| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Florida Work Experience Program; |
| 3 | amending s. 1009.77, F.S.; providing that certain students |
| 4 | in educator preparation institutes may participate in the |
| 5 | program; authorizing career centers that are operated by |
| 6 | district school boards to participate in the program; |
| 7 | lowering the minimum percentage of a participating |
| 8 | student's wages that must be reimbursed to employers; |
| 9 | prescribing requirements for career education programs |
| 10 | whose enrollees may participate in the work experience |
| 11 | program; providing an appropriation; providing an |
| 12 | effective date. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | WHEREAS, the public community colleges and school district |
| 15 | postsecondary career centers were created by the state to |
| 16 | provide affordable access to higher education for Florida's |
| 17 | residents, and |
| 18 | WHEREAS, students seeking certificate workforce programs |
| 19 | have no access to state need-based financial aid and must rely |
| 20 | on student loans and scholarships to finance their higher |
| 21 | education, and |
| 22 | WHEREAS, student debt has escalated at an unprecedented |
| 23 | level, causing students to owe large sums of money that often |
| 24 | are difficult to repay, especially with compounding interest, |
| 25 | and |
| 26 | WHEREAS, the State of Florida needs a trained workforce, |
| 27 | and between 70 percent and 80 percent of jobs for the future |
| 28 | will require education beyond high school but less than a |
| 29 | baccalaureate degree, and |
| 30 | WHEREAS, students who are willing to work for their need- |
| 31 | based financial aid in a field for which they are studying is of |
| 32 | benefit to the student, the employer, and the state, NOW, |
| 33 | THEREFORE, |
| 34 |
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| 35 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 36 |
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| 37 | Section 1. Subsections (1), (4), (5), and (6) of section |
| 38 | 1009.77, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 39 | 1009.77 Florida Work Experience Program.-- |
| 40 | (1) There is established the Florida Work Experience |
| 41 | Program to be administered by the Department of Education. The |
| 42 | purpose of the program is to introduce eligible students to work |
| 43 | experience that will complement and reinforce their educational |
| 44 | program and career goals and provide a self-help student aid |
| 45 | program. Such program shall be available to: |
| 46 | (a) Any student attending a state university or community |
| 47 | college authorized by Florida law or a career center operated by |
| 48 | a district school board; or |
| 49 | (b) Any student attending a nonprofit Florida |
| 50 | postsecondary education institution that is eligible to |
| 51 | participate in either of the student assistance grant programs |
| 52 | established in ss. 1009.51 and 1009.52; or. |
| 53 | (c) Any student enrolled in an educator preparation |
| 54 | institute who demonstrates financial need, even if he or she |
| 55 | already has an earned baccalaureate degree. |
| 56 | (4) The participating postsecondary educational |
| 57 | institution shall be responsible for reimbursing employers for |
| 58 | student wages from moneys it receives from the trust fund |
| 59 | pursuant to subsection (8). Public elementary or secondary |
| 60 | school employers shall be reimbursed for 100 percent of the |
| 61 | student's wages by the participating institution. All other |
| 62 | employers shall be reimbursed for up to 70 percent of the |
| 63 | student's wages. When a college or university employs a student |
| 64 | on campus through this program, other student financial aid |
| 65 | funds may not be used to fund the institution's 30-percent |
| 66 | portion of the student's wages. |
| 67 | (5) The employer is responsible for furnishing the full |
| 68 | cost of any mandatory benefits. Such benefits may not be |
| 69 | considered part of the 30-percent wage requirement total for |
| 70 | matching purposes. |
| 71 | (6) A student is eligible to participate in the Florida |
| 72 | Work Experience Program if the student: |
| 73 | (a) Is enrolled: |
| 74 | 1. In a postsecondary career education program comprising |
| 75 | 450 hours or more of instruction that is approved by the |
| 76 | Department of Education and offered through a career center |
| 77 | operated by a district school board, or through a community |
| 78 | college, as no less than a half-time student in good standing; |
| 79 | or |
| 80 | 2. At an eligible college or university as no less than a |
| 81 | half-time undergraduate student in good standing. |
| 82 |
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| 83 | However, a student may be employed during the break between two |
| 84 | consecutive terms or employed, although not enrolled, during a |
| 85 | term if the student was enrolled at least half time during the |
| 86 | preceding term and preregisters as no less than a half-time |
| 87 | student for the subsequent academic term. A student who attends |
| 88 | an institution that does not provide preregistration shall |
| 89 | provide documentation of intent to enroll as no less than a |
| 90 | half-time student for the subsequent academic term. |
| 91 | (b) Meets the general requirements for student eligibility |
| 92 | as provided in s. 1009.40, except as otherwise provided in this |
| 93 | section. |
| 94 | (c) Demonstrates financial need. |
| 95 | (d) Maintains a 2.0 cumulative grade point average on a |
| 96 | 4.0 scale for all postsecondary college work. |
| 97 | Section 2. For fiscal year 2007-2008, the sum of $500,000 |
| 98 | in recurring funds is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund |
| 99 | to the Florida Work Experience Program for community colleges |
| 100 | and postsecondary career centers operated by the school |
| 101 | districts for the purpose of providing need-based financial aid |
| 102 | to students working through this program. |
| 103 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |