Florida Senate - 2016                                     SB 468
       
       
        
       By Senator Ring
       
       
       
       
       
       29-00061A-16                                           2016468__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to computer coding instruction;
    3         amending s. 1007.2616, F.S.; requiring high schools to
    4         offer computer coding courses; requiring the
    5         Commissioner of Education to identify the computer
    6         coding courses that may satisfy two credits of foreign
    7         language instruction under certain circumstances;
    8         requiring the inclusion of certain computer coding
    9         courses in the Course Code Directory; amending s.
   10         1009.531, F.S.; requiring a student to earn two
   11         credits in certain computer coding courses in order to
   12         be eligible for an initial award under the Florida
   13         Bright Futures Scholarship Program; requiring each
   14         district school board to submit a plan for a computer
   15         coding curriculum to the commissioner and the
   16         Legislature by a specified date; providing an
   17         effective date.
   18          
   19  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   20  
   21         Section 1. Present subsection (4) of section 1007.2616,
   22  Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (5), and a new
   23  subsection (4) is added to that section, to read:
   24         1007.2616 Computer science and technology instruction.—
   25         (4) High schools must provide students opportunities to
   26  take computer coding courses of sufficient rigor, as identified
   27  by the commissioner, such that two credits in such courses and
   28  the earning of a related industry certification may satisfy two
   29  credits of sequential foreign language instruction. Computer
   30  coding courses identified by the commissioner and computer
   31  coding courses taken to earn the related industry certification
   32  shall be included in the Course Code Directory.
   33         Section 2. Paragraph (g) is added to subsection (1) of
   34  section 1009.531, Florida Statutes, to read:
   35         1009.531 Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program;
   36  student eligibility requirements for initial awards.—
   37         (1) In order to be eligible for an initial award from any
   38  of the three types of scholarships under the Florida Bright
   39  Futures Scholarship Program, a student must:
   40         (g) Earn two credits in computer coding courses which meet
   41  the requirements of s. 1007.2616(4).
   42         Section 3. Each district school board shall develop a plan
   43  for a computer coding curriculum and must submit its plan to the
   44  Commissioner of Education, the President of the Senate, and the
   45  Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 1, 2017.
   46         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.