Florida Senate - 2019 CS for SB 1308
By the Committee on Education; and Senator Perry
581-03248-19 20191308c1
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; providing requirements for
15 the reverse transfer agreement; amending s. 1007.25,
16 F.S.; requiring state universities to annually notify
17 their students of a specified provision of law;
18 amending s. 1009.26, F.S.; authorizing state
19 universities or Florida College System institutions to
20 waive tuition and fees for students who meet specified
21 requirements; providing an effective date.
22
23 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
24
25 Section 1. Section 1004.991, Florida Statutes, is created
26 to read:
27 1004.991 Duties of the commissioner in reviewing career and
28 technical education offerings.—
29 (1) The Commissioner of Education shall conduct an annual
30 review of career and technical education offerings in the K-12
31 education system, career centers, and the Florida College
32 System, in consultation with the Department of Economic
33 Opportunity, CareerSource Florida, Inc., leaders of business and
34 industry, the Board of Governors of the State University System,
35 the Florida College System, school districts, and other
36 education stakeholders, to determine the alignment of existing
37 offerings with employer demand, postsecondary degree or
38 certificate programs, and professional industry certifications.
39 The review must identify career and technical education
40 offerings that are linked to occupations that are in high demand
41 by employers, require high-level skills, and provide middle
42 level and high-level wages. The review must include analyses of:
43 (a) Participating students and their educational outcomes,
44 including the following:
45 1. Academic achievement;
46 2. Attainment of industry certifications;
47 3. Program completion;
48 4. Applied learning experiences;
49 5. College credit attainment through the career and
50 technical education program, including dual enrollment or
51 articulation;
52 6. Postsecondary enrollment and credential attainment,
53 including enrollment in 4-year degree programs for Florida
54 College System students; and
55 7. Employment outcomes, including wages;
56 (b) Demographics of participating students by pathway and
57 credential attainment;
58 (c) Educational settings of the courses;
59 (d) Alignment with high-growth, high-demand, and high-wage
60 employment opportunities;
61 (e) Current and projected economic, labor, and wage data on
62 the needs of the state, regional and global economies, and
63 workforce;
64 (f) Alignment with certificate or degree programs offered
65 at the postsecondary level or professional industry
66 certifications;
67 (g) Employment outcomes, including wages, by career and
68 technical education program offerings;
69 (h) Apprenticeship and preapprenticeship offerings;
70 (i) Qualifications and specialized knowledge and expertise
71 of instructors and the opportunities for these educators to
72 upskill in the latest in-demand skills of employers; and
73 (j) The extent to which federal, state, and local funding
74 is used to foster career and technical education program success
75 and program efficiency.
76 (2) Using the findings from the annual review as provided
77 in subsection (1), the commissioner shall phase out K-12 career
78 and technical education offerings that are not aligned with the
79 needs of employers or do not provide program completers with
80 middle- or higher-wage jobs. Additionally, the commissioner
81 shall encourage school districts and Florida College System
82 institutions to offer new programs that are currently in demand
83 by employers but are not offered by school districts or Florida
84 College System institutions.
85 (3) By December 1 of each year, the commissioner shall
86 provide to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
87 Speaker of the House of Representatives a report summarizing the
88 following:
89 (a) The review’s findings pursuant to subsection (1);
90 (b) A list of existing career and technical education
91 programs by school or institution which are not aligned with
92 employer demand or do not provide students with an opportunity
93 to earn a living wage;
94 (c) A list of knowledge areas, skills, and competencies
95 employers demand which are not being provided through existing
96 career and technical education program offerings; and
97 (d) The commissioner’s recommendations to improve the
98 operational efficiency and student success in the state’s career
99 and technical education program offerings.
100 (4) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules pursuant
101 to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this section.
102 Section 2. Subsection (7) is added to section 1007.23,
103 Florida Statutes, to read:
104 1007.23 Statewide articulation agreement.—
105 (7) The articulation agreement must specifically provide
106 for a reverse transfer agreement for Florida College System
107 associate in arts degree-seeking students who transfer to a
108 state university before earning an associate in arts degree. The
109 agreement must include, but is not limited to, the following
110 provisions:
111 (a) The state universities’ annual identification of
112 students, described under this subsection, who have completed
113 requirements for an associate in arts degree.
114 (b) The transfer of credits earned at the state university
115 back to the Florida College System institution.
116 (c) Provisions for the annual notification to students,
117 described under this subsection, of the reverse transfer policy.
118 Section 3. Subsection (11) of section 1007.25, Florida
119 Statutes, is amended to read:
120 1007.25 General education courses; common prerequisites;
121 other degree requirements.—
122 (11) Students at state universities may request associate
123 in arts certificates if they have successfully completed the
124 minimum requirements for the degree of associate in arts (A.A.).
125 The university must grant the student an associate in arts
126 degree if the student has successfully completed minimum
127 requirements for college-level communication and computation
128 skills adopted by the State Board of Education and 60 academic
129 semester hours or the equivalent within a degree program area,
130 including 36 semester hours in general education courses in the
131 subject areas of communication, mathematics, social sciences,
132 humanities, and natural sciences, consistent with the general
133 education requirements specified in the articulation agreement
134 pursuant to s. 1007.23. Universities must annually notify their
135 students of this provision.
136 Section 4. Subsection (16) is added to section 1009.26,
137 Florida Statutes, to read:
138 1009.26 Fee waivers.—
139 (16) A state university or Florida College System
140 institution may waive tuition and fees for a student who was
141 enrolled in a state university or Florida College System
142 institution within the past 10 years or earlier, but who has not
143 reenrolled in the preceding 5 years and who successfully
144 completed all but the equivalent of 10 percent of the required
145 coursework for an associate or bachelor’s degree.
146 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.