upper-division-level courses at a

14  community college. An agreement may provide for concurrent

15  enrollment at the community college and the state university

16  and may authorize the community college to offer an

17  upper-division-level course or distance learning.

18         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

19  

20            *****************************************

21                          SENATE SUMMARY

22    Provides that the credit hours in general education
      courses which each student in a community college is
23    required to take must include civics instruction that
      focuses on North American national government.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.