Florida Senate - 2012 SB 1314
By Senator Gaetz
4-01002-12 20121314__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to career-themed courses; amending s.
3 1003.491, F.S.; revising provisions relating to the
4 Florida Career and Professional Education Act;
5 requiring that each district school board, in
6 collaboration with regional workforce boards, economic
7 development agencies, and postsecondary institutions,
8 develop a strategic 3-year plan addressing and meeting
9 local and regional workforce demands; authorizing
10 school districts to offer career-themed courses;
11 revising the requirements of the strategic 3-year plan
12 to include career-themed courses; revising the period
13 within which newly proposed core courses are to be
14 approved or denied by the curriculum review committee;
15 amending s. 1003.492, F.S.; revising provisions
16 relating to industry-certified career education
17 programs to conform to changes made by the act;
18 amending s. 1003.493, F.S.; providing a definition for
19 the term “career-themed course”; requiring that
20 students who complete career-themed courses receive a
21 standard high school diploma, the highest available
22 industry certification, and opportunities to earn
23 postsecondary credit if the career-themed course
24 credits can be articulated to a postsecondary
25 institution; providing goals of career-themed courses;
26 providing for career-themed courses to be offered in a
27 school-within-a-school career academy or a school
28 providing multiple career-themed courses structured
29 around an occupational cluster; providing requirements
30 for career-themed courses; requiring that strategies
31 to improve the passage rate on an industry
32 certification examination be included in the strategic
33 3-year plan under certain circumstances; requiring
34 that Workforce Florida, Inc., serve in a advisory role
35 in the development and deployment of newly established
36 career-themed courses; amending s. 1003.4935, F.S.;
37 revising provisions relating to middle school career
38 and professional academy courses to conform to changes
39 made by the act; amending s. 1011.62, F.S.; revising
40 provisions relating to the computation of the annual
41 allocation of funds to each school district for
42 operation; providing an effective date.
43
44 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
45
46 Section 1. Section 1003.491, Florida Statutes, is amended
47 to read:
48 1003.491 Florida Career and Professional Education Act.—The
49 Florida Career and Professional Education Act is created to
50 provide a statewide planning partnership between the business
51 and education communities in order to attract, expand, and
52 retain targeted, high-value industry and to sustain a strong,
53 knowledge-based economy.
54 (1) The primary purpose of the Florida Career and
55 Professional Education Act is to:
56 (a) Improve middle and high school academic performance by
57 providing rigorous and relevant curriculum opportunities;
58 (b) Provide rigorous and relevant career-themed courses
59 that articulate to postsecondary-level coursework and lead to
60 industry certification;
61 (c) Support local and regional economic development;
62 (d) Respond to Florida’s critical workforce needs; and
63 (e) Provide state residents with access to high-wage and
64 high-demand careers.
65 (2) Each district school board shall develop, in
66 collaboration with regional workforce boards, economic
67 development agencies, and postsecondary institutions approved to
68 operate in the state, a strategic 3-year 5-year plan to address
69 and meet local and regional workforce demands. If involvement of
70 a regional workforce board or an economic development agency in
71 the strategic plan development is not feasible, the local school
72 board, with the approval of the Department of Economic
73 Opportunity, shall collaborate with the most appropriate
74 regional business leadership board. Two or more school districts
75 may collaborate in the development of the strategic plan and
76 offer career-themed courses a career and professional academy as
77 a joint venture. The strategic plan must describe in detail
78 provisions for the efficient transportation of students, the
79 maximum use of shared resources, access to courses aligned to
80 state curriculum standards through virtual education providers
81 legislatively authorized to provide part-time instruction to
82 middle school students, and an objective review of career-themed
83 career and professional academy courses to determine if the
84 courses will lead to the attainment of industry certifications
85 included on the Industry Certified Funding List pursuant to
86 rules adopted by the State Board of Education. Each strategic
87 plan shall be reviewed, updated, and jointly approved every 3 5
88 years by the local school district, regional workforce boards,
89 economic development agencies, and state-approved postsecondary
90 institutions.
91 (3) The strategic 3-year 5-year plan developed jointly by
92 the local school district, regional workforce boards, economic
93 development agencies, and state-approved postsecondary
94 institutions shall be constructed and based on:
95 (a) Research conducted to objectively determine local and
96 regional workforce needs for the ensuing 3 5 years, using labor
97 projections of the United States Department of Labor and the
98 Department of Economic Opportunity;
99 (b) Strategies to develop and implement career-themed
100 courses career academies based on those careers determined to be
101 in high demand;
102 (c) Maximum use of private sector facilities and personnel;
103 (d) Strategies that ensure instruction by industry
104 certified faculty and standards and strategies to maintain
105 current industry credentials and for recruiting and retaining
106 faculty to meet those standards;
107 (e) Alignment of requirements for middle school and high
108 school career-themed courses career exploration, middle and high
109 school career and professional academies leading to industry
110 certification, postsecondary credit, and high school graduation
111 requirements;
112 (f) Provisions to ensure that career-themed courses offered
113 through career and professional academies are academically
114 rigorous, meet or exceed appropriate state-adopted subject area
115 standards, result in attainment of industry certification, and,
116 when appropriate, result in postsecondary credit;
117 (g) Strategies to improve the passage rate for industry
118 certification examinations if the rate falls below 50 percent;
119 (h) Establishment of student eligibility criteria for
120 enrollment in career-themed courses in career and professional
121 academies which include opportunities for students who have been
122 unsuccessful in traditional classrooms but who are interested in
123 enrolling in career-themed courses show aptitude to participate
124 in academies. School boards shall address the analysis of middle
125 school eighth grade student achievement data to provide
126 opportunities for students who may be deemed as potential
127 dropouts to enroll participate in career-themed courses career
128 and professional academies;
129 (i) Strategies to provide sufficient space within career
130 themed courses academies to meet workforce needs and to provide
131 access to all interested and qualified students;
132 (j) Strategies to implement career-themed courses career
133 and professional academy training that lead leads to industry
134 certification at Department of Juvenile Justice facilities;
135 (k) Opportunities for high school students to earn weighted
136 or dual enrollment credit for higher-level career and technical
137 courses;
138 (l) Promotion of the benefits of the Gold Seal Bright
139 Futures Scholarship;
140 (m) Strategies to ensure the review of district pupil
141 progression plans and to amend such plans to include career
142 themed career and professional courses and to include courses
143 that may qualify as substitute courses for core graduation
144 requirements and those that may be counted as elective courses;
145 and
146 (n) Strategies to provide professional development for
147 secondary guidance counselors on the benefits of career-themed
148 courses that lead to industry certification career and
149 professional academies.
150 (4) The State Board of Education shall establish a process
151 for the continual and uninterrupted review of newly proposed
152 core secondary courses and existing courses requested to be
153 considered as core courses to ensure that sufficient rigor and
154 relevance is provided for workforce skills and postsecondary
155 education and aligned to state curriculum standards. The review
156 of newly proposed core secondary courses shall be the
157 responsibility of a curriculum review committee whose membership
158 is approved by a regional workforce board the Workforce Florida
159 Board as described in s. 445.004, and shall include:
160 (a) Three certified high school guidance counselors
161 recommended by the Florida Association of Student Services
162 Administrators.
163 (b) Three assistant superintendents for curriculum and
164 instruction, recommended by the Florida Association of District
165 School Superintendents and who serve in districts that offer
166 career-themed courses operate successful career and professional
167 academies pursuant to s. 1003.492. Committee members in this
168 category shall employ the expertise of appropriate subject area
169 specialists in the review of proposed courses.
170 (c) Three workforce representatives recommended by the
171 Department of Economic Opportunity.
172 (d) Three admissions directors of postsecondary
173 institutions accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges
174 and Schools, representing both public and private institutions.
175 (e) The Deputy Commissioner of Education, or his or her
176 designee, responsible for K-12 curriculum and instruction. The
177 Deputy Commissioner shall employ the expertise of appropriate
178 subject area specialists in the review of proposed courses.
179 (5) The curriculum review committee shall submit and review
180 submission and review of newly proposed core courses shall be
181 conducted electronically, and approve or deny each proposed core
182 course shall be approved or denied within 30 60 days. All
183 courses approved as core courses for purposes of middle school
184 promotion and high school graduation shall be immediately added
185 to the Course Code Directory. Approved core courses shall also
186 be reviewed and considered for approval for dual enrollment
187 credit. The Board of Governors and the Commissioner of Education
188 shall jointly recommend an annual deadline for approval of new
189 core courses to be included for purposes of postsecondary
190 admissions and dual enrollment credit the following academic
191 year. The State Board of Education shall establish an appeals
192 process in the event that a proposed course is denied which
193 shall require a consensus ruling by the Department of Economic
194 Opportunity and the Commissioner of Education within 15 days.
195 Section 2. Section 1003.492, Florida Statutes, is amended
196 to read:
197 1003.492 Industry-certified career-themed courses career
198 education programs.—
199 (1) Career-themed courses must Career and professional
200 academies shall be coordinated with the relevant and appropriate
201 industry indicating that all components of the program are
202 relevant and appropriate to prepare a the student for further
203 education or for employment in that industry.
204 (2) The State Board of Education shall use the expertise of
205 Workforce Florida, Inc., to develop and adopt rules pursuant to
206 ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 for implementing an industry
207 certification process. Industry certification shall be defined
208 by the Department of Economic Opportunity, based upon the
209 highest available national standards for specific industry
210 certification, to ensure student skill proficiency and to
211 address emerging labor market and industry trends. A regional
212 workforce board or a school principal career and professional
213 academy may apply to Workforce Florida, Inc., to request
214 additions to the approved list of industry certifications based
215 on high-demand job requirements in the regional economy. The
216 list of industry certifications approved by Workforce Florida,
217 Inc., and the Department of Education shall be published and
218 updated annually by a date certain, to be included in the
219 adopted rule.
220 (3) The Department of Education shall collect student
221 achievement and performance data in industry-certified career
222 themed courses career education programs and shall work with
223 Workforce Florida, Inc., in the analysis of collected data. The
224 data collection and analyses shall examine the performance of
225 participating students over time. Performance factors shall
226 include, but not be limited to, graduation rates, retention
227 rates, Florida Bright Futures Scholarship awards, additional
228 educational attainment, employment records, earnings, and
229 industry certification, and employer satisfaction. The results
230 of this study shall be submitted to the President of the Senate
231 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives annually by
232 December 31.
233 Section 3. Section 1003.493, Florida Statutes, is amended
234 to read:
235 1003.493 Career-themed courses Career and professional
236 academies.—
237 (1) A “career-themed course” “career and professional
238 academy” is a course in an research-based program that
239 integrates a rigorous academic curriculum with an industry
240 specific curriculum aligned directly to priority workforce needs
241 established by the regional workforce board or the Department of
242 Economic Opportunity. Career and professional academies shall be
243 offered by Public schools and school districts shall offer
244 career-themed courses. The Florida Virtual School is encouraged
245 to develop and offer rigorous career-themed career and
246 professional courses as appropriate. A student who completes a
247 career-themed course Students completing career and professional
248 academy programs must receive a standard high school diploma,
249 the highest available industry certification, and opportunities
250 to earn postsecondary credit if the credits for career-themed
251 courses can be articulated to academy partners with a
252 postsecondary institution approved to operate in the state.
253 (2) The goals of a career-themed course career and
254 professional academy are to:
255 (a) Increase student academic achievement and graduation
256 rates through integrated academic and career curricula.
257 (b) Prepare graduating high school students to make
258 appropriate choices relative to employment and future
259 educational experiences.
260 (c) Focus on career preparation through rigorous academics
261 and industry certification.
262 (d) Raise student aspiration and commitment to academic
263 achievement and work ethics through relevant coursework.
264 (e) Promote acceleration mechanisms, such as dual
265 enrollment and, articulated credits credit, or occupational
266 completion points, so that students may earn postsecondary
267 credit while in high school.
268 (f) Support the state’s economy by meeting industry needs
269 for skilled employees in high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand
270 occupations.
271 (3) A career-themed course may be offered in one of the
272 following Existing career education courses may serve as a
273 foundation for the creation of a career and professional
274 academy. A career and professional academy may be offered as one
275 of the following small learning communities:
276 (a) A school-within-a-school career academy, as part of an
277 existing high school, which that provides courses in one
278 occupational cluster. Students who attend in the high school are
279 not required to attend be students in the academy.
280 (b) A total school configuration providing multiple career
281 themed courses that are academies, each structured around an
282 occupational cluster. The majority of students attending Every
283 student in the school also attend the is in an academy.
284 (4) A career-themed course Each career and professional
285 academy must:
286 (a) Consider Provide a rigorous standards-based academic
287 curriculum integrated with a career curriculum. The curriculum
288 must take into consideration multiple styles of student
289 learning; promote learning by doing through application and
290 adaptation; maximize relevance of the subject matter; enhance
291 each student’s capacity to excel; and include an emphasis on
292 work habits and work ethics.
293 (b) Include one or more partnerships with postsecondary
294 institutions, businesses, industry, employers, economic
295 development organizations, or other appropriate partners from
296 the local community. These Such partnerships shall be delineated
297 in articulation agreements to provide for career-themed career
298 based courses that earn postsecondary credit. The Such
299 agreements may include articulation between the career-themed
300 courses academy and public or private 2-year and 4-year
301 postsecondary institutions and technical centers. The Department
302 of Education, in consultation with the Board of Governors, shall
303 establish a mechanism to ensure articulation and transfer of
304 credits to postsecondary institutions in this state. The Such
305 partnerships must provide opportunities for:
306 1. Instruction from highly skilled professionals who
307 possess industry-certification credentials for courses they are
308 teaching.
309 2. Internships, externships, and on-the-job training.
310 3. A postsecondary degree, diploma, or certificate.
311 4. The highest available level of industry certification.
312 5. Maximum articulation of credits pursuant to s. 1007.23
313 upon program completion.
314 (c) Provide shared, maximum use of private sector
315 facilities and personnel.
316 (d) Provide personalized student advisement, including a
317 parent-participation component, and coordination with middle
318 schools to promote and support career-themed courses career
319 exploration and education planning as required under s.
320 1003.4156. As part of the coordination with middle schools,
321 career-themed courses must provide information to middle school
322 students about secondary and postsecondary career education
323 courses that lead to industry certification programs and
324 academies.
325 (e) Promote and provide opportunities for students enrolled
326 in career-themed courses career and professional academy
327 students to attain, at minimum, the Florida Gold Seal Vocational
328 Scholars award pursuant to s. 1009.536.
329 (f) Provide instruction in careers designated as high
330 growth, high demand, and high pay by the regional workforce
331 development board, the chamber of commerce, economic development
332 agencies, or the Department of Economic Opportunity.
333 (g) Deliver academic content through instruction relevant
334 to the career, including intensive reading and mathematics
335 intervention required by s. 1003.428, with an emphasis on
336 strengthening reading for information skills.
337 (h) Offer applied courses that combine academic content
338 with technical skills.
339 (i) Provide instruction resulting in competency,
340 certification, or credentials in workplace skills, including,
341 but not limited to, communication skills, interpersonal skills,
342 decisionmaking skills, the importance of attendance and
343 timeliness in the work environment, and work ethics.
344 (j) Include a plan to sustain and improve career-themed
345 courses career and professional academies.
346 (k) Redirect appropriated career funding to career-themed
347 courses career and professional academies.
348 (5) All career-themed career courses offered in a career
349 and professional academy must lead to industry certification or
350 college credit linked directly to the career theme of the
351 course. If the passage rate on an industry certification
352 examination that is associated with a career-themed course the
353 career and professional academy falls below 50 percent,
354 strategies to improve the passage rate must be included in the
355 strategic 3-year plan the academy must discontinue enrollment of
356 new students the following school year and each year thereafter
357 until such time as the passage rate is above 50 percent or the
358 academy is discontinued.
359 (6) Workforce Florida, Inc., through the secondary career
360 academies initiatives, shall serve in an advisory role and offer
361 technical assistance in the development and deployment of newly
362 established career-themed courses career and professional
363 academies.
364 Section 4. Section 1003.4935, Florida Statutes, is amended
365 to read:
366 1003.4935 Middle school career-themed career and
367 professional academy courses.—
368 (1) Beginning with the 2012-2013 2011-2012 school year,
369 each district school board, in collaboration with regional
370 workforce boards, economic development agencies, and state
371 approved postsecondary institutions, shall include plans to
372 implement career-themed courses a career and professional
373 academy in at least one middle school in the district as part of
374 the strategic 3-year 5-year plan pursuant to s. 1003.491(2). The
375 middle school career and professional academy component of the
376 strategic plan must ensure the transition of middle school
377 career and professional academy students enrolled in career
378 themed courses to a high school career-themed courses career and
379 professional academy currently operating within the school
380 district. Students who complete a middle school career-themed
381 courses career and professional academy must have the
382 opportunity to earn an industry certificate and high school
383 credit and participate in career planning, job shadowing, and
384 business leadership development activities.
385 (2) Each middle school career-themed course career and
386 professional academy must be aligned with at least one high
387 school career-themed course career and professional academy
388 offered in the district and maintain partnerships with local
389 business and industry and economic development boards. Middle
390 school career-themed courses career and professional academies
391 must:
392 (a) Lead Provide instruction in courses leading to careers
393 in occupations designated as high growth, high demand, and high
394 pay in the Industry Certification Funding List approved under
395 rules adopted by the State Board of Education;
396 (b) Offer career and professional academy courses that
397 Integrate content from core subject areas;
398 (c) Offer courses that Integrate career-themed course
399 career and professional academy content with intensive reading
400 and mathematics pursuant to s. 1003.428;
401 (d) Coordinate with high schools to Maximize opportunities
402 for middle school career and professional academy students
403 enrolled in career-themed courses to earn high school credit;
404 (e) Be offered Provide access to virtual instruction
405 courses provided by virtual education providers legislatively
406 authorized to provide part-time instruction to middle school
407 students. The virtual instruction courses must be aligned to
408 state curriculum standards for middle school career and
409 professional academy students, with priority given to students
410 who have required course deficits;
411 (f) Be taught by Provide instruction from highly skilled
412 professionals who hold industry certificates in the career area
413 in which they teach;
414 (g) Offer externships; and
415 (h) Provide personalized student advisement that includes a
416 parent-participation component.
417 (3) Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, if a school
418 district implements a middle school career-themed courses career
419 and professional academy, the Department of Education shall
420 collect and report student achievement data pursuant to
421 performance factors identified under s. 1003.492(3) for academy
422 students who are enrolled in career-themed courses.
423 Section 5. Paragraph (o) of subsection (1) of section
424 1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
425 1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual
426 allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each
427 district for operation of schools is not determined in the
428 annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing
429 the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as
430 follows:
431 (1) COMPUTATION OF THE BASIC AMOUNT TO BE INCLUDED FOR
432 OPERATION.—The following procedure shall be followed in
433 determining the annual allocation to each district for
434 operation:
435 (o) Calculation of additional full-time equivalent
436 membership based on certification of successful completion of
437 industry-certified career-themed courses career and professional
438 academy programs pursuant to ss. 1003.491, 1003.492, 1003.493,
439 and 1003.4935 and identified in the Industry Certified Funding
440 List pursuant to rules adopted by the State Board of Education.
441 A value of 0.1, 0.2, or 0.3 full-time equivalent student
442 membership shall be calculated for each student who completes an
443 industry-certified career-themed course career and professional
444 academy program under ss. 1003.491, 1003.492, 1003.493, and
445 1003.4935 and who is issued the highest level of industry
446 certification identified annually in the Industry Certification
447 Funding List approved under rules adopted by the State Board of
448 Education and a high school diploma. The maximum full-time
449 equivalent student membership value for any student is 0.3. The
450 Department of Education shall assign the appropriate full-time
451 equivalent value for each certification, 50 percent of which is
452 based on rigor and the remaining 50 percent on employment value.
453 The State Board of Education shall include the assigned values
454 in the Industry Certification Funding List under rules adopted
455 by the state board. Rigor shall be based on the number of
456 instructional hours, including work experience hours, required
457 to earn the certification, with a bonus for industry
458 certifications that have a statewide articulation agreement for
459 college credit approved by the State Board of Education.
460 Employment value shall be based on the entry wage, growth rate
461 in employment for each occupational category, and average annual
462 openings for the primary occupation linked to the industry
463 certification. The Such value shall be added to the total full
464 time equivalent student membership in career-themed courses
465 secondary career education programs for grades 9 through 12 in
466 the subsequent year for courses that were not funded through
467 dual enrollment. The additional full-time equivalent membership
468 authorized under this paragraph may not exceed 0.3 per student.
469 Each district must allocate at least 80 percent of the funds
470 provided for industry certification, in accordance with this
471 paragraph, to the program that generated the funds. Unless a
472 different amount is specified in the General Appropriations Act,
473 the appropriation for this calculation is limited to $30 $15
474 million annually. If the appropriation is insufficient to fully
475 fund the total calculation, the appropriation shall be prorated.
476 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.