Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1688
By Senator Osgood
32-00981-24 20241688__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to career-themed courses; amending s.
3 1003.491, F.S.; revising the requirements for a
4 specified school district strategic plan to include
5 certain information; amending s. 1003.492, F.S.;
6 requiring the Department of Education to include
7 specified data in an annual review of K-12 and
8 postsecondary career and technical education
9 offerings; amending s. 1003.4935, F.S.; requiring
10 school districts to provide specified information to
11 students and parents during middle school course
12 selection; providing an effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 1003.491, Florida
17 Statutes, is amended to read:
18 1003.491 Florida Career and Professional Education Act.—The
19 Florida Career and Professional Education Act is created to
20 provide a statewide planning partnership between the business
21 and education communities in order to attract, expand, and
22 retain targeted, high-value industry and to sustain a strong,
23 knowledge-based economy.
24 (3) The strategic 3-year plan developed jointly by the
25 local school district, local workforce development boards,
26 economic development agencies, and state-approved postsecondary
27 institutions must be constructed and based on:
28 (a) Research conducted to objectively determine local and
29 regional workforce needs for the ensuing 3 years, using labor
30 projections as identified by the Labor Market Statistics Center
31 within the Department of Economic Opportunity and the Labor
32 Market Estimating Conference as factors in the criteria for the
33 plan;
34 (b) Strategies to develop and implement career academies or
35 career-themed courses based on occupations identified by the
36 Labor Market Statistics Center within the Department of Economic
37 Opportunity and the Labor Market Estimating Conference;
38 (c) Strategies to provide shared, maximum use of private
39 sector facilities and personnel;
40 (d) Strategies to ensure instruction by industry-certified
41 faculty and standards and strategies to maintain current
42 industry credentials and for recruiting and retaining faculty to
43 meet those standards;
44 (e) Strategies to provide personalized student advisement,
45 including a parent-participation component, and coordination
46 with middle grades to promote and support career-themed courses
47 and education planning;
48 (f) Alignment of requirements for middle school career
49 planning, middle and high school career and professional
50 academies or career-themed courses leading to industry
51 certification or postsecondary credit, and high school
52 graduation requirements;
53 (g) Provisions to ensure that career-themed courses and
54 courses offered through career and professional academies are
55 academically rigorous, meet or exceed appropriate state-adopted
56 subject area standards, result in attainment of industry
57 certification, and, when appropriate, result in postsecondary
58 credit;
59 (h) Plans to sustain and improve career-themed courses and
60 career and professional academies;
61 (i) Strategies to improve the passage rate for industry
62 certification examinations if the rate falls below 50 percent;
63 (j) Strategies to recruit students into career-themed
64 courses and career and professional academies which include
65 opportunities for students who have been unsuccessful in
66 traditional classrooms but who are interested in enrolling in
67 career-themed courses or a career and professional academy.
68 School boards shall provide opportunities for students who may
69 be deemed as potential dropouts or whose cumulative grade point
70 average drops below a 2.0 to enroll in career-themed courses or
71 participate in career and professional academies. Such students
72 must be provided in-person academic advising that includes
73 information on career education programs by a certified school
74 counselor or the school principal or his or her designee during
75 any semester the students are at risk of dropping out or have a
76 cumulative grade point average below a 2.0;
77 (k) Strategies to provide sufficient space within academies
78 to meet workforce needs and to provide access to all interested
79 and qualified students;
80 (l) Strategies to implement career-themed courses or career
81 and professional academy training that lead to industry
82 certification in juvenile justice education programs;
83 (m) Opportunities for high school students to earn weighted
84 or dual enrollment credit for higher-level career and technical
85 courses;
86 (n) Promotion of the benefits of the Gold Seal Bright
87 Futures Scholarship;
88 (o) Strategies to ensure the review of district pupil
89 progression plans and to amend such plans to include career
90 themed courses and career and professional academy courses and
91 to include courses that may qualify as substitute courses for
92 core graduation requirements and those that may be counted as
93 elective courses;
94 (p) Strategies to provide professional development for
95 secondary certified school counselors on the benefits of career
96 and professional academies and career-themed courses that lead
97 to industry certification; and
98 (q) Strategies to redirect appropriated career funding in
99 secondary and postsecondary institutions to support career
100 academies and career-themed courses that lead to industry
101 certification; and
102 (r) Strategies to inform and promote the career and
103 technical education opportunities available in the district to
104 students, parents, the community, and stakeholders.
105 Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 1003.492, Florida
106 Statutes, is amended to read:
107 1003.492 Industry-certified career education programs.—
108 (3) The Department of Education shall collect student
109 achievement and performance data in industry-certified career
110 education programs and career-themed courses as part of the
111 annual review required under s. 1003.491(5) that includes, but
112 need not be limited to, graduation rates, retention rates,
113 Florida Bright Futures Scholarship awards, additional
114 educational attainment, employment records, earnings, industry
115 certification, return on investment, and employer satisfaction.
116 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 1003.4935, Florida
117 Statutes, is amended to read:
118 1003.4935 Middle grades career and professional academy
119 courses and career-themed courses.—
120 (1) Beginning with the 2011-2012 school year, Each district
121 school board, in collaboration with local workforce development
122 boards, economic development agencies, and state-approved
123 postsecondary institutions, shall include plans to implement a
124 career and professional academy or a career-themed course, as
125 defined in s. 1003.493(1)(b), in at least one middle school in
126 the district as part of the strategic 3-year plan pursuant to s.
127 1003.491(2). The strategic plan must provide students the
128 opportunity to transfer from a middle school career and
129 professional academy or a career-themed course to a high school
130 career and professional academy or a career-themed course
131 currently operating within the school district. Students who
132 complete a middle school career and professional academy or a
133 career-themed course must have the opportunity to earn an
134 industry certificate and high school credit and participate in
135 career planning, job shadowing, and business leadership
136 development activities. The district shall inform students and
137 parents during course selection for middle school of the career
138 and professional academy or career-themed course available
139 within the district.
140 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.