Senate Bill sb2622
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2622
By Senator Wise
5-1079A-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to career education; creating
3 the Florida Career Academies Network; providing
4 purposes of the network; providing for
5 different types of career academies;
6 establishing network structure and curriculum
7 requirements; establishing criteria for
8 certification and funding; providing for state
9 matching funds; providing approval and award
10 procedures; providing an effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. Florida Career Academies Network; purposes;
15 types of career academies; network structure and curriculum
16 requirements; criteria for certification and funding; state
17 matching funds; procedures.--The Department of Education shall
18 develop a statewide Florida Career Academies Network that
19 comprises career academies designed and operated in
20 collaboration with school districts, community colleges, and
21 employers.
22 (1) PURPOSES.--
23 (a) The primary purpose of the network of career
24 academies is to support significantly the efforts of this
25 state to attract, expand, and retain high-value targeted
26 industries.
27 (b) Additional purposes of the network are to:
28 1. Support regional economic development;
29 2. Respond to the critical workforce needs of
30 employers in this state;
31
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2622
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1 3. Provide young residents of this state with
2 unprecedented access to high-wage, high-demand careers;
3 4. Substantially improve high school academic
4 performance and graduation rates; and
5 5. Substantially increase college participation and
6 degree completion.
7 (2) ADVANCED CAREER ACADEMIES AND CAREER CERTIFICATION
8 ACADEMIES.--A career academy may be an advanced career academy
9 or a career certification academy, either of which must have
10 rigorous academic standards and employ research-proven
11 instructional methods.
12 (a) Advanced career academies shall prepare high
13 school juniors and seniors for successful completion of an
14 associate's degree at a community college through a seamlessly
15 integrated academic program.
16 (b) Career certification academies shall prepare high
17 school juniors and seniors for the successful completion of an
18 industry certification, occupational licensure, or
19 postsecondary adult vocational program at a community college
20 or a technical career center of a school district through a
21 seamlessly integrated academic program.
22 (3) STRUCTURE AND CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS.--
23 (a) The Florida Career Academies Network shall serve
24 as an essential part of the high school redesign efforts. Each
25 Florida career academy must be a small learning community in a
26 rigorous, career-themed school-within-a-school or wall-to-wall
27 school in which students receive foundational instruction in a
28 high-value career field in preparation for the successful
29 completion of an applicable certification, licensure, or
30 associate's degree upon transfer to a community college.
31 Employers must be significantly involved in the design,
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2622
5-1079A-07
1 curriculum content, and operation of career academies, each of
2 which must include a work-based learning component.
3 (b) During the 2 high school years of the program,
4 students shall be dual-enrolled in courses provided by a
5 community college and shall experience the many benefits of
6 work-based learning through career-relevant internships.
7 (c) Partnerships between business and education must
8 be developed in the design and operation of academic programs.
9 (4) CRITERIA FOR CERTIFICATION AND FUNDING.--In order
10 to be certified and funded as an academy member of the Florida
11 Career Academy Network, an academy partnership must:
12 (a) Be operated pursuant to a formal collaboration
13 agreement among a school district, a community college, and
14 employer organizations from the applicable industry.
15 (b) Involve a fully articulated design beginning in
16 the junior year of high school and concluding with the award
17 of industry certification, occupational licensure, a
18 postsecondary, vocational certificate, or an associate's
19 degree or a combination thereof.
20 (c) Include a definitive agreement between the school
21 district and the community college regarding the career
22 dual-enrollment courses that will be provided to all academy
23 students during their junior and senior years. Optional
24 academic or career dual-enrollment courses must also be
25 identified.
26 (d) Involve only academies that are designed and
27 operated in full conformance with all of the Career Academy
28 National Standards of Practice from the National Career
29 Academy Network.
30 (e) Admit only students who meet the requirements for
31 grade point average and academic skills assessed on the FCAT,
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2622
5-1079A-07
1 the college placement test, or similar assessments applicable
2 to the dual-enrollment courses that are standard to the
3 academy.
4 (f) Provide the opportunity for students at each
5 advanced career academy to secure applicable and appropriate
6 industry certifications and occupational licenses during the
7 course of the 4-year program.
8 (g) Be supported by an active advisory council of
9 employers which provides input and technical assistance
10 relative to all aspects of the program.
11 (h) Require students to participate in relevant and
12 valuable work-based learning activities.
13 (i) Provide for institutional articulation of
14 postsecondary adult vocational courses taken for credit as
15 part of a career certification academy to assist students,
16 when appropriate, to earn an associate degree upon graduation
17 from the academy.
18 (j) Provide for good articulation of the associate's
19 degree to ensure that students can pursue a baccalaureate
20 degree upon graduating from the academy.
21 (5) STATE MATCHING FUNDS.--To be eligible for state
22 matching funds, a designated career academy must meet the
23 criteria set forth in this section. The partnering entities
24 must secure local funds that may be matched by the state for
25 the development and implementation of each career academy
26 partnership.
27 (a) A career academy that has been certified by the
28 Department of Education is eligible to receive state matching
29 funds in the amount of $2 for each $1 of local funds raised
30 during the first 3 years of the academy's operation. The
31 department shall review the first 3 years of a certified
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2622
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1 career academy's operation, and, if they attest that a career
2 academy is meeting all applicable criteria, the academy is
3 eligible to continue receiving matching funds, but in the
4 amount of $1 in state funds for each $1 in local funds.
5 (6) APPROVAL AND AWARD PROCEDURES.--
6 (a) Initially, a partnership must be formed to create
7 an advanced career academy or career certification academy for
8 a specific targeted industry. The partnership must include:
9 1. Participating companies from the employer community
10 in the targeted industry, for example, several information
11 technology companies supporting an IT academy;
12 2. The school district and the designated high school
13 or high schools; and
14 3. The local community college.
15 (b) The partnership must create a career academy
16 strategic plan that specifies how the academy plans to meet
17 the criteria in this section and submit the plan to the
18 Department of Education. The department shall evaluate the
19 plan and must certify it if the plan meets all of the
20 criteria.
21 (c) After the plan has been certified, the partnership
22 shall begin to raise employer investment funds to support the
23 implementation and operation of the academy. Employer
24 contributions must be deposited in the community college
25 foundation bank account, and the community college president
26 shall certify those funds for state matching purposes in a
27 form and according to a deadline established by the
28 department.
29 (d) The department shall allocate matching funds to
30 each participating school district foundation or community
31 college foundation in accordance with the department's rules.
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2622
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1 Matching funds are available to qualified partnerships in a
2 given fiscal year until the amount appropriated by the
3 Legislature for that fiscal year has been exhausted. The
4 foundation that receives the matching funds shall be the
5 administrative and fiscal agent for the partnership's employer
6 contributions and matching funds. Funds may not be expended
7 before the three partners agree to the expenditure plan. Funds
8 may be allocated to the participating school district as
9 required for academy operations.
10 (e) Each partnership shall submit to the department a
11 progress report 6 months after the date on which the matching
12 funds were received and 1 year after the funds were received.
13 A partnership that remains in compliance with the criteria set
14 forth in this section may apply for matching funds in
15 subsequent years.
16 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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19 SENATE SUMMARY
20 Creates the Florida Career Academies Network and provides
purposes of the network. Designates the two types of
21 career academies, advanced career academies and career
certification academies, and states the goals for each
22 type. Establishes requirements for structure of the
network and for the curriculum. Sets criteria for
23 certification and funding. Provides guidelines for
granting state matching funds. Provides approval and
24 award procedures.
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