| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to career and technical education in |
| 3 | public schools; providing for pilot projects in Broward |
| 4 | County, Duval County, Miami-Dade County, and Palm Beach |
| 5 | County which are designed to incorporate the elements of |
| 6 | career and technical education into the middle school |
| 7 | curriculum; providing goals for the pilot projects; |
| 8 | requiring that the Broward County District School Board, |
| 9 | the Duval County District School Board, the Miami-Dade |
| 10 | County District School Board, and the Palm Beach County |
| 11 | District School Board implement the pilot projects in a |
| 12 | certain number of middle schools within each of their |
| 13 | respective districts; authorizing each of the district |
| 14 | school boards to enter into a contract with a |
| 15 | postsecondary educational institution to carry out the |
| 16 | goals of the pilot projects; requiring that instructional |
| 17 | and administrative staff from each middle school selected |
| 18 | for a pilot project consult with their respective regional |
| 19 | workforce board to implement the projects; requiring that |
| 20 | each district school board and postsecondary educational |
| 21 | institution, if applicable, develop criteria and evaluate |
| 22 | each pilot project in consultation with the Council for |
| 23 | Education Policy Research and Improvement; requiring that |
| 24 | the council review the evaluations for the pilot projects |
| 25 | and submit a report to the Legislature by a specified |
| 26 | date; providing an effective date. |
| 27 |
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| 28 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 29 |
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| 30 | Section 1. (1) The purpose of this section is to |
| 31 | authorize the Broward County District School Board, the Duval |
| 32 | County District School Board, the Miami-Dade County District |
| 33 | School Board, and the Palm Beach County District School Board to |
| 34 | implement pilot projects that more clearly and systematically |
| 35 | incorporate the elements of career and technical education into |
| 36 | the middle school curriculum in order to achieve the following |
| 37 | goals: |
| 38 | (a) Exploring with middle school students how they can |
| 39 | successfully live and work in a culturally diverse world. |
| 40 | (b) Helping middle school students recognize their |
| 41 | interests, aptitudes, and abilities, and understand adult roles |
| 42 | in the world of work. |
| 43 | (c) Helping middle school students understand the broad |
| 44 | scope of work and career possibilities available currently and |
| 45 | in the future. |
| 46 | (d) Helping middle school students to broaden their |
| 47 | aspirations beyond the stereotypes of gender, socioeconomic |
| 48 | status, and ethnicity. |
| 49 | (e) Integrating career and technical education into the |
| 50 | general middle school academic curriculum in order to promote |
| 51 | intellectual development and the acquisition of higher-level |
| 52 | thinking and problem-solving skills. |
| 53 | (f) Assisting with middle school students' development of |
| 54 | social skills, personal values, and self-esteem. |
| 55 | (g) Working with the families of middle school students to |
| 56 | support their children's career aspirations. |
| 57 | (2) Beginning in the 2010-2011 school year, the Broward |
| 58 | County District School Board, the Duval County District School |
| 59 | Board, the Miami-Dade County District School Board, and the Palm |
| 60 | Beach County District School Board shall implement pilot |
| 61 | projects in at least two but no more than four middle schools in |
| 62 | each of their respective school districts. The district school |
| 63 | boards may enter into a contract with a postsecondary |
| 64 | educational institution to carry out the goals of the pilot |
| 65 | projects. The middle schools that are selected to participate in |
| 66 | the pilot projects shall be representative of both high and low |
| 67 | scoring schools as measured by the Florida Comprehensive |
| 68 | Assessment Test. All students who are enrolled in each of the |
| 69 | middle schools may participate in the pilot projects. |
| 70 | (3) Instructional and administrative staff from each |
| 71 | middle school selected for participation in the pilot project |
| 72 | shall consult with their respective regional workforce board, as |
| 73 | provided in s. 445.007, Florida Statutes, to develop and |
| 74 | implement each pilot project. The regional workforce board shall |
| 75 | provide technical assistance and resources to the middle schools |
| 76 | in order to achieve the goals provided in subsection (1). |
| 77 | (4) Each district school board and postsecondary |
| 78 | educational institution, if applicable, shall develop criteria |
| 79 | for evaluating each pilot project in consultation with the |
| 80 | Council for Education Policy Research and Improvement, created |
| 81 | in s. 1000.01, Florida Statutes. |
| 82 | (5) The council shall review each evaluation and submit a |
| 83 | report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the |
| 84 | House of Representatives by January l, 2012, regarding the |
| 85 | effectiveness of each pilot project, including recommendations |
| 86 | for implementing the projects on a statewide basis. |
| 87 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010. |