| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to high school work experience; creating |
| 3 | s. 1003.496, F.S.; authorizing each district school board |
| 4 | to adopt policies and procedures for a High School to |
| 5 | Business Career Enhancement Program through which student |
| 6 | internships may be offered in each school district; |
| 7 | providing internship requirements; providing for the |
| 8 | number of internships employers may offer; requiring the |
| 9 | background screening of employees or contracted personnel |
| 10 | of employers participating in the program; clarifying that |
| 11 | employment of a student intern is not employment for |
| 12 | purposes of unemployment compensation; providing |
| 13 | rulemaking authority; providing an effective date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | WHEREAS, student learning outside of the classroom, as well |
| 16 | as student learning in the classroom, is critical to success |
| 17 | later in life, and |
| 18 | WHEREAS, high school student participation in an internship |
| 19 | may provide an experience that will cultivate a student's |
| 20 | interest or talent and may be used to supplement a student's |
| 21 | high school major, and |
| 22 | WHEREAS, participation in an internship can be a good |
| 23 | educational tool and provide employment opportunities after high |
| 24 | school or college graduation, and |
| 25 | WHEREAS, participation in an internship will increase the |
| 26 | connections of a high school student to business and the |
| 27 | community, and |
| 28 | WHEREAS, participation in an internship may be the |
| 29 | motivation to pursue higher education in a particular field, and |
| 30 | WHEREAS, partnerships between schools and employers that |
| 31 | offer internships to high school students will help employers |
| 32 | find and train workers and help young people prepare for success |
| 33 | in college, careers, and life, and |
| 34 | WHEREAS, employers benefit by training student interns in |
| 35 | their business methods and form a connection between the |
| 36 | employer and the student that may keep talented students in the |
| 37 | state, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 38 |
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| 39 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 40 |
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| 41 | Section 1. Section 1003.496, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 42 | to read: |
| 43 | 1003.496 High School to Business Career Enhancement |
| 44 | Program.-- |
| 45 | (1) This section may be cited as the "High School to |
| 46 | Business Career Enhancement Act." |
| 47 | (2)(a) Each district school board may adopt policies and |
| 48 | procedures for a High School to Business Career Enhancement |
| 49 | Program through which high school student internships may be |
| 50 | offered in each school district through partnerships developed |
| 51 | with employers within the communities served by the district |
| 52 | school board. Each internship shall include a student evaluation |
| 53 | by the employer at the end of the internship to monitor the |
| 54 | academic value of the internship using criteria established by |
| 55 | each district school board. |
| 56 | (b) A student participant may be in the ninth, tenth, |
| 57 | eleventh, or twelfth grade and must have a minimum weighted |
| 58 | grade point average of 2.0. |
| 59 | (c) A student participant may not be required to work more |
| 60 | than 20 hours per week during the internship. |
| 61 | (d) An internship shall be consistent with the career |
| 62 | goals of each student participant. |
| 63 | (e) An internship shall be at least 8 weeks long and may |
| 64 | not last more than 20 consecutive weeks during any school year. |
| 65 | (f) Each student may participate in only one internship |
| 66 | per school year. |
| 67 | (g) No more than 100 internships may be offered each |
| 68 | school year by a district school board. |
| 69 | (h) The number of internships that an employer may provide |
| 70 | under this program is limited by the number of employees that |
| 71 | the employer employs in the school district in which the |
| 72 | internship is offered. |
| 73 | 1. An employer with 10 or fewer employees may provide one |
| 74 | internship per school year. |
| 75 | 2. An employer with 11 to 20 employees may provide up to |
| 76 | two internships per school year. |
| 77 | 3. An employer with 21 to 50 employees may provide up to |
| 78 | three internships per school year. |
| 79 | 4. An employer with more than 50 employees may provide up |
| 80 | to four internships per school year. |
| 81 |
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| 82 | Employers may partner with more than one district school board; |
| 83 | however, the number of internships that may be provided within |
| 84 | each school district is subject to the limitations of this |
| 85 | paragraph. |
| 86 | (i) Any employees or contracted personnel of an employer |
| 87 | under this section who have direct unsupervised access to |
| 88 | student interns shall be subject to the level 2 background |
| 89 | screening requirements as described in s. 1012.32. The cost of |
| 90 | the state and national criminal history check required by level |
| 91 | 2 background screening must be borne by the employer. |
| 92 | (3) Employment under this section of a student intern who |
| 93 | meets the criteria of s. 443.1216(13)(q) is not employment for |
| 94 | purposes of unemployment compensation under chapter 443. |
| 95 | (4) The State Board of Education may adopt rules necessary |
| 96 | to administer this section. |
| 97 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |