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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to postsecondary educational 2
institutions; amending s. 1001.706, F.S.; revising 3
legislative intent; revising powers and duties of the 4
Board of Governors; amending s. 1001.7065, F.S.; 5
revising the academic and research excellence 6
standards for preeminent state research universities; 7
creating s. 1001.725, F.S.; providing requirements for 8
hiring state university faculty; providing 9
requirements for the employment, promotion, and 10
evaluation processes for certain state university 11
employees; authorizing state university boards of 12
trustees to review the tenure status of faculty 13
members; requiring such boards to confirm the 14
selection and reappointment of specified personnel; 15
providing requirements for certain employment 16
contracts and responsibilities; requiring state 17
university presidents to annually present specified 18
information to such boards; amending s. 1004.06, F.S.; 19
prohibiting certain entities from expending specified 20
funds for certain purposes; providing exceptions; 21
authorizing the State Board of Education and the Board 22
of Governors to adopt certain rules and regulations, 23
respectively; creating s. 1004.3841, F.S.; creating 24
the Institute for Risk Management and Insurance 25
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Education within the College of Business at the 26
University of Central Florid a; requiring the institute 27
to be located in a specified county; providing goals 28
of the institute; amending s. 1004.6496, F.S.; 29
conforming a provision to changes made by the act; 30
amending s. 1004.6499, F.S.; renaming the "Florida 31
Institute of Politics" as t he "Florida Institute for 32
Governance and Civics"; revising the goals of the 33
institute; amending s. 1004.64991, F.S.; authorizing 34
the Adam Smith Center for the Study of Economic 35
Freedom within Florida International University to 36
take specified actions; amen ding s. 1007.25, F.S.; 37
revising the duties and responsibilities of specified 38
faculty committees relating to general education core 39
courses; deleting a provision authorizing certain 40
course maximums to be exceeded; revising requirements 41
for general education core courses; providing 42
definitions; requiring public postsecondary 43
educational institutions to offer and accept certain 44
credits for certain general education core courses; 45
creating s. 1007.55, F.S.; providing legislative 46
findings; requiring the Articulat ion Coordinating 47
Committee to submit certain courses to the State Board 48
of Education and the Board of Governors; providing 49
requirements for general education courses; providing 50
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requirements for public postsecondary educational 51
institutions and their presid ents and boards of 52
trustees relating to general education courses; 53
amending s. 1009.26, F.S.; providing that certain 54
postsecondary fee waivers continue until specified 55
criteria are met; providing effective dates. 56
57
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of th e State of Florida: 58
59
Section 1. Paragraphs (a) through (d) of subsection (5) 60
and paragraph (b) of subsection (6) of section 1001.706, Florida 61
Statutes, are amended to read: 62
1001.706 Powers and duties of the Board of Governors. — 63
(5) POWERS AND DUTIE S RELATING TO ACCOUNTABILITY. — 64
(a) The Legislature intends that the Board of Governors 65
shall align the missions of each constituent university with the 66
academic success of its students; curriculum that promotes 67
citizenship in a constitutional republic; t he state's existing 68
and emerging workforce needs; the national reputation of its 69
faculty and its academic and research programs; the quantity of 70
externally generated research, patents, and licenses; and the 71
strategic and accountability plans required in pa ragraphs (b) 72
and (c). The board shall periodically review the mission of each 73
constituent university and provide updates or revisions to such 74
mission, as appropriate; upon completion of such review, examine 75
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existing academic programs at each constituent un iversity for 76
alignment with the university's mission; and provide direction 77
to each constituent university to remove from its programs any 78
major or minor that is based on or otherwise utilizes 79
pedagogical methodology associated with Critical Theory, 80
including, but not limited to, Critical Race Theory, Critical 81
Race Studies, Critical Ethnic Studies, Radical Feminist Theory, 82
Radical Gender Theory, Queer Theory, Critical Social Justice, or 83
Intersectionality, as defined in Board of Governors regulation, 84
or any major or minor that includes a curriculum that promotes 85
the concepts listed in s. 1000.05(4)(a). The mission alignment 86
and strategic plan shall consider peer institutions at the 87
constituent universities. The mission alignment and strategic 88
plan shall acknowledge that universities that have a national 89
and international impact have the greatest capacity to promote 90
the state's economic development through: new discoveries, 91
patents, licenses, and technologies that generate state 92
businesses of global importance; research achievements through 93
external grants and contracts that are comparable to nationally 94
recognized and ranked universities; the creation of a resource 95
rich academic environment that attracts high -technology business 96
and venture capital to the state; and this generation's finest 97
minds focusing on solving the state's economic, social, 98
environmental, and legal problems in the areas of life sciences, 99
water, sustainability, energy, and health care. A nationally 100
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recognized and ranked university that has a global perspective 101
and impact shall be afforded the opportunity to enable and 102
protect the university's competitiveness on the global stage in 103
fair competition with other institutions of other states in the 104
highest Carnegie Classification. 105
(b) The Board of Governors shall develop a strategic plan 106
specifying goals and objectives for the State University System 107
and each constituent university, including each university's 108
contribution to overall system goals and objectives. The 109
strategic plan must: 110
1. Include performance metrics and standards common for 111
all institutions and metrics and standards unique to 112
institutions depending on institutional core missions, 113
including, but not limited to, student admission requirements, 114
curriculum that promotes citizenship in a constitutional 115
republic, retention, graduation, percentage of graduates who 116
have attained employment, percentage of graduates enrolled in 117
continued education, licensure passage, average wages of 118
employed graduates, average cost per graduate, excess ho urs, 119
student loan burden and default rates, faculty awards, total 120
annual research expenditures, patents, licenses and royalties, 121
intellectual property, startup companies, annual giving, 122
endowments, and well -known, highly respected national rankings 123
for institutional and program achievements. 124
2. Consider reports and recommendations of the Florida 125
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Talent Development Council under s. 1004.015 and the 126
Articulation Coordinating Committee under s. 1007.01. 127
3. Include student enrollment and performance data 128
delineated by method of instruction, including, but not limited 129
to, traditional, online, and distance learning instruction. 130
4. Include criteria for designating baccalaureate degree 131
and master's degree programs at specified universities as high -132
demand programs of emphasis. The programs of emphasis list 133
adopted by the Board of Governors before July 1, 2021, shall be 134
used for the 2021-2022 academic year. Beginning in the 2022 -2023 135
academic year, the Board of Governors shall adopt the criteria 136
to determine value for and prioritization of degree credentials 137
and degree programs established by the Credentials Review 138
Committee under s. 445.004 for designating high -demand programs 139
of emphasis. The Board of Governors must review designated 140
programs of emphasis, at a m inimum, every 3 years to ensure 141
alignment with the prioritization of degree credentials and 142
degree programs identified by the Credentials Review Committee. 143
5. Include criteria for nondegree credentials. 144
(c) The Board of Governors shall develop an accou ntability 145
plan for the State University System and each constituent 146
university. The accountability plan must address institutional 147
and system achievement of goals and objectives specified in the 148
strategic plan adopted pursuant to paragraph (b) and must be 149
submitted as part of its legislative budget request. Each 150
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university shall submit, as a component of the university's 151
annual accountability plan :, 152
1. Information on the effectiveness of its plan for 153
improving 4-year graduation rates . and 154
2. Information on the level of financial assistance 155
provided to students pursuant to paragraph (h). 156
(d) Beginning in the 2014 -2015 academic year and annually 157
thereafter, The Board of Governors shall annually require a 158
state university before prior to registration to provide each 159
enrolled student electronic access to the economic security 160
report of employment and earning outcomes prepared by the 161
Department of Economic Opportunity pursuant to s. 445.07. In 162
addition, the Board of Governors shall require a state 163
university to provide each student electronic access to the 164
following information each year before prior to registration 165
using the data described in s. 1008.39: 166
1. The top 25 percent of degrees reported by the 167
university in terms of highest full -time job placement and 168
highest average annualized earnings in the year after earning 169
the degree. 170
2. The bottom 10 percent of degrees reported by the 171
university in terms of lowest full -time job placement and lowest 172
average annualized earnings in the year after earning the 173
degree. 174
(6) POWERS AND DUTIES RELATING TO PERSONNEL. — 175
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(b) The Board of Governors may adopt a regulation 176
requiring each tenured state university faculty member to 177
undergo a comprehensive post -tenure review every 5 years and a 178
post-tenure review at any time for cause . The board may include 179
other considerations in the regulation, but the regulation must 180
address all of the following : 181
1. Accomplishments and productivity .; 182
2. Assigned duties in research, teaching, and service .; 183
3. Performance metrics, evaluations, and ratings .; and 184
4. Recognition and compensation considerations, as well as 185
improvement plans and consequences for underperformance. 186
5. Conditions that constitute cause for a post -tenure 187
review under this paragraph, inclu ding, but not limited to, poor 188
performance, negligence, inefficiency or inability to perform 189
assigned duties, insubordination, violation of any applicable 190
law or rule, conduct unbecoming a public employee, misconduct, 191
drug abuse, or conviction of any crime . 192
Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 1001.7065, Florida 193
Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (m) is added to subsection 194
(2) of that section, to read: 195
1001.7065 Preeminent state research universities program. — 196
(2) ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH EXCELLENCE S TANDARDS.—The 197
following academic and research excellence standards are 198
established for the preeminent state research universities 199
program and shall be reported annually in the Board of Governors 200
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Accountability Plan: 201
(m) Total annual research expenditures of $50 million or 202
more in STEM-related expenditures, funded from business and 203
nonprofit partners. 204
(3) PREEMINENT STATE RESEARCH UNIVERSITY DESIGNATION. — 205
(a) The Board of Governors shall designate each state 206
university that annually meets at least 12 11 of the 13 12 207
academic and research excellence standards identified in 208
subsection (2) as a "preeminent state research university." 209
(b) The Board of Governors shall designate each state 210
university that annually meets at least 7 6 of the 13 12 211
academic and research excellence standards identified in 212
subsection (2) as an "emerging preeminent state research 213
university." 214
Section 3. Section 1001.725, Florida Statutes, is created 215
to read: 216
1001.725 State university boards of trustees; personnel. — 217
(1) Each state university board of trustees is responsible 218
for hiring full-time faculty for the university. The president 219
of the university may provide hiring recommendations to the 220
board. The president and the board are not required to consider 221
recommendations or opinions of faculty of the university or 222
other individuals or groups. 223
(a) The board of trustees may delegate its hiring 224
authority to the president; however, the president may not 225
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delegate such hiring authority to anyone outside of the 226
executive management team of the president's office. 227
(b) A state university may not solicit pledges, except 228
pledges to uphold general and federal law, the United States 229
Constitution, and the State Constitution, or statements or 230
commitments for or against certain viewpoints about diversity, 231
equity, and inclusion, Critical Race Theory rhetoric, or 232
political identity or ideology, as part of any hiring, 233
promotion, disciplinary, or evaluation process, including as 234
part of applications for employment, promotion and tenu re 235
applications, conditions of employment, job qualifications, job 236
descriptions, or performance evaluations, or as part of any 237
admissions or student disciplinary process, including as part of 238
any admissions applications or orientations. This paragraph 239
applies to all students and employees at the university, 240
including the president of the university. 241
(2) Each state university board of trustees may, at the 242
request of its chair, review any faculty member's tenure status 243
based on the considerations adopted in Board of Governors 244
regulation pursuant to s. 1001.706(6)(b). 245
(3) Each state university board of trustees must confirm 246
the president's selection and reappointment of each member of 247
the university's executive management team, and his or her 248
respective contract and annual salary, before such contracts and 249
salaries become effective, in accordance with the personnel 250
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program established by the Board of Governors. Contracts and 251
responsibilities of the president and executive management team 252
members, including, but not limited to, the provost, must 253
explicitly delineate that the responsibilities of such 254
positions, other than the president, are limited to 255
administrative oversight and operational supervision of 256
curricular, instructional, and research affairs, as app licable 257
to the position. 258
(4) Each state university president shall annually present 259
to the state university board of trustees for review the results 260
of performance evaluations and associated annual salaries for 261
all evaluated academic and administrative p ersonnel earning an 262
annual salary of $100,000 or more, regardless of the funding 263
source for such salaries. The results may be presented in a 264
summary or written format. 265
Section 4. Section 1004.06, Florida Statutes, is amended 266
to read: 267
1004.06 Prohibited expenditures. — 268
(1) A No Florida College System institution, state 269
university, Florida College System institution direct -support 270
organization, or state university direct -support organization 271
may not shall expend any funds, regardless of source, to 272
purchase membership in, or goods and services from, any 273
organization that discriminates on the basis of race, color, 274
national origin, sex, disability gender, or religion. 275
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(2) A Florida College System institution, state 276
university, Florida College Sys tem institution direct -support 277
organization, or state university direct -support organization 278
may not expend any state or federal funds to promote, support, 279
or maintain any programs or campus activities that: 280
(a) Promote the concepts listed in s. 1000.05( 4)(a); 281
(b) Advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion; 282
(c) Promote or engage in political or social activism; or 283
(d) Include or espouse, as government speech or expressive 284
activity of the Florida College System institution or state 285
university or its direct-support organization speaking or acting 286
on the Florida College System institution's or state 287
university's behalf, preferential treatment or special benefits 288
to individuals on the basis of race, color, national origin, 289
sex, disability, or religion . 290
291
Student fees to support student -led organizations are permitted 292
notwithstanding any speech or expressive activity by such 293
organizations that would otherwise violate this subsection, 294
provided that the public funds must be allocated to student -led 295
organizations pursuant to written policies or regulations of 296
each Florida College System institution or state university, as 297
applicable. 298
(3) Programs or campus activities required for compliance 299
with federal laws or regulations, or access programs for 300
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military veterans, Pell Grant recipients, first generation 301
college students, nontraditional students, "2+2" transfer 302
students from the Florida College System, students from low -303
income families, or students with unique abilities, are not 304
prohibited by this section. 305
(4) The State Board of Education and the Board of 306
Governors may adopt rules and regulations, respectively, to 307
implement this section. 308
Section 5. Section 1004.3841, Florida Statutes, is created 309
to read: 310
1004.3841 The Institute for Risk Management an d Insurance 311
Education.—The Institute for Risk Management and Insurance 312
Education is established within the College of Business at the 313
University of Central Florida. Since insurance and risk 314
management is a major industry in the state, with a 315
concentration of such industry in Volusia County, the institute 316
shall be located in Volusia County. Like many other industries 317
in the state, the insurance and risk management industry is 318
being revolutionized by, among other things, the integration of 319
technology, predictive analytics, and data science, and is 320
becoming more complex given its exposure to transformative 321
trends in the economy and environment. The purpose of the 322
institute is to respond to the ever -evolving insurance and risk 323
management industry and the present and emerging needs of the 324
state and its residents. The goals of the institute are to: 325
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(1) Pursue technological innovations that advance risk 326
valuation models and operational efficiencies in the insurance 327
industry. 328
(2) Drive the development of workforc e competencies in 329
data analytics, system -level thinking, technology integration, 330
entrepreneurship, and actuarial science. 331
(3) Leverage the University of Central Florida's world 332
class assets in data science, artificial intelligence, computer 333
science, engineering, finance, economics, and sales. 334
(4) Take advantage of the University of Central Florida's 335
robust portfolio of academic program offerings and draw on 336
faculty and industry experts in diverse fields, including 337
actuarial science, computer science, ec onomics, engineering, 338
environmental science, finance, forensics, law, management, 339
marketing, and psychology. 340
(5) Develop and offer risk management and insurance 341
education, including education that recognizes risks in areas 342
such as the environment, pandem ic disease, and digital security. 343
(6) Offer programs, workshops, case studies, and applied 344
research studies that integrate technology and artificial 345
intelligence with soft skills while preparing students and 346
professionals for the technology -enabled insurance industry of 347
the future. 348
Section 6. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section 349
1004.6496, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 350
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1004.6496 Hamilton Center for Classical and Civic 351
Education.— 352
(2) The goals of the center are to: 353
(e) Coordinate with the Florida Institute for Governance 354
and Civics of Politics created pursuant to s. 1004.6499 and the 355
Adam Smith Center for the Study of Economic Freedom created 356
pursuant to s. 1004.64991 and assist in the curation and 357
implementation of Portraits in Pat riotism created pursuant to s. 358
1003.44. 359
Section 7. Section 1004.6499, Florida Statutes, is amended 360
to read: 361
1004.6499 Florida Institute for Governance and Civics of 362
Politics.— 363
(1) The Florida Institute for Governance and Civics of 364
Politics is established at the Florida State University within 365
the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy . The purpose of 366
the institute is to provide the southeastern region of the 367
United States with a world class, bipartisan, nationally 368
renowned institute of politic s. 369
(2) The goals of the institute are to: 370
(a) Provide students with access to an interdisciplinary 371
hub that will develop academically rigorous scholarship and 372
coursework on the origins of the American system of government, 373
its foundational documents, i ts subsequent political traditions 374
and evolutions, and its impact on comparative political systems 375
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Motivate students throughout the Florida State University to 376
become aware of the significance of government and civic 377
engagement at all levels and politics in general. 378
(b) Encourage civic literacy in the state through the 379
development of educational tools and resources for K -12 and 380
postsecondary students that foster an understanding of how 381
individual rights, constitutionalism, separation of powers, and 382
federalism function within the American system of government 383
Provide students with an opportunity to be politically active 384
and civically engaged . 385
(c) Model civic discourse that recognizes the importance 386
of viewpoint diversity, intellectual rigor, and an evidence-387
based approach to history Nurture a greater awareness of and 388
passion for public service and politics . 389
(d) Plan and host forums to allow students and guests to 390
hear from exceptional individuals who have excelled in 391
government, industry, or civic engagement to highlight the 392
possibilities created by individual achievement, philanthropic 393
ideals, and entrepreneurial vision and interact with experts 394
from government, politics, policy, and journalism on a frequent 395
basis. 396
(e) Become a national and state resource on polling 397
instruments and other assessments to measure civic literacy and 398
make recommendations for improving civic education information 399
and survey methodology . 400
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(f) Provide fellowships and internship opportunities to 401
students in government , nonprofit organizations, and community 402
organizations. 403
(g) Create through scholarship, original research, 404
publications, symposia, testimonials, and other means a body of 405
resources that can be accessed by students, scholars, and 406
government officials to under stand the innovations in public 407
policy in the state over a rolling 30 -year time period Provide 408
training sessions for newly elected state and local public 409
officials. 410
(h) Organize and sponsor conferences, symposia, and 411
workshops throughout this state to ed ucate and inform citizens, 412
elected officials, and appointed policymakers regarding 413
effective policymaking techniques and processes. 414
(i) Create and promote research and awareness regarding 415
politics, citizen involvement, and public service. 416
(j) Collaborate with related policy institutes and 417
research activities at the Florida State University and other 418
institutions of higher education to motivate, increase, and 419
sustain citizen involvement in public affairs. 420
Section 8. Subsection (3) is added to section 1004.64991, 421
Florida Statutes, to read: 422
1004.64991 The Adam Smith Center for the Study of Economic 423
Freedom.— 424
(3) In order to carry out the goals outlined in subsection 425
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(2), the center is authorized to: 426
(a) Hire the necessary faculty and staff. 427
(b) Enroll students. 428
(c) Develop curriculum and offer new courses, including 429
honors courses, certificates, and major and minor programs. 430
(d) Award degrees. 431
(e) Hold events, including fundraisers. 432
(f) Fulfill other actions approved by the president of t he 433
university. 434
(g) Generate resources based on student credit hour 435
enrollment in the same manner as a college within the 436
university. 437
Section 9. Subsection (3) of section 1007.25, Florida 438
Statutes, is amended to read: 439
1007.25 General education cours es; common prerequisites; 440
other degree requirements. — 441
(3) The chair of the State Board of Education and the 442
chair of the Board of Governors, or their designees, shall 443
jointly appoint faculty committees to review and recommend to 444
the Articulation Coordina ting Committee for approval by the 445
Commissioner of Education and the Chancellor of the State 446
University System identify statewide general education core 447
course options for inclusion in the statewide course numbering 448
system established in s. 1007.24 . Faculty committees shall, by 449
July 1, 2024, and by July 1 every 3 years thereafter, review and 450
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submit recommendations to the Articulation Coordinating 451
Committee, the commissioner, and the Chancellor of the State 452
University System for the removal, alignment, reali gnment, or 453
addition of general education core courses that satisfy the 454
requirements of this subsection. 455
(a) General education core course options shall consist of 456
a maximum of five courses within each of the subject areas of 457
communication, mathematics, s ocial sciences, humanities, and 458
natural sciences. The core courses may be revised , or the five-459
course maximum within each subject area may be exceeded, if 460
approved by the State Board of Education and the Board of 461
Governors, as recommended by the subject ar ea faculty committee 462
and approved by the Articulation Coordinating Committee as 463
necessary for a subject area. 464
(b) Each general education core course option must contain 465
high-level academic and critical thinking skills and common 466
competencies that student s must demonstrate to successfully 467
complete the course. 468
(c) General education core courses may not distort 469
significant historical events with misleading or incorrect 470
presentations of fact and must not include curriculum that is 471
based on or otherwise util izes pedagogical methodology 472
associated with Critical Theory, including, but not limited to, 473
Critical Race Theory, Critical Race Studies, Critical Ethnic 474
Studies, Radical Feminist Theory, Radical Gender Theory, Queer 475
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Theory, Critical Social Justice, or Int ersectionality, as 476
defined in rules and regulations of the State Board of Education 477
and the Board of Governors, respectively. 478
(d) General education core courses must meet all of the 479
following standards: 480
1. Communication courses must afford students the ability 481
to communicate effectively, including the ability to write 482
clearly and engage in public speaking. 483
2. Humanities courses must afford students the ability to 484
think critically through the mastering of subjects concerned 485
with human culture, especial ly literature, history, art, music, 486
and philosophy, and must include selections from the Western 487
Canon. 488
3. Social science courses must afford students an 489
understanding of the basic social and behavioral science 490
concepts and principles used in the analysis of behavior and 491
social, political, and economic issues, including issues from 492
the past and present. 493
4. Natural science courses must afford students the 494
ability to critically examine and evaluate the principles of the 495
scientific method, model construction, and use the scientific 496
method to explain natural experiences and phenomena. 497
5. Mathematics courses must afford students a mastery of 498
foundational mathematical and computation models and methods by 499
applying such models and methods in problem solving. 500
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(e) Beginning with students initially entering a Florida 501
College System institution or state universit y in 2015-2016 and 502
thereafter, each student must complete at least one identified 503
core course in each subject area as part of the general 504
education course requirements. Beginning in the 2022 -2023 505
academic year and thereafter, students entering a technical 506
degree education program as defined in s. 1004.02(13) must 507
complete at least one identified core course in each subject 508
area as part of the general education course requirements before 509
a degree is awarded. 510
(f) All public postsecondary educational institu tions 511
shall offer at least one general education core course in each 512
of the identified subject areas and accept these courses as 513
meeting general education core course requirements upon the 514
transfer of credit for such course regardless of whether the 515
receiving institution offers the identical general education 516
core course. The remaining general education course requirements 517
shall be identified by each institution as approved in 518
accordance with s. 1007.55 and listed in the and reported to the 519
department by their statewide course numbering system number. 520
(g) The general education core course options shall be 521
adopted in rule by the State Board of Education and in 522
regulation by the Board of Governors. 523
Section 10. Section 1007.55, Florida Statutes, is crea ted 524
to read: 525
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1007.55 General education course principles, standards, 526
and content.— 527
(1) The Legislature finds it necessary that every 528
undergraduate student of a public postsecondary educational 529
institution in the state graduates as an informed citizen 530
through participation in rigorous general education courses that 531
study and articulate the values and knowledge necessary to 532
preserve the constitutional republic and the economic ingenuity 533
of its citizens through proven, historically accurate, and high -534
quality coursework. Courses with a curriculum based on unproven, 535
disproven, speculative, or exploratory content are best suited 536
to fulfill elective or specific program prerequisite credit 537
requirements, rather than general education credit requirements. 538
(2) In performing its duties under ss. 1007.24 and 539
1007.25, by December 1, 2024, and each December 1 thereafter, 540
the Articulation Coordinating Committee shall submit to the 541
State of Board of Education and the Board of Governors courses 542
that have been approved to be used by public postsecondary 543
educational institutions as meeting general education 544
requirements. 545
(3) General education courses must meet all of the 546
following: 547
(a) Be in the general education core subject areas and 548
meet the course standards as prov ided in s. 1007.25. 549
(b) Be offered by at least half of all public 550
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postsecondary educational institutions per system. 551
(c) Be identified as lower level in the statewide course 552
numbering system. 553
(d) Whenever applicable, as defined by regulations or 554
rules of the Board of Governors or the State Board of Education, 555
respectively, provide instruction on the historical background 556
and philosophical foundation of Western civilization and this 557
nation's founding documents, including the Declaration of 558
Independence, the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights 559
and subsequent amendments thereto, and the Federalist Papers. 560
(4) If a course is approved as a general education course, 561
that course must be accepted as a general education course in 562
the same subject area by all public postsecondary educational 563
institutions regardless of whether it is offered by the 564
institution. 565
(5) Each public postsecondary educational institution's 566
board of trustees and president are responsible for annually 567
reviewing and approving, at a public meeting, general education 568
course requirements, as authorized and approved in accordance 569
with s. 1007.24, s. 1007.25, and this section, at their 570
institution. A public postsecondary educational institution that 571
fails to comply with the requirem ents of this section may not be 572
eligible to receive performance -based funding. 573
(6) Each public postsecondary educational institution must 574
report courses meeting general education requirements to the 575
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department by their statewide course number. 576
Section 11. Effective upon this act becoming a law, 577
paragraph (b) of subsection (18) of section 1009.26, Florida 578
Statutes, is amended to read: 579
1009.26 Fee waivers. — 580
(18) 581
(b) A waiver granted under this subsection is applicable 582
only for upper-level courses and up to 110 percent of the number 583
of required credit hours of the baccalaureate degree program for 584
which the student is enrolled. A student granted a waiver under 585
this subsection shall continue receiving the waiver until the 586
student graduates, exceeds the number of allowable credit hours, 587
or withdraws from an eligible program, regardless of whether the 588
program is removed from the approved list of eligible programs 589
subsequent to the student's enrollment. 590
Section 12. Except as otherwise expressly provide d in this 591
act and except for this section, which shall take effect upon 592
this act becoming a law, this act shall take effect July 1, 593
2023. 594