Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 1458
By the Committee on Education Postsecondary; and Senator
DiCeglie
589-03066-25 20251458c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to apprenticeship and
3 preapprenticeship program funding; amending s.
4 446.032, F.S.; revising requirements for the uniform
5 minimum standards and policies governing
6 apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs and
7 agreements to include requirements for partnerships
8 between local educational agencies and apprenticeship
9 and preapprenticeship programs; revising the required
10 date for a specified report on apprenticeship and
11 preapprenticeship programs; revising the requirements
12 for such report; requiring the Department of Education
13 to develop a standard model contract template for
14 local educational agencies and apprenticeship and
15 preapprenticeship programs; providing requirements for
16 such template; providing requirements for local
17 educational agencies and apprenticeship and
18 preapprenticeship programs that enter into partnership
19 agreements; requiring the department to develop an
20 apprenticeship and preapprenticeship funding
21 transparency tool by a specified date; providing
22 requirements for such tool; amending s. 1011.80, F.S.;
23 providing requirements for District Workforce
24 Education Funding Steering Committee meetings;
25 providing requirements for certain workpapers;
26 authorizing such meetings to be held using
27 communications media technology; defining the term
28 “communications media technology”; requiring a
29 specified funding model to be provided to the
30 Legislature annually within a specified timeframe;
31 providing an effective date.
32
33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35 Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 446.032,
36 Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsections (5) and (6) are
37 added to that section, to read:
38 446.032 General duties of the department for apprenticeship
39 training.—The department shall:
40 (1)(a) Establish uniform minimum standards and policies
41 governing apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs and
42 agreements which must require training providers to submit data
43 necessary to determine program performance consistent with state
44 and federal law. The standards and policies:
45 1. Shall govern the terms and conditions of the
46 apprentice’s employment and training, including the quality
47 training of the apprentice for, but not limited to, such matters
48 as ratios of apprentices to journeyworkers, safety, related
49 instruction, and on-the-job training; but these standards and
50 policies may not include rules, standards, or guidelines that
51 require the use of apprentices and job trainees on state,
52 county, or municipal contracts.
53 2. Must allow an apprenticeship or preapprenticeship
54 program to partner with a local educational agency and determine
55 an equitable split of apprenticeship funding. The local
56 educational agency must ensure that all parties understand the
57 total amount of apprenticeship funding and allocations. The
58 terms of a partnership between an apprenticeship or
59 preapprenticeship program and a local educational agency must be
60 documented in an agreement or a contract. A local educational
61 agency may not impose additional fees or withhold additional
62 funds beyond the agreed upon amount in such agreement or
63 contract unless explicitly outlined to ensure financial clarity
64 and prevent unexpected costs for apprenticeship and
65 preapprenticeship program sponsors.
66 (b) The department shall Adopt rules necessary to
67 administer the standards and policies.
68 (2) By November 30 September 1 of each year, publish an
69 annual report on apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs.
70 The report must be published on the department’s website and, at
71 a minimum, include all of the following:
72 (a) A list of registered apprenticeship and
73 preapprenticeship programs, sorted by local educational agency,
74 as defined in s. 1004.02(18), and apprenticeship sponsor, under
75 s. 446.071.
76 (b) A detailed summary of each local educational agency’s
77 and apprenticeship or preapprenticeship program’s
78 responsibilities, costs, and expenditure of funds for
79 apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs, including, but
80 not limited to, all the following:
81 1. The total amount of funds received and expended for
82 apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs.
83 2. The total amount of funds received and allocated by
84 training provider, program, and occupation.
85 3. The total amount of funds expended for administrative
86 costs by training provider, program, and occupation, and the
87 total number of personnel hours required to administer each
88 apprenticeship and preapprenticeship program.
89 4. The total amount of funds expended for instructional
90 costs by training provider, program, and occupation.
91 (c) The number of apprentices and preapprentices per trade
92 and occupation.
93 (d) The percentage of apprentices and preapprentices who
94 complete their respective programs in the appropriate timeframe.
95 (e) Information and resources related to applications for
96 new apprenticeship programs and technical assistance and
97 requirements for potential applicants.
98 (f) Documentation of activities conducted by the department
99 to promote apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs through
100 public engagement, community-based partnerships, and other
101 initiatives and the outcomes of such activities and their impact
102 on establishing or expanding apprenticeship and
103 preapprenticeship programs.
104 (g) Retention and completion rates of participants
105 disaggregated by training provider, program, and occupation.
106 (h) Wage progression of participants as demonstrated by
107 starting, exit, and postapprenticeship wages at 1 and 5 years
108 after participants exit the program.
109 (5)(a) Develop a standard model contract template to be
110 used by local educational agencies and apprenticeship and
111 preapprenticeship programs. At a minimum, the contract template
112 shall include sections to address the following:
113 1. The parties to the contract.
114 2. The duration of the contract.
115 3. The funds paid or received pursuant to the contract.
116 4. The responsibilities assigned to each party to the
117 contract, including which party is responsible for providing
118 equipment, related technical instruction, and on-the-job
119 training; hiring instructors and evaluating such instructors’
120 credentials and qualifications; and providing administrative
121 support, including any reporting requirements.
122 5. A requirement that each party follow all applicable
123 federal and state laws and insurance requirements.
124 6. The execution of such contract.
125 (b) A local educational agency and an apprenticeship or
126 preapprenticeship program provider that partner to provide
127 apprenticeship or preapprenticeship education and training
128 programs must define their respective roles in the partnership
129 agreement and establish how the funding will be divided. The
130 partnership agreement must divide the funding based on the
131 responsibilities that the local educational agency and
132 apprenticeship or preapprenticeship program provider will hold
133 in the partnership agreement.
134 1. If the local educational agency does not provide
135 classroom space, related technical instruction, or on-the-job
136 training services, its role is deemed to be administrative only
137 and its funding share may not exceed 10 percent.
138 2. If the local educational agency and apprenticeship or
139 preapprenticeship program provider share the responsibilities of
140 providing administrative support, classroom space, related
141 technical instruction, and on-the-job training, the manner in
142 which the agency and provider divide the funding must be
143 directly tied to each of their responsibilities under the
144 partnership agreement.
145 (6) By July 1, 2026, develop an apprenticeship and
146 preapprenticeship funding transparency tool showing historical
147 funding amounts provided to school district and Florida College
148 System institution apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs
149 from workforce development funds and other funds appropriated by
150 the Legislature. The transparency tool shall be published on the
151 Department of Education’s website and shall include historical
152 funding amounts searchable by the source of funds, school
153 district, or Florida College System institution for the
154 preceding 3 fiscal years.
155 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section
156 1011.80, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
157 1011.80 Funds for operation of workforce education
158 programs.—
159 (7)(a) A school district or a Florida College System
160 institution that provides workforce education programs shall
161 receive funds in accordance with distributions for base and
162 performance funding established by the Legislature in the
163 General Appropriations Act. To ensure equitable funding for all
164 school district workforce education programs and to recognize
165 enrollment growth, the Department of Education shall use the
166 funding model developed by the District Workforce Education
167 Funding Steering Committee to determine each district’s
168 workforce education funding needs. Any District Workforce
169 Education Funding Steering Committee meeting held for the
170 purpose of taking action or recommending the workload for the
171 funding model used by the Department of Education shall be
172 publicly noticed 7 days in advance, be open to the public, and
173 provide a reasonable opportunity for public comment. All
174 workpapers shall be published and distributed at the time of
175 notice. Such meetings may be held using communications media
176 technology. For purposes of this paragraph, the term
177 “communications media technology” means telephone conference,
178 video conference, or other communications technology by which
179 all persons attending a public meeting or workshop may audibly
180 communicate. To assist the Legislature in allocating workforce
181 education funds in the General Appropriations Act, the funding
182 model shall annually be provided to the legislative
183 appropriations committees no less than 2 months before the start
184 of the regular session of the Legislature later than March 1.
185 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.