Florida Senate - 2019 PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
Bill No. CS for SB 1308
Ì773850,Î773850
576-04085-19
Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Appropriations
(Appropriations Subcommittee on Education)
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to pathways to college and career
3 success; creating s. 1004.991, F.S.; requiring the
4 Commissioner of Education to conduct an annual review
5 of career and technical education offerings in the K
6 12 education system, career centers, and the Florida
7 College System; providing requirements for the annual
8 review; requiring the commissioner to annually provide
9 a report summarizing the annual review to the Governor
10 and the Legislature; providing requirements for the
11 report; requiring the State Board of Education to
12 adopt rules; amending s. 1007.23, F.S.; requiring the
13 statewide articulation agreement to provide for a
14 reverse transfer agreement; amending s. 1007.25, F.S.;
15 revising requirements for the award of a degree of
16 associate in arts; amending s. 1009.26, F.S.;
17 authorizing state universities or Florida College
18 System institutions to waive tuition and fees for
19 students who meet specified requirements; creating s.
20 1009.75, F.S.; establishing a scholarship program
21 within the Department of Education beginning with a
22 specified academic year; providing the purpose of the
23 program; providing student eligibility requirements
24 relating to the program; requiring the department to
25 create a web-based application; providing program
26 requirements; providing for disbursal of award funds;
27 providing that funding for the program is contingent
28 upon legislative appropriation; requiring the State
29 Board of Education and the Board of Governors to adopt
30 rules and regulations, respectively; providing an
31 effective date.
32
33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35 Section 1. Section 1004.991, Florida Statutes, is created
36 to read:
37 1004.991 Duties of the commissioner in reviewing career and
38 technical education offerings.—
39 (1) The Commissioner of Education shall conduct an annual
40 review of career and technical education offerings in the K-12
41 education system, career centers, and the Florida College
42 System, in consultation with the Department of Economic
43 Opportunity, CareerSource Florida, Inc., leaders of business and
44 industry, the Board of Governors of the State University System,
45 the Florida College System, school districts, and other
46 education stakeholders, to determine the alignment of existing
47 offerings with employer demand, postsecondary degree or
48 certificate programs, and professional industry certifications.
49 The review must identify career and technical education
50 offerings that are linked to occupations that are in high demand
51 by employers, require high-level skills, and provide middle
52 level and high-level wages. The review must include analyses of:
53 (a) Participating students and their educational outcomes,
54 including the following:
55 1. Academic achievement;
56 2. Attainment of industry certifications;
57 3. Program completion;
58 4. Applied learning experiences;
59 5. College credit attainment through the career and
60 technical education program, including dual enrollment or
61 articulation;
62 6. Postsecondary enrollment and credential attainment,
63 including enrollment in 4-year degree programs for Florida
64 College System students; and
65 7. Employment outcomes, including wages;
66 (b) Demographics of participating students by pathway and
67 credential attainment;
68 (c) Educational settings of the courses;
69 (d) Alignment with high-growth, high-demand, and high-wage
70 employment opportunities;
71 (e) Current and projected economic, labor, and wage data on
72 the needs of the state, regional and global economies, and
73 workforce;
74 (f) Alignment with certificate or degree programs offered
75 at the postsecondary level or professional industry
76 certifications;
77 (g) Employment outcomes, including wages, by career and
78 technical education program offerings;
79 (h) Apprenticeship and preapprenticeship offerings;
80 (i) Qualifications and specialized knowledge and expertise
81 of instructors and the opportunities for these educators to
82 upskill in the latest in-demand skills of employers; and
83 (j) The extent to which federal, state, and local funding
84 is used to foster career and technical education program success
85 and program efficiency.
86 (2) Using the findings from the annual review as provided
87 in subsection (1), the commissioner shall phase out K-12 career
88 and technical education offerings that are not aligned with the
89 needs of employers or do not provide program completers with
90 middle- or higher-wage jobs. Additionally, the commissioner
91 shall encourage school districts and Florida College System
92 institutions to offer new programs that are currently in demand
93 by employers but are not offered by school districts or Florida
94 College System institutions.
95 (3) By December 1 of each year, the commissioner shall
96 provide to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
97 Speaker of the House of Representatives a report summarizing the
98 following:
99 (a) The review’s findings pursuant to subsection (1);
100 (b) A list of existing career and technical education
101 programs by school or institution which are not aligned with
102 employer demand or do not provide students with an opportunity
103 to earn a living wage;
104 (c) A list of knowledge areas, skills, and competencies
105 employers demand which are not being provided through existing
106 career and technical education program offerings; and
107 (d) The commissioner’s recommendations to improve the
108 operational efficiency and student success in the state’s career
109 and technical education program offerings.
110 (4) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules pursuant
111 to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this section.
112 Section 2. Subsection (7) is added to section 1007.23,
113 Florida Statutes, to read:
114 1007.23 Statewide articulation agreement.—
115 (7) The articulation agreement must specifically provide
116 for a reverse transfer agreement for Florida College System
117 students enrolled in courses creditable toward an associate in
118 arts degree who transfer to a state university before earning an
119 associate in arts degree pursuant to s. 1007.25.
120 Section 3. Present subsection (12) of section 1007.25,
121 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (13), a new
122 subsection (12) is added to that section, and subsection (11) of
123 that section is amended, to read:
124 1007.25 General education courses; common prerequisites;
125 other degree requirements.—
126 (11) Students at state universities may request associate
127 in arts degrees certificates if they have successfully completed
128 the minimum requirements for the degree of associate in arts
129 (A.A.). The university must grant the student an associate in
130 arts degree if the student has successfully completed minimum
131 requirements for college-level communication and computation
132 skills adopted by the State Board of Education and 60 academic
133 semester hours or the equivalent within a degree program area,
134 including 36 semester hours in general education courses in the
135 subject areas of communication, mathematics, social sciences,
136 humanities, and natural sciences, consistent with the general
137 education requirements of this section and those specified in
138 the articulation agreement pursuant to s. 1007.23. Each student
139 enrolled in a university must be awarded an A.A. degree as
140 follows:
141 (a) If the student completed at least 25 percent of the
142 required semester hours toward the A.A. degree at a Florida
143 College System institution, the university must notify the
144 Florida College System institution of the student’s eligibility.
145 The institution shall verify eligibility, accept the credits
146 required for the A.A. degree, and award the degree.
147 (b) If the student did not complete at least 25 percent of
148 the required semester hours for the A.A. degree at a Florida
149 College System institution but completed at least 25 percent of
150 the semester hours toward the A.A. degree at the state
151 university, the state university must award the degree.
152 (12) If a student was previously enrolled in a state
153 university and has successfully completed the minimum
154 requirements for the A.A. degree as determined by the state
155 university, upon the student’s failure to enroll before his or
156 her graduation in a fall or spring semester, the student must be
157 awarded an A.A. degree, unless the student declines to receive
158 the degree. Each state university student who qualifies under
159 this subsection must be awarded an A.A. degree as follows:
160 (a) If the student completed at least 25 percent of the
161 required semester hours toward the A.A. degree at a Florida
162 College System institution, the university must notify that
163 Florida College System institution of the student’s eligibility.
164 The institution must verify eligibility, accept the credits
165 required for the A.A. degree, and award the degree.
166 (b) If the student did not complete at least 25 percent of
167 the required semester hours for the A.A. degree at a Florida
168 College System institution, but completed at least 25 percent of
169 the required semester hours toward the A.A. degree at the state
170 university, the state university must award the degree.
171 Section 4. Subsection (16) is added to section 1009.26,
172 Florida Statutes, to read:
173 1009.26 Fee waivers.—
174 (16) A state university or Florida College System
175 institution may waive tuition and fees for a student who was
176 enrolled in a state university or Florida College System
177 institution within the past 10 years or earlier, but who has not
178 reenrolled in the preceding 5 years and who successfully
179 completed all but the equivalent of 10 percent of the required
180 coursework for an associate or bachelor’s degree.
181 Section 5. Section 1009.75, Florida Statutes, is created to
182 read:
183 1009.75 Last Mile Scholarship program.—
184 (1) Beginning with the 2019-2020 academic year, the Last
185 Mile Scholarship program is established within the Department of
186 Education to annually award the cost of in-state tuition and
187 required fees to students classified as residents pursuant to s.
188 1009.21 who are in good standing at Florida College System
189 institutions and state universities and who are within 12 or
190 fewer credit hours of completing their first associate degree or
191 baccalaureate degree. Any student who has earned college credit
192 from a regionally accredited postsecondary institution within a
193 period of 8 academic years before the year in which the student
194 submits an application pursuant to subsection (2) is eligible to
195 participate in the program.
196 (2)(a) The Department of Education shall create a simple,
197 web-based, application to allow any eligible student to identify
198 his or her intent to enroll and complete his or her associate
199 degree or baccalaureate degree within 3 academic terms at one or
200 more Florida College System institutions or state universities
201 or through an online competency-based program at a regionally
202 accredited, not-for-profit university.
203 (b) The department shall refer the student to the intended
204 institution or university for continued processing of
205 eligibility, feasibility of reverse transfer, award status, and
206 enrollment. The participating Florida College System institution
207 or state university must determine the eligibility of each
208 referred student and must report that information to the
209 department on behalf of the student in a format prescribed by
210 the department.
211 (c) Once an eligible student has successfully passed the
212 course or courses for each term in which the student is enrolled
213 during the program period, the department shall disburse the
214 award funds to the participating institution or university. The
215 award amount may not exceed the difference between the student’s
216 full cost of attendance and his or her total financial aid,
217 excluding loans.
218 (3) Funding for the program specified under this section is
219 contingent upon legislative appropriation.
220 (4) The State Board of Education and the Board of Governors
221 shall adopt rules and regulations, respectively, to implement
222 this section, including, but not limited to, application
223 processes, priority degree fields for award recipients,
224 reporting processes, and fees.
225 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.