| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to career education in the public schools; |
| 3 | creating s. 1003.496, F.S.; providing for pilot projects |
| 4 | designed to blend into the middle school curriculum |
| 5 | elements of career education; providing goals of the pilot |
| 6 | projects; requiring an evaluation component; requiring the |
| 7 | Council for Education Policy Research and Improvement to |
| 8 | review the pilot projects and provide recommendations; |
| 9 | providing an effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Section 1. Section 1003.496, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 14 | to read: |
| 15 | 1003.496 Career education pilot projects.-- |
| 16 | (1) The purpose of this section is to enable the School |
| 17 | Board of Broward County and the School Board of Duval County to |
| 18 | implement pilot projects that clearly and systematically blend |
| 19 | into the middle school curriculum elements of career education |
| 20 | for the purpose of achieving the following goals: |
| 21 | (a) Exploring with middle school students how they can |
| 22 | successfully live and work in a culturally diverse world. |
| 23 | (b) Helping middle school students recognize their |
| 24 | interests, aptitudes, and abilities and understand adult roles |
| 25 | in the world of work. |
| 26 | (c) Helping middle school students understand the broad |
| 27 | scope of work and career possibilities available currently and |
| 28 | in the future. |
| 29 | (d) Helping middle school students to broaden their |
| 30 | aspirations beyond the stereotypes of gender, socioeconomic |
| 31 | status, and ethnicity. |
| 32 | (e) Integrating career education into the general middle |
| 33 | school academic curriculum in order to promote intellectual |
| 34 | development and the acquisition of higher-level thinking and |
| 35 | problem-solving skills. |
| 36 | (f) Assisting with the development of the social skills, |
| 37 | personal values, and self-esteem of middle school students. |
| 38 | (g) Working with the families of middle school students to |
| 39 | support their children's career aspirations. |
| 40 | (2) Beginning in the 2007-2008 school year, the School |
| 41 | Board of Broward County and the School Board of Duval County |
| 42 | shall implement pilot projects in at least two, and not more |
| 43 | than four, middle schools in each school district designed to |
| 44 | meet the goals in subsection (1). Middle schools selected shall |
| 45 | be representative of both high-performing and low-performing |
| 46 | schools as measured by student achievement on the FCAT. Each |
| 47 | pilot project may target all students in each middle school |
| 48 | selected for the pilot project. |
| 49 | (3) Middle school instructional and administrative staff |
| 50 | responsible for implementing each pilot project shall consult |
| 51 | with their respective regional workforce board for assistance in |
| 52 | developing each project and to obtain technical assistance and |
| 53 | resources to achieve the goals of the project. |
| 54 | (4) Each pilot project shall have an evaluation component |
| 55 | designed and conducted by the district school board, or designed |
| 56 | and conducted pursuant to a contract with a university school of |
| 57 | education, in consultation with the Council for Education Policy |
| 58 | Research and Improvement. |
| 59 | (5) The Council for Education Policy Research and |
| 60 | Improvement is responsible for reviewing each pilot project's |
| 61 | evaluation and providing a report by January l, 2009, to the |
| 62 | President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of |
| 63 | Representatives on the effectiveness of each pilot project with |
| 64 | recommendations and suggestions for expanding the programs |
| 65 | statewide. |
| 66 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |