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