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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to education; amending s. 1007.2616, 2
F.S.; requiring high schools to offer certain computer 3
science courses; requiring such courses to satisfy 4
specified instruction requirements; requiring Florida 5
College System institutions and state unive rsities to 6
recognize credits from such courses as foreign 7
language credits; requiring such courses to be 8
included in the Course Code Directory; amending s. 9
1009.53, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made 10
by the act; requiring the Department of Educati on to 11
include specified information in an annual 12
notification to certain individuals; amending s. 13
1009.532, F.S.; beginning in a specified academic 14
year, authorizing students who earn a Florida Gold 15
Seal Vocational Scholars award to enroll in certain 16
programs; amending s. 1009.533, F.S.; providing that 17
entities that operate apprenticeship programs are 18
considered a postsecondary education institution 19
eligible for participation in the program; amending 20
ss. 1009.534 and 1009.535, F.S.; authorizing students 21
to use a combination of volunteer service hours and 22
paid work hours to meet certain program eligibility 23
requirements; providing that paid work hours completed 24
on or after a specified date shall be used to meet 25
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certain program eligibility requirements; amendin g s. 26
1009.536, F.S.; authorizing the department to identify 27
aptitude tests students may use to demonstrate 28
readiness for postsecondary education for specified 29
purposes; authorizing students to use a combination of 30
volunteer service hours and paid work hour s to meet 31
certain program eligibility requirements; providing 32
that paid work hours completed on or after a specified 33
date shall be used to meet certain program eligibility 34
requirements; authorizing students who earn a Florida 35
Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award to enroll in 36
certain programs; providing an effective date. 37
38
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 39
40
Section 1. Subsections (7) and (8) of section 1007.2616, 41
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (8) and (9), 42
respectively, and a new subsection (7) is added to that section, 43
to read: 44
1007.2616 Computer science and technology instruction. — 45
(7) High schools must provide students opportunities to 46
take computer science courses of sufficient rigor, as identified 47
by the commissioner, such that two credits in such courses and 48
the earning of a related industry certification or technical 49
certificate satisfies two credits of sequential foreign language 50
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instruction. Florida College System institutions and state 51
universities must recognize the credits as foreign language 52
credits. Computer science courses identified by the commissioner 53
and computer science courses taken to earn the related industry 54
certification or technical certificate shall be included in the 55
Course Code Directory. 56
Section 2. Subsections (1), (3), and (6) of section 57
1009.53, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 58
1009.53 Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program. — 59
(1) The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program is 60
created to establish a lottery -funded scholarship program to 61
reward any Florida high school graduate who merits recognition 62
of high academic achievement and who enrolls in a degree 63
program, certificate program, or applied technology program , or 64
apprenticeship program, as defined in s. 446. 021(6), at an 65
eligible Florida public or private postsecondary education 66
institution. 67
(3) The Department of Education shall administer the 68
Bright Futures Scholarship Program according to rules and 69
procedures established by the State Board of Education. A single 70
application must be sufficient for a student to apply for any of 71
the awards. The department shall advertise the availability of 72
the scholarship program and shall notify students, teachers, 73
parents, certified school counselors, and principals or oth er 74
relevant school administrators of the criteria and application 75
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procedures. The notification must also include a list of 76
approved apprenticeship programs, eligible postsecondary 77
educational institutions, high -demand jobs and critical skill 78
sets in the state, and a wage breakdown of jobs in the state. 79
The department must begin this process of notification no later 80
than January 1 of each year beginning with a student's freshman 81
year. 82
(6) A student enrolled in 6 to 8 semester credit hours or 83
the equivalent clock hours may receive up to one -half of the 84
maximum award; a student enrolled in 9 to 11 credit hours or the 85
equivalent clock hours may receive up to three -fourths of the 86
maximum award; and a student enrolled in 12 or more credit hours 87
or the equivalent clock hours may receive up to the full award. 88
Section 3. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1), 89
subsection (2), and paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section 90
1009.532, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 91
1009.532 Florida Bright Futures Schol arship Program; 92
student eligibility requirements for renewal awards. — 93
(1) To be eligible to renew a scholarship from any of the 94
scholarships under the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship 95
Program, a student must: 96
(a) Effective for students funded in the 2009-2010 97
academic year and thereafter, earn at least 24 semester credit 98
hours or the equivalent clock hours in the last academic year in 99
which the student earned a scholarship if the student was 100
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enrolled full time, or a prorated number of credit hours or 101
clock hours as determined by the Department of Education if the 102
student was enrolled less than full time for any part of the 103
academic year. 104
(b) Maintain the cumulative grade point average or the 105
equivalent required by the scholarship program, except that: 106
1. If a recipient's grades fall beneath the average 107
required to renew a Florida Academic Scholarship, but are 108
sufficient to renew a Florida Medallion Scholarship, a Florida 109
Gold Seal CAPE Scholarship, or a Florida Gold Seal Vocational 110
Scholarship, the Department of Education may grant a renewal 111
from one of those other scholarship programs, if the student 112
meets the renewal eligibility requirements; or 113
2. For students initially eligible in the 2010 -2011 114
academic term and thereafter, if at any time during a student's 115
first academic year the student's grades or the equivalent are 116
insufficient to renew the scholarship, the student may restore 117
eligibility by improving the grade point average or the 118
equivalent to the required level. A student is eligible for such 119
a restoration one time. The Legislature encourages education 120
institutions to assist students to calculate whether or not it 121
is possible to raise the grade point average or the equivalent 122
during the summer term. If the education institution determines 123
that it is possible, the institution may so inform the 124
department, which may reserve the student's award if funds are 125
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available. The renewal, however, must not be granted until the 126
student achieves the requi red cumulative grade point average or 127
the equivalent. If the summer term is not sufficient to raise 128
the grade point average or the equivalent to the required 129
renewal level, the student's next opportunity for renewal is the 130
fall semester of the following ac ademic year. 131
(2) For students initially eligible in the 2010 -2011 132
academic term and thereafter, and unless otherwise provided in 133
this section, if a student does not meet the requirements for 134
renewal of a scholarship because of lack of completion of 135
sufficient credit hours or insufficient grades or the 136
equivalent, the scholarship shall be renewed only if the student 137
failed to complete sufficient credit hours or to meet sufficient 138
grade requirements or the equivalent due to verifiable illness 139
or other documented emergency, in which case the student may be 140
granted an exception from academic requirements pursuant to s. 141
1009.40(1)(b)4. 142
(3)(a) A student who is initially eligible in the 2023-143
2024 2012-2013 academic year and thereafter may receive an award 144
for a maximum of 100 percent of the number of credit hours 145
required to complete an associate degree program, a 146
baccalaureate degree program, or a postsecondary career 147
certificate program or, for a Florida Gold Seal Vocational 148
Scholars award, may receive an awar d for a maximum of 100 149
percent of the number of credit hours or equivalent clock hours 150
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required to complete one of the following at a Florida public or 151
nonpublic education institution that offers these specific 152
programs: for an applied technology diploma p rogram as defined 153
in s. 1004.02(7), up to 60 credit hours or equivalent clock 154
hours; for a technical degree education program as defined in s. 155
1004.02(13), up to the number of hours required for a specific 156
degree not to exceed 72 credit hours or equivalent clock hours; 157
or for a career certificate program as defined in s. 158
1004.02(20), up to the number of hours required for a specific 159
certificate not to exceed 72 credit hours or equivalent clock 160
hours; for an industry certification, up to the number of hours 161
required for a specific certificate not to exceed 36 credit 162
hours or equivalent clock hours; for a technical certificate, up 163
to the number of hours required for a specific certificate not 164
to exceed 15 credit hours or equivalent clock hours; for an 165
applied technology diploma, up to the number of hours required 166
for a specific diploma not to exceed 50 credit hours or 167
equivalent clock hours; for a career and technical certificate, 168
up to the number of hours required for a specific certificate 169
not to exceed 19 credit hours or equivalent clock hours; or for 170
an apprenticeship program, as defined in s. 446.021(6), up to 171
the number of credit hours or equivalent clock hours required 172
for a registered apprenticeship certificate of completion if the 173
student is not exempt from paying tuition and fees, including 174
lab fees, under s. 1009.25, and 100 percent of the tools, books, 175
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and materials necessary to complete the apprenticeship program 176
not to exceed $2,000 . A student who transfers from one of these 177
program levels to anothe r program level becomes eligible for the 178
higher of the two credit hour limits. 179
Section 4. Subsection (6) is added to section 1009.533, 180
Florida Statutes, to read: 181
1009.533 Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program; 182
eligible postsecondary education in stitutions.—A student is 183
eligible for an award or the renewal of an award from the 184
Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program if the student meets 185
the requirements for the program as described in this act and is 186
enrolled in a postsecondary education instit ution that meets the 187
description in any one of the following subsections: 188
(6) An entity that operates an apprenticeship program, as 189
defined in s. s. 446.021(6). 190
Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 1009.534, Florida 191
Statutes, is amended to read: 192
1009.534 Florida Academic Scholars award. — 193
(1) A student is eligible for a Florida Academic Scholars 194
award if he or she meets the general eligibility requirements 195
for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program and: 196
(a) Has achieved a 3.5 weighted gra de point average as 197
calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or its equivalent, in high 198
school courses that are designated by the State Board of 199
Education as college -preparatory academic courses and has 200
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attained at least the score required under s. 1009.531(6)( a) on 201
the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic 202
Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered 203
Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, 204
or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program; 205
(b) Has attended a home education program according to s. 206
1002.41 during grades 11 and 12, has completed the International 207
Baccalaureate curriculum but failed to earn the International 208
Baccalaureate Diploma, or has completed the Advanced 209
International Certific ate of Education curriculum but failed to 210
earn the Advanced International Certificate of Education 211
Diploma, and has attained at least the score required under s. 212
1009.531(6)(a) on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of 213
the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or 214
the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College 215
Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the ACT 216
Assessment Program; 217
(c) Has been awarded an International Baccalaureate 218
Diploma from the International Bac calaureate Office or an 219
Advanced International Certificate of Education Diploma from the 220
University of Cambridge International Examinations Office; 221
(d) Has been recognized by the merit or achievement 222
programs of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a 223
scholar or finalist; or 224
(e) Has been recognized by the National Hispanic 225
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Recognition Program as a scholar recipient. 226
227
The student must complete a program of volunteer service or, 228
beginning with a high school student graduating in the 2022 -2023 229
academic year and thereafter, paid work, as approved by the 230
district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic school, 231
or the Department of Education for home education program 232
students, which must include 100 hours of volunteer service , or 233
paid work, or a combination of both. Eligible paid work 234
completed on or after June 27, 2022, shall be included in the 235
student's total of paid work hours . The student may identify a 236
social or civic issue or a professional area that interests him 237
or her and develop a pla n for his or her personal involvement in 238
addressing the issue or learning about the area. The student 239
must, through papers or other presentations, evaluate and 240
reflect upon his or her volunteer service or paid work 241
experience. Such volunteer service or pai d work may include, but 242
is not limited to, a business or governmental internship, work 243
for a nonprofit community service organization, or activities on 244
behalf of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer 245
service or paid work must be documented in writing, and the 246
document must be signed by the student, the student's parent or 247
guardian, and a representative of the organization for which the 248
student performed the volunteer service or paid work. 249
Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 1009.535, Fl orida 250
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Statutes, is amended to read: 251
1009.535 Florida Medallion Scholars award. — 252
(1) A student is eligible for a Florida Medallion Scholars 253
award if he or she meets the general eligibility requirements 254
for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program and: 255
(a) Has achieved a weighted grade point average of 3.0 as 256
calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or the equivalent, in high 257
school courses that are designated by the State Board of 258
Education as college -preparatory academic courses and has 259
attained at least the score required under s. 1009.531(6)(b) on 260
the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic 261
Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered 262
Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, 263
or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program; 264
(b) Has completed the International Baccalaureate 265
curriculum but failed to earn the International Baccalaureate 266
Diploma or has completed the Advanced International Certificate 267
of Education curriculum but failed to e arn the Advanced 268
International Certificate of Education Diploma, and has attained 269
at least the score required under s. 1009.531(6)(b) on the 270
combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic 271
Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the rece ntered 272
Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, 273
or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program; 274
(c) Has attended a home education program according to s. 275
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1002.41 during grades 11 and 12 and has attained at least the 276
score required under s. 1009.531(6)(b) on the combined verbal 277
and quantitative parts of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the 278
Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered Scholastic 279
Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, or an 280
equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program; 281
(d) Has been recognized by the merit or achievement 282
program of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a 283
scholar or finalist but has not completed the program of 284
volunteer service or paid work required under s. 1009.534; or 285
(e) Has been recognized by the National Hispanic 286
Recognition Program as a scholar, but has not completed the 287
program of volunteer service or paid work required under s. 288
1009.534. 289
290
A high school student must complete a program at least 75 hours 291
of volunteer service or, beginning with a high school student 292
graduating in the 2022 -2023 academic year and thereafter, 100 293
hours of paid work approved by the district school board, the 294
administrators of a nonpublic school, or the Department of 295
Education for home educa tion program students , which must 296
include 75 hours of volunteer service, 100 hours of paid work, 297
or 100 hours of a combination of both. Eligible paid work 298
completed on or after June 27, 2022, shall be included in a 299
student's total of required paid work hou rs. The student may 300
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identify a social or civic issue or a professional area that 301
interests him or her and develop a plan for his or her personal 302
involvement in addressing the issue or learning about the area. 303
The student must, through papers or other prese ntations, 304
evaluate and reflect upon his or her volunteer service or paid 305
work experience. Such volunteer service or paid work may 306
include, but is not limited to, a business or governmental 307
internship, work for a nonprofit community service organization, 308
or activities on behalf of a candidate for public office. The 309
hours of volunteer service or paid work must be documented in 310
writing, and the document must be signed by the student, the 311
student's parent or guardian, and a representative of the 312
organization for which the student performed the volunteer 313
service or paid work. 314
Section 7. Paragraphs (b) and (e) of subsection (1), 315
paragraph (b) of subsection (2), and paragraph (a) of subsection 316
(5) of section 1009.536, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 317
1009.536 Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars and Florida 318
Gold Seal CAPE Scholars awards. —The Florida Gold Seal Vocational 319
Scholars award and the Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars award are 320
created within the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program to 321
recognize and reward academic achievement and career preparation 322
by high school students who wish to continue their education. 323
(1) A student is eligible for a Florida Gold Seal 324
Vocational Scholars award if he or she meets the general 325
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eligibility requireme nts for the Florida Bright Futures 326
Scholarship Program and: 327
(b) Demonstrates readiness for postsecondary education by 328
earning a passing score on : 329
1. The Florida College Entry Level Placement Test or its 330
equivalent as identified by the Department of Edu cation; or 331
2. Other aptitude tests identified by the department, 332
including, but not limited to, the Armed Services Vocational 333
Aptitude Battery and ACT WorkKeys Assessments . 334
(e) Completes at least 30 hours of volunteer service or, 335
beginning with high sc hool students graduating in the 2022 -2023 336
academic year and thereafter, 100 hours of paid work, approved 337
by the district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic 338
school, or the Department of Education for home education 339
program students, or 100 hours of a combination of both. 340
Eligible paid work completed on or after June 27, 2022, shall be 341
included in a student's total of required paid work hours . The 342
student may identify a social or civic issue or a professional 343
area that interests him or her an d develop a plan for his or her 344
personal involvement in addressing the issue or learning about 345
the area. The student must, through papers or other 346
presentations, evaluate and reflect upon his or her volunteer 347
service or paid work experience. Such volunteer service or paid 348
work may include, but is not limited to, a business or 349
governmental internship, work for a nonprofit community service 350
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organization, or activities on behalf of a candidate for public 351
office. The hours of volunteer service or paid work must be 352
documented in writing, and the document must be signed by the 353
student, the student's parent or guardian, and a representative 354
of the organization for which the student performed the 355
volunteer service or paid work. 356
(2) A student is eligible for a Flor ida Gold Seal CAPE 357
Scholars award if he or she meets the general eligibility 358
requirements for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program, 359
and the student: 360
(b) Completes at least 30 hours of volunteer service or, 361
beginning with a high school student g raduating in the 2022 -2023 362
academic year and thereafter, 100 hours of paid work, approved 363
by the district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic 364
school, or the Department of Education for home education 365
program students, or 100 hours of a combinat ion of both. 366
Eligible paid work completed on or after June 27, 2022, shall be 367
included in a student's total required paid work hours . The 368
student may identify a social or civic issue or a professional 369
area that interests him or her and develop a plan for h is or her 370
personal involvement in addressing the issue or learning about 371
the area. The student must, through papers or other 372
presentations, evaluate and reflect upon his or her experience. 373
Such volunteer service or paid work may include, but is not 374
limited to, a business or governmental internship, work for a 375
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nonprofit community service organization, or activities on 376
behalf of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer 377
service or paid work must be documented in writing, and the 378
document must be signed by the student, the student's parent or 379
guardian, and a representative of the organization for which the 380
student performed the volunteer service or paid work. 381
(5)(a) A student who is initially eligible in the 2023-382
2024 2012-2013 academic year and thereafter may earn a Florida 383
Gold Seal Vocational Scholarship for a maximum of 100 percent of 384
the number of credit hours or equivalent clock hours required to 385
complete one of the following at a Florida public or nonpublic 386
education institution that offers these specific programs: for 387
an applied technology diploma program as defined in s. 388
1004.02(7), up to 60 credit hours or equivalent clock hours; for 389
a technical degree education program as defined in s. 390
1004.02(13), up to the number of hours required for a specific 391
degree not to exceed 72 credit hours or equivalent clock hours; 392
or for a career certificate program as defined in s. 393
1004.02(20), up to the number of hours required for a specific 394
certificate not to exceed 72 credit hours or equivalent clock 395
hours; for an industry certification, up to the number of hours 396
required for a specific certificate not to exceed 36 credit 397
hours or equivalent clock hours; for a technical certificate, up 398
to the number of hours required for a specific certificate not 399
to exceed 15 credit hours or equivalent clock hours; for an 400
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applied technology diploma, up to the number of hours required 401
for a specific diploma not to exceed 50 credit hours or 402
equivalent clock hours; for a career and technical certificate, 403
up to the number of h ours required for a specific certificate 404
not to exceed 19 credit hours or equivalent clock hours; or for 405
an apprenticeship program, as defined in s. 446.021(6), up to 406
the number of credit hours or equivalent clock hours required 407
for a registered apprentice ship certificate of completion if the 408
student is not exempt from paying tuition and fees, including 409
lab fees, under s. 1009.25, and 100 percent of the tools, books, 410
and materials necessary to complete the apprenticeship program 411
not to exceed $2,000 . 412
Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 413