| 1 | The Education Appropriations Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to postsecondary education; amending s. |
| 7 | 1001.44, F.S.; authorizing an articulation agreement for |
| 8 | delivery of associate in applied science degree programs |
| 9 | by career centers; providing requirements for use of the |
| 10 | designation "technical college"; providing a definition; |
| 11 | amending s. 1002.34, F.S.; providing for a charter |
| 12 | technical career center to use the designation "technical |
| 13 | college"; providing a definition; amending s. 1007.22, |
| 14 | F.S.; revising provisions relating to establishment of |
| 15 | interinstitutional mechanisms by public postsecondary |
| 16 | educational institutions; amending s. 1007.23, F.S.; |
| 17 | revising components of the statewide articulation |
| 18 | agreement; revising terminology; requiring the State Board |
| 19 | of Education to establish articulated career paths for |
| 20 | specific professions; requiring career paths to provide |
| 21 | credit for certain programs and experiential learning; |
| 22 | creating s. 1011.802, F.S.; establishing the School |
| 23 | District Career Center Facility Enhancement Challenge |
| 24 | Grant Program; authorizing a school district direct- |
| 25 | support organization to solicit funds and establish a |
| 26 | separate career center capital facilities matching account |
| 27 | for private contributions for instructional facility |
| 28 | construction projects; providing for match by state |
| 29 | appropriations; providing for a portion of the cost of a |
| 30 | facility construction project to be provided from a school |
| 31 | district's local capital funds; providing State Board of |
| 32 | Education requirements relating to capital outlay budget |
| 33 | requests for such projects; providing for reversion of |
| 34 | funds; requiring the Office of Program Policy Analysis and |
| 35 | Government Accountability to assess articulation |
| 36 | agreements and identify career center programs that may |
| 37 | articulate to certain degree programs; requiring |
| 38 | recommendations; providing an effective date. |
| 39 |
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| 40 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 41 |
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| 42 | Section 1. Subsection (4) is added to section 1001.44, |
| 43 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 44 | 1001.44 Career centers.-- |
| 45 | (4) DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD CAREER CENTER PROGRAM |
| 46 | DELIVERY.-- |
| 47 | (a) A district school board with an established career |
| 48 | center as part of the district school system may enter into an |
| 49 | articulation agreement for the delivery of specified associate |
| 50 | in applied science degree programs. |
| 51 | (b) A career center that offers a postsecondary adult |
| 52 | vocational program designed to articulate into an associate in |
| 53 | applied science degree program and enters into an articulation |
| 54 | agreement for the delivery of such an associate in applied |
| 55 | science degree program may use the designation "technical |
| 56 | college." |
| 57 | (c) For purposes of this subsection, "postsecondary adult |
| 58 | vocational program" is a job preparatory program, excluding |
| 59 | continuing workforce education, through which a student receives |
| 60 | a vocational certificate upon completion of instruction. |
| 61 | Section 2. Subsection (20) is added to section 1002.34, |
| 62 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 63 | 1002.34 Charter technical career centers.-- |
| 64 | (20) DESIGNATION AS A TECHNICAL COLLEGE.--A charter |
| 65 | technical career center that offers a postsecondary adult |
| 66 | vocational program designed to articulate into an associate in |
| 67 | applied science degree program and enters into an articulation |
| 68 | agreement for the delivery of such an associate in applied |
| 69 | science degree program may use the designation "technical |
| 70 | college." For purposes of this subsection, "postsecondary adult |
| 71 | vocational program" is a job preparatory program, excluding |
| 72 | continuing workforce education, through which a student receives |
| 73 | a vocational certificate upon completion of instruction. |
| 74 | Section 3. Subsection (3) of section 1007.22, Florida |
| 75 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 76 | 1007.22 Articulation; postsecondary institution |
| 77 | coordination and collaboration.-- |
| 78 | (3) Public postsecondary educational institutions serving |
| 79 | the same students in a geographic and service area are |
| 80 | encouraged to establish appropriate interinstitutional |
| 81 | mechanisms to achieve cooperative planning and delivery of |
| 82 | academic programs and related services, share a high-cost |
| 83 | instructional facility and equipment, coordinate credit and |
| 84 | noncredit outreach activities, have access to each other's |
| 85 | library and media holdings and services, and provide cooperative |
| 86 | campus activities and consultative relationships for the |
| 87 | discussion and resolution of interinstitutional issues and |
| 88 | problems which discourage student access or transfer. |
| 89 | Section 4. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 1007.23, |
| 90 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 91 | 1007.23 Statewide articulation agreement.-- |
| 92 | (1) The State Board of Education shall establish in rule a |
| 93 | statewide articulation agreement that governs: |
| 94 | (a) Articulation between secondary and postsecondary |
| 95 | education, including credit earned through high school career |
| 96 | and technical education majors and career academies; |
| 97 | (b) Admission of associate in arts degree graduates from |
| 98 | community colleges and state universities; |
| 99 | (c) Admission of applied technology diploma program |
| 100 | graduates from community colleges or career centers; |
| 101 | (d) Admission of associate in science degree and associate |
| 102 | in applied science degree graduates from community colleges; |
| 103 | (e) The use of acceleration mechanisms, including |
| 104 | nationally standardized examinations through which students may |
| 105 | earn credit; |
| 106 | (f) General education requirements and statewide course |
| 107 | numbers as provided for in ss. 1007.24 and 1007.25; and |
| 108 | (g) Articulation among programs in nursing; and. |
| 109 | (h) Admission of postsecondary vocational, technical, or |
| 110 | career certificate or diploma graduates from school district |
| 111 | career centers or charter technical career centers. |
| 112 | (3) The articulation agreement must guarantee the |
| 113 | statewide articulation of appropriate workforce education |
| 114 | development programs and courses between school districts and |
| 115 | community colleges and specifically provide that every applied |
| 116 | technology diploma graduate must be granted the same amount of |
| 117 | credit upon admission to an associate in science degree or |
| 118 | associate in applied science degree program unless it is a |
| 119 | limited access program. Preference for admission must be given |
| 120 | to graduates who are residents of Florida. By March 1, 2007, the |
| 121 | State Board of Education shall establish an articulated career |
| 122 | path for specific workforce education professions, including, |
| 123 | but not limited to, the program areas of criminal justice, |
| 124 | business, nursing, allied health, and early childhood education. |
| 125 | The career paths shall provide for the articulation of: |
| 126 | (a) Credit earned in vocational, technical, or career |
| 127 | certificate or diploma programs to associate in science degrees |
| 128 | or associate in applied science degrees. |
| 129 | (b) Credit earned in associate in science degree programs |
| 130 | to credit in baccalaureate degree programs. |
| 131 | (c) Credit awarded by public and private institutions. |
| 132 | (d) Credit for experiential learning associated with |
| 133 | minimum training requirements for employment. |
| 134 | Section 5. Section 1011.802, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 135 | to read: |
| 136 | 1011.802 School District Career Center Facility |
| 137 | Enhancement Challenge Grant Program.-- |
| 138 | (1) There is established the School District Career Center |
| 139 | Facility Enhancement Challenge Grant Program for the purpose of |
| 140 | assisting career centers in building high priority instructional |
| 141 | capital facilities consistent with s. 1001.44, including common |
| 142 | areas connecting such facilities. The direct-support |
| 143 | organizations that serve the school districts may solicit gifts |
| 144 | from private sources which are eligible for state matching funds |
| 145 | for capital facilities. For purposes of this section, private |
| 146 | sources of funds shall not include any federal, state, or local |
| 147 | government funds that a school district may receive. |
| 148 | (2) The School District Career Center Facility Enhancement |
| 149 | Challenge Grant Program shall provide funds to match private |
| 150 | contributions for the development of high priority instructional |
| 151 | capital facilities, including common areas connecting such |
| 152 | facilities, within the career centers. |
| 153 | (3) Within the direct-support organization of each school |
| 154 | district, a separate career center capital facilities matching |
| 155 | account must be established for the purpose of providing |
| 156 | matching funds from the direct-support organization's |
| 157 | unrestricted donations or other private contributions for the |
| 158 | development of high priority instructional capital facilities, |
| 159 | including common areas connecting such facilities. The |
| 160 | Legislature may appropriate funds for distribution to a school |
| 161 | district after matching funds are certified by the direct- |
| 162 | support organization and school district to the Department of |
| 163 | Education. The Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service |
| 164 | Trust Fund shall not be used as the source of the state match |
| 165 | for private contributions. |
| 166 | (4) A project may not be initiated unless all private |
| 167 | funds for planning, construction, and equipping the facility |
| 168 | have been received and deposited in the direct-support |
| 169 | organization's matching account and the state's share for the |
| 170 | minimum amount of funds needed to begin the project has been |
| 171 | appropriated by the Legislature. The Legislature may appropriate |
| 172 | the state's matching funds in one or more fiscal years for the |
| 173 | planning, construction, and equipping of an eligible facility. |
| 174 | However, these requirements shall not preclude the school |
| 175 | district or direct-support organization from expending available |
| 176 | funds from private sources to develop a prospectus, including |
| 177 | preliminary architectural schematics or models, for use in its |
| 178 | efforts to raise private funds for a facility. Additionally, any |
| 179 | private sources of funds expended for this purpose are eligible |
| 180 | for state matching funds if the project is awarded grant funds |
| 181 | under this section. |
| 182 | (5) To be eligible to participate in the School District |
| 183 | Career Center Facility Enhancement Challenge Grant Program, a |
| 184 | school district, through its direct-support organization, shall |
| 185 | raise contributions from private sources equal to one-third of |
| 186 | the total cost of a facility construction project. After raising |
| 187 | such contributions, the school district shall be eligible for a |
| 188 | match by a state appropriation equal to the amount raised for a |
| 189 | facility construction project up to one-third of the cost of the |
| 190 | project, subject to the General Appropriations Act. Another one- |
| 191 | third of the total cost must be provided from the school |
| 192 | district's local capital funds. |
| 193 | (6) If the state's share of the required match is |
| 194 | insufficient to meet the requirements of subsection (5), the |
| 195 | school district shall renegotiate the terms of the contribution |
| 196 | with the donors. If the project is terminated, each private |
| 197 | donation, plus accrued interest, shall revert to the direct- |
| 198 | support organization for remittance to the donor at the donor's |
| 199 | discretion. |
| 200 | (7) By September 1 of each year, the State Board of |
| 201 | Education shall transmit to the Legislature, in the capital |
| 202 | outlay budget request, a list of projects that meet all |
| 203 | eligibility requirements to participate in the School District |
| 204 | Career Center Facility Enhancement Challenge Grant Program and a |
| 205 | budget request that includes the recommended schedule necessary |
| 206 | to complete each project. |
| 207 | (8) In order for a project to be eligible under this |
| 208 | program, it must be survey-recommended under the provisions of |
| 209 | s. 1013.31, included in the school district's 5-year capital |
| 210 | improvement plan, and receive prior approval from the State |
| 211 | Board of Education. |
| 212 | (9) Any project funds that are unexpended after a project |
| 213 | is completed shall revert to the school district direct-support |
| 214 | organization's career center capital facilities matching |
| 215 | account. One-third of such unexpended funds shall be reserved |
| 216 | for the school district career center that originally received |
| 217 | the private contribution for the purpose of providing private |
| 218 | matching funds for future facility construction projects as |
| 219 | provided in this section. One-third of such unexpended funds |
| 220 | shall be returned to the General Revenue Fund. One-third of such |
| 221 | unexpended funds shall be returned to the school district. |
| 222 | (10) The surveys, architectural plans, facility, and |
| 223 | equipment shall be the property of the participating school |
| 224 | district. |
| 225 | Section 6. (1) As part of determining the appropriate |
| 226 | courses and programs for statewide articulation, the Office of |
| 227 | Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability shall |
| 228 | collect, review, and conduct an assessment of all existing |
| 229 | statewide articulation agreements and all existing articulation |
| 230 | agreements between school district career centers or charter |
| 231 | technical career centers and community colleges by September 30, |
| 232 | 2006. |
| 233 | (2) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government |
| 234 | Accountability shall use the information compiled pursuant to |
| 235 | subsection (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of local and |
| 236 | statewide interinstitutional articulation agreements and to |
| 237 | identify other postsecondary technical or career programs within |
| 238 | a school district career center or charter technical career |
| 239 | center that may articulate to an associate in science degree |
| 240 | program or an associate in applied science degree program on an |
| 241 | individual course or block basis for statewide |
| 242 | interinstitutional articulation agreements. By December 31, |
| 243 | 2006, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government |
| 244 | Accountability shall submit a report to the President of the |
| 245 | Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. |
| 246 | Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |