| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to workplace skills of students; amending |
| 3 | s. 1004.99, F.S., relating to the Florida Ready to Work |
| 4 | Certification Program; providing for the award of a |
| 5 | Florida Ready to Work Credential; providing for levels of |
| 6 | credentials based on assessment scores; amending s. |
| 7 | 1003.428, F.S.; requiring a student to earn the credential |
| 8 | for high school graduation with a career or technical |
| 9 | major area of interest; amending s. 1009.536, F.S.; |
| 10 | requiring a student to earn the credential for receipt of |
| 11 | a Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award; amending s. |
| 12 | 445.004, F.S.; requiring Workforce Florida, Inc., and the |
| 13 | Department of Education to ensure consistent use of the |
| 14 | credential; providing an effective date. |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 17 |
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| 18 | Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section |
| 19 | 1004.99, Florida Statutes, is amended, subsection (4) is |
| 20 | renumbered as subsection (5), and a new subsection (4) is added |
| 21 | to that section, to read: |
| 22 | 1004.99 Florida Ready to Work Certification Program.-- |
| 23 | (3) The Florida Ready to Work Certification Program shall |
| 24 | be composed of: |
| 25 | (d) A Florida Ready to Work Credential certificate and |
| 26 | portfolio awarded to students upon successful completion of the |
| 27 | instruction. Each portfolio must delineate the skills |
| 28 | demonstrated by the student as evidence of the student's |
| 29 | preparation for employment. |
| 30 | (4) A Florida Ready to Work Credential shall be awarded to |
| 31 | a student who successfully passes assessments in Reading for |
| 32 | Information, Applied Mathematics, and Locating Information or |
| 33 | any other assessments of comparable rigor. Each assessment shall |
| 34 | be scored on a scale of 3 to 7. The level of the credential each |
| 35 | student receives is based on the following: |
| 36 | (a) A bronze-level credential requires a minimum score of |
| 37 | 3 or above on each of the assessments. |
| 38 | (b) A silver-level credential requires a minimum score of |
| 39 | 4 or above on each of the assessments. |
| 40 | (c) A gold-level credential requires a minimum score of 5 |
| 41 | or above on each of the assessments. |
| 42 | Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section |
| 43 | 1003.428, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 44 | 1003.428 General requirements for high school graduation; |
| 45 | revised.-- |
| 46 | (2) The 24 credits may be earned through applied, |
| 47 | integrated, and combined courses approved by the Department of |
| 48 | Education and shall be distributed as follows: |
| 49 | (b) Eight credits in majors, minors, or electives: |
| 50 | 1. Four credits in a major area of interest, such as |
| 51 | sequential courses in a career and technical program, fine and |
| 52 | performing arts, or academic content area, selected by the |
| 53 | student as part of the education plan required by s. 1003.4156. |
| 54 | Students may revise major areas of interest each year as part of |
| 55 | annual course registration processes and should update their |
| 56 | education plan to reflect such revisions. Annually by October 1, |
| 57 | the district school board shall approve major areas of interest |
| 58 | and submit the list of majors to the Commissioner of Education |
| 59 | for approval. Each major area of interest shall be deemed |
| 60 | approved unless specifically rejected by the commissioner within |
| 61 | 60 days. Upon approval, each district's major areas of interest |
| 62 | shall be available for use by all school districts and shall be |
| 63 | posted on the department's website. Beginning with students |
| 64 | entering grade 9 in the 2008-2009 school year, a student must |
| 65 | earn a Florida Ready to Work Credential as created under s. |
| 66 | 1004.99 in order to graduate with a career or technical major |
| 67 | area of interest. |
| 68 | 2. Four credits in elective courses selected by the |
| 69 | student as part of the education plan required by s. 1003.4156. |
| 70 | These credits may be combined to allow for a second major area |
| 71 | of interest pursuant to subparagraph 1., a minor area of |
| 72 | interest, elective courses, or intensive reading or mathematics |
| 73 | intervention courses as described in this subparagraph. |
| 74 | a. Minor areas of interest are composed of three credits |
| 75 | selected by the student as part of the education plan required |
| 76 | by s. 1003.4156 and approved by the district school board. |
| 77 | b. Elective courses are selected by the student in order |
| 78 | to pursue a complete education program as described in s. |
| 79 | 1001.41(3) and to meet eligibility requirements for |
| 80 | scholarships. |
| 81 | c. For each year in which a student scores at Level l on |
| 82 | FCAT Reading, the student must be enrolled in and complete an |
| 83 | intensive reading course the following year. Placement of Level |
| 84 | 2 readers in either an intensive reading course or a content |
| 85 | area course in which reading strategies are delivered shall be |
| 86 | determined by diagnosis of reading needs. The department shall |
| 87 | provide guidance on appropriate strategies for diagnosing and |
| 88 | meeting the varying instructional needs of students reading |
| 89 | below grade level. Reading courses shall be designed and offered |
| 90 | pursuant to the comprehensive reading plan required by s. |
| 91 | 1011.62(8). |
| 92 | d. For each year in which a student scores at Level 1 or |
| 93 | Level 2 on FCAT Mathematics, the student must receive |
| 94 | remediation the following year. These courses may be taught |
| 95 | through applied, integrated, or combined courses and are subject |
| 96 | to approval by the department for inclusion in the Course Code |
| 97 | Directory. |
| 98 | Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 1009.536, Florida |
| 99 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 100 | 1009.536 Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award.--The |
| 101 | Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award is created within |
| 102 | the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program to recognize and |
| 103 | reward academic achievement and career preparation by high |
| 104 | school students who wish to continue their education. |
| 105 | (1) A student is eligible for a Florida Gold Seal |
| 106 | Vocational Scholars award if the student meets the general |
| 107 | eligibility requirements for the Florida Bright Futures |
| 108 | Scholarship Program and the student: |
| 109 | (a) Completes the secondary school portion of a sequential |
| 110 | program of studies that requires at least three secondary school |
| 111 | career credits taken over at least 2 academic years, and is |
| 112 | continued in a planned, related postsecondary education program. |
| 113 | If the student's school does not offer such a two-plus-two or |
| 114 | tech-prep program, the student must complete a job-preparatory |
| 115 | career education program selected by Workforce Florida, Inc., |
| 116 | for its ability to provide high-wage employment in an occupation |
| 117 | with high potential for employment opportunities. On-the-job |
| 118 | training may not be substituted for any of the three required |
| 119 | career credits. |
| 120 | (b) Demonstrates readiness for postsecondary education by |
| 121 | earning a passing score on the Florida College Entry Level |
| 122 | Placement Test or its equivalent as identified by the Department |
| 123 | of Education. |
| 124 | (c) Earns a minimum cumulative weighted grade point |
| 125 | average of 3.0, as calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, on all |
| 126 | subjects required for a standard high school diploma, excluding |
| 127 | elective courses. |
| 128 | (d) Earns a minimum unweighted grade point average of 3.5 |
| 129 | on a 4.0 scale for secondary career courses comprising the |
| 130 | career program. |
| 131 | (e) Beginning with students entering grade 9 in the 2008- |
| 132 | 2009 school year, earns a gold-level Florida Ready to Work |
| 133 | Credential as created under s. 1004.99. |
| 134 | Section 4. Paragraph (j) is added to subsection (5) of |
| 135 | section 445.004, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 136 | 445.004 Workforce Florida, Inc.; creation; purpose; |
| 137 | membership; duties and powers.-- |
| 138 | (5) Workforce Florida, Inc., shall have all the powers and |
| 139 | authority, not explicitly prohibited by statute, necessary or |
| 140 | convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes as |
| 141 | determined by statute, Pub. L. No. 105-220, and the Governor, as |
| 142 | well as its functions, duties, and responsibilities, including, |
| 143 | but not limited to, the following: |
| 144 | (j) In partnership with the Department of Education, |
| 145 | ensuring consistent use of the Florida Ready to Work Credential |
| 146 | as created under s. 1004.99. |
| 147 | Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |