Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1688 By Senator Burton 12-01368-25 20251688__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to education; amending s. 1003.4282, 3 F.S.; requiring that certain internships be included 4 in counseling materials and presented with certain 5 courses; requiring the Department of Education to 6 develop certain courses; amending s. 1003.491, F.S.; 7 revising the requirements of a certain strategic 3 8 year plan to include the Florida Gold Seal CAPE 9 Scholars award; amending s. 1003.493, F.S.; requiring 10 certain career and professional academies and 11 secondary schools to promote the Florida Gold Seal 12 CAPE Scholars award; amending ss. 1009.22 and 1009.23, 13 F.S.; prohibiting the inclusion of the transportation 14 access fee in the calculation of Florida Gold Seal 15 CAPE Scholars awards; amending ss. 1009.534, 1009.535, 16 and 1009.536, F.S.; deleting obsolete language; 17 amending s. 1007.271, F.S.; revising the requirements 18 for certain career dual enrollment agreements to 19 include specified student notification requirements 20 and addressing certain scheduling changes; revising 21 the requirements for certain dual enrollment 22 articulation agreements to include certain scheduling 23 changes; providing an effective date. 24 25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 26 27 Section 1.Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and paragraph 28 (a) of subsection (7) of section 1003.4282, Florida Statutes, 29 are amended to read: 30 1003.4282Requirements for a standard high school diploma. 31 (1)TWENTY-FOUR CREDITS REQUIRED. 32 (b)The required credits may be earned through equivalent, 33 applied, or integrated courses or career education courses as 34 defined in s. 1003.01(2), including work-related internships 35 approved by the State Board of Education and identified in the 36 course code directory. Such internships must be included in 37 counseling materials and presented with courses required for 38 graduation. However, any must-pass assessment requirements must 39 be met. An equivalent course is one or more courses identified 40 by content-area experts as being a match to the core curricular 41 content of another course, based upon review of the state 42 academic standards for that subject. An applied course aligns 43 with state academic standards and includes real-world 44 applications of a career and technical education standard used 45 in business or industry. An integrated course includes content 46 from several courses within a content area or across content 47 areas. 48 (7)CAREER EDUCATION COURSES THAT SATISFY HIGH SCHOOL 49 CREDIT REQUIREMENTS. 50 (a)Participation in equivalent, applied, or integrated 51 courses or career education courses engages students in their 52 high school education, increases academic achievement, enhances 53 employability, and increases postsecondary success. The 54 department shall develop, for approval by the State Board of 55 Education, multiple, additional equivalent, applied, or 56 integrated courses or career education courses or a series of 57 courses that meet the requirements set forth in s. 1003.493(2), 58 (4), and (5) and this subsection and allow students to earn 59 credit in both the career education course and courses required 60 for high school graduation under this section and s. 1003.4281. 61 1.The state board must determine at least biennially 62 whether sufficient academic standards are covered to warrant the 63 award of academic credit, including satisfaction of graduation, 64 assessment, and state university admissions requirements under 65 this section. 66 2.Career education courses must: 67 a.Include workforce and digital literacy skills. 68 b.Integrate required course content with practical 69 applications and designated rigorous coursework that results in 70 one or more industry certifications or clearly articulated 71 credit or advanced standing in a 2-year or 4-year certificate or 72 degree program, which may include high school junior and senior 73 year work-related internships or apprenticeships. The department 74 shall negotiate state licenses for material and testing for 75 industry certifications. 76 77 The instructional methodology used in these courses must 78 comprise authentic projects, problems, and activities for 79 contextual academic learning and emphasize workplace skills 80 identified under s. 445.06. 81 3.A student who earns credit upon completion of 1 year of 82 related technical instruction for an apprenticeship program 83 registered with the Department of Education under chapter 446 or 84 preapprenticeship program registered with the Department of 85 Education under chapter 446 may use such credit to satisfy the 86 high school graduation credit requirements in paragraph (3)(e) 87 or paragraph (3)(g). The state board shall approve and identify 88 in the Course Code Directory the apprenticeship and 89 preapprenticeship programs from which earned credit may be used 90 pursuant to this subparagraph. 91 4.The State Board of Education shall, by rule, establish a 92 process that enables a student to receive work-based learning 93 credit or credit in electives for completing a threshold level 94 of demonstrable participation in extracurricular activities 95 associated with career and technical student organizations. 96 Work-based learning credit or credit in electives for 97 extracurricular activities or supervised agricultural 98 experiences may not be limited by grade level. 99 Section 2.Paragraphs (j) and (n) of subsection (3) of 100 section 1003.491, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 101 1003.491Florida Career and Professional Education Act.The 102 Florida Career and Professional Education Act is created to 103 provide a statewide planning partnership between the business 104 and education communities in order to attract, expand, and 105 retain targeted, high-value industry and to sustain a strong, 106 knowledge-based economy. 107 (3)The strategic 3-year plan developed jointly by the 108 local school district, local workforce development boards, 109 economic development agencies, and state-approved postsecondary 110 institutions must be constructed and based on: 111 (j)Strategies to recruit students into career-themed 112 courses and career and professional academies. The strategies 113 shall also which include opportunities for students who have 114 been unsuccessful in traditional classrooms but who are 115 interested in enrolling in career-themed courses or a career and 116 professional academy. School boards shall provide opportunities 117 for students who may be deemed as potential dropouts or whose 118 cumulative grade point average drops below a 2.0 to enroll in 119 career-themed courses or participate in career and professional 120 academies. Such students must be provided in-person academic 121 advising that includes information on career education programs 122 by a certified school counselor or the school principal or his 123 or her designee during any semester the students are at risk of 124 dropping out or have a cumulative grade point average below a 125 2.0; 126 (n)Promotion of the benefits of the Florida Gold Seal 127 Vocational Scholars and Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars awards 128 within the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program; 129 Section 3.Paragraph (c) of subsection (4) of section 130 1003.493, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 131 1003.493Career and professional academies and career 132 themed courses. 133 (4)Each career and professional academy and secondary 134 school providing a career-themed course must: 135 (c)Promote and provide opportunities for students enrolled 136 in a career and professional academy or a career-themed course 137 to attain, at minimum, the Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars 138 award or the Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars award pursuant to 139 s. 1009.536. 140 Section 4.Paragraph (b) of subsection (13) of section 141 1009.22, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 142 1009.22Workforce education postsecondary student fees. 143 (13) 144 (b)Notwithstanding ss. 1009.534, 1009.535, and 1009.536, 145 the transportation access fee authorized under paragraph (a) may 146 not be included in calculating the amount a student receives for 147 a Florida Academic Scholars award, a Florida Medallion Scholars 148 award, or a Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award, or a 149 Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars award. 150 Section 5.Paragraph (b) of subsection (18) of section 151 1009.23, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 152 1009.23Florida College System institution student fees. 153 (18) 154 (b)Notwithstanding ss. 1009.534, 1009.535, and 1009.536, 155 the transportation access fee authorized under paragraph (a) may 156 not be included in calculating the amount a student receives for 157 a Florida Academic Scholars award, a Florida Medallion Scholars 158 award, or a Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award, or a 159 Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars award. 160 Section 6.Subsection (1) of section 1009.534, Florida 161 Statutes, is amended to read: 162 1009.534Florida Academic Scholars award. 163 (1)A student is eligible for a Florida Academic Scholars 164 award if he or she meets the general eligibility requirements 165 for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program and: 166 (a)Has achieved a 3.5 weighted grade point average as 167 calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or its equivalent, in high 168 school courses that are designated by the State Board of 169 Education as college-preparatory academic courses and has 170 attained at least the score required under s. 1009.531(6)(a) on 171 the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic 172 Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered 173 Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, 174 or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program; 175 (b)Has attended a home education program according to s. 176 1002.41 during grades 11 and 12, has completed the International 177 Baccalaureate curriculum but failed to earn the International 178 Baccalaureate Diploma, or has completed the Advanced 179 International Certificate of Education curriculum but failed to 180 earn the Advanced International Certificate of Education 181 Diploma, and has attained at least the score required under s. 182 1009.531(6)(a) on the combined verbal and quantitative parts of 183 the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or 184 the recentered Scholastic Assessment Test of the College 185 Entrance Examination, or an equivalent score on the ACT 186 Assessment Program; 187 (c)Has been awarded an International Baccalaureate Diploma 188 from the International Baccalaureate Office or an Advanced 189 International Certificate of Education Diploma from the 190 University of Cambridge International Examinations Office; 191 (d)Has been recognized by the merit or achievement 192 programs of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a 193 scholar or finalist; or 194 (e)Has been recognized by the National Hispanic 195 Recognition Program as a scholar recipient. 196 197 The student must complete a program of volunteer service or, 198 beginning with a high school student graduating in the 2022-2023 199 academic year and thereafter, paid work, as approved by the 200 district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic school, 201 or the Department of Education for home education program 202 students, which must include 100 hours of volunteer service, 203 paid work, or a combination of both. Eligible paid work 204 completed on or after June 27, 2022, shall be included in the 205 students total of paid work hours. The student may identify a 206 social or civic issue or a professional area that interests him 207 or her and develop a plan for his or her personal involvement in 208 addressing the issue or learning about the area. The student 209 must, through papers or other presentations, evaluate and 210 reflect upon his or her volunteer service or paid work 211 experience. Such volunteer service or paid work may include, but 212 is not limited to, a business or governmental internship, work 213 for a nonprofit community service organization, or activities on 214 behalf of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer 215 service or paid work must be documented in writing, and the 216 document must be signed by the student, the students parent or 217 guardian, and a representative of the organization for which the 218 student performed the volunteer service or paid work. 219 Section 7.Subsection (1) of section 1009.535, Florida 220 Statutes, is amended to read: 221 1009.535Florida Medallion Scholars award. 222 (1)A student is eligible for a Florida Medallion Scholars 223 award if he or she meets the general eligibility requirements 224 for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program and: 225 (a)Has achieved a weighted grade point average of 3.0 as 226 calculated pursuant to s. 1009.531, or the equivalent, in high 227 school courses that are designated by the State Board of 228 Education as college-preparatory academic courses and has 229 attained at least the score required under s. 1009.531(6)(b) on 230 the combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic 231 Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered 232 Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, 233 or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program; 234 (b)Has completed the International Baccalaureate 235 curriculum but failed to earn the International Baccalaureate 236 Diploma or has completed the Advanced International Certificate 237 of Education curriculum but failed to earn the Advanced 238 International Certificate of Education Diploma, and has attained 239 at least the score required under s. 1009.531(6)(b) on the 240 combined verbal and quantitative parts of the Scholastic 241 Aptitude Test, the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered 242 Scholastic Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, 243 or an equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program; 244 (c)Has attended a home education program according to s. 245 1002.41 during grades 11 and 12 and has attained at least the 246 score required under s. 1009.531(6)(b) on the combined verbal 247 and quantitative parts of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the 248 Scholastic Assessment Test, or the recentered Scholastic 249 Assessment Test of the College Entrance Examination, or an 250 equivalent score on the ACT Assessment Program; 251 (d)Has been recognized by the merit or achievement program 252 of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a scholar or 253 finalist but has not completed the program of volunteer service 254 or paid work required under s. 1009.534; or 255 (e)Has been recognized by the National Hispanic 256 Recognition Program as a scholar, but has not completed the 257 program of volunteer service or paid work required under s. 258 1009.534. 259 260 A high school student must complete a program of volunteer 261 service or, beginning with a high school student graduating in 262 the 2022-2023 academic year and thereafter, paid work approved 263 by the district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic 264 school, or the Department of Education for home education 265 program students, which must include 75 hours of volunteer 266 service, 100 hours of paid work, or 100 hours of a combination 267 of both. Eligible paid work completed on or after June 27, 2022, 268 shall be included in a students total of required paid work 269 hours. The student may identify a social or civic issue or a 270 professional area that interests him or her and develop a plan 271 for his or her personal involvement in addressing the issue or 272 learning about the area. The student must, through papers or 273 other presentations, evaluate and reflect upon his or her 274 volunteer service or paid work experience. Such volunteer 275 service or paid work may include, but is not limited to, a 276 business or governmental internship, work for a nonprofit 277 community service organization, or activities on behalf of a 278 candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer service or 279 paid work must be documented in writing, and the document must 280 be signed by the student, the students parent or guardian, and 281 a representative of the organization for which the student 282 performed the volunteer service or paid work. 283 Section 8.Paragraph (e) of subsection (1), paragraph (b) 284 of subsection (2), and subsection (5) of section 1009.536, 285 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 286 1009.536Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars and Florida 287 Gold Seal CAPE Scholars awards.The Florida Gold Seal Vocational 288 Scholars award and the Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars award are 289 created within the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program to 290 recognize and reward academic achievement and career preparation 291 by high school students who wish to continue their education. 292 (1)A student is eligible for a Florida Gold Seal 293 Vocational Scholars award if he or she meets the general 294 eligibility requirements for the Florida Bright Futures 295 Scholarship Program and: 296 (e)Completes at least 30 hours of volunteer service or, 297 beginning with high school students graduating in the 2022-2023 298 academic year and thereafter, 100 hours of paid work, approved 299 by the district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic 300 school, or the Department of Education for home education 301 program students, or 100 hours of a combination of both. 302 Eligible paid work completed on or after June 27, 2022, shall be 303 included in a students total of required paid work hours. The 304 student may identify a social or civic issue or a professional 305 area that interests him or her and develop a plan for his or her 306 personal involvement in addressing the issue or learning about 307 the area. The student must, through papers or other 308 presentations, evaluate and reflect upon his or her volunteer 309 service or paid work experience. Such volunteer service or paid 310 work may include, but is not limited to, a business or 311 governmental internship, work for a nonprofit community service 312 organization, or activities on behalf of a candidate for public 313 office. The hours of volunteer service or paid work must be 314 documented in writing, and the document must be signed by the 315 student, the students parent or guardian, and a representative 316 of the organization for which the student performed the 317 volunteer service or paid work. 318 (2)A student is eligible for a Florida Gold Seal CAPE 319 Scholars award if he or she meets the general eligibility 320 requirements for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program, 321 and the student: 322 (b)Completes at least 30 hours of volunteer service or, 323 beginning with a high school student graduating in the 2022-2023 324 academic year and thereafter, 100 hours of paid work, approved 325 by the district school board, the administrators of a nonpublic 326 school, or the Department of Education for home education 327 program students, or 100 hours of a combination of both. 328 Eligible paid work completed on or after June 27, 2022, shall be 329 included in a students total required paid work hours. The 330 student may identify a social or civic issue or a professional 331 area that interests him or her and develop a plan for his or her 332 personal involvement in addressing the issue or learning about 333 the area. The student must, through papers or other 334 presentations, evaluate and reflect upon his or her experience. 335 Such volunteer service or paid work may include, but is not 336 limited to, a business or governmental internship, work for a 337 nonprofit community service organization, or activities on 338 behalf of a candidate for public office. The hours of volunteer 339 service or paid work must be documented in writing, and the 340 document must be signed by the student, the students parent or 341 guardian, and a representative of the organization for which the 342 student performed the volunteer service or paid work. 343 (5)(a)A student who is initially eligible in the 2012-2013 344 academic year and thereafter may earn a Florida Gold Seal 345 Vocational Scholarship for a maximum of 100 percent of the 346 number of credit hours or equivalent clock hours required to 347 complete one of the following at a Florida public or nonpublic 348 education institution that offers these specific programs: for 349 an applied technology diploma program as defined in s. 350 1004.02(7), up to 60 credit hours or equivalent clock hours; for 351 a technical degree education program as defined in s. 352 1004.02(13), up to the number of hours required for a specific 353 degree not to exceed 72 credit hours or equivalent clock hours; 354 or for a career certificate program as defined in s. 355 1004.02(20), up to the number of hours required for a specific 356 certificate not to exceed 72 credit hours or equivalent clock 357 hours. 358 (b)1.A student who is initially eligible in the 2017-2018 359 academic year and thereafter for a Florida Gold Seal CAPE 360 Scholars award under subsection (2) may receive an award for a 361 maximum of 100 percent of the number of credit hours or 362 equivalent clock hours required to complete one of the following 363 at a Florida public or nonpublic education institution that 364 offers these specific programs: for an applied technology 365 diploma program as defined in s. 1004.02(7), up to 60 credit 366 hours or equivalent clock hours; for a technical degree 367 education program as defined in s. 1004.02(13), up to the number 368 of hours required for a specific degree, not to exceed 72 credit 369 hours or equivalent clock hours; or for a career certificate 370 program as defined in s. 1004.02(20), up to the number of hours 371 required for a specific certificate, not to exceed 72 credit 372 hours or equivalent clock hours. A student who transfers from 373 one of these program levels to another program level is eligible 374 for the higher of the two credit hour limits. 375 2.A Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholar who completes a 376 technical degree education program as defined in s. 1004.02(13) 377 may also receive an award for: 378 a.A maximum of 60 credit hours for a bachelor of science 379 degree program for which there is a statewide associate in 380 science degree program to bachelor of science degree program 381 articulation agreement; or 382 b.A maximum of 60 credit hours for a bachelor of applied 383 science degree program at a Florida College System institution. 384 Section 9.Paragraph (f) of subsection (7) of section 385 1007.271, Florida Statutes, is amended, paragraph (g) is added 386 to that subsection, and paragraph (p) is added to subsection 387 (21) of that section, to read: 388 1007.271Dual enrollment programs. 389 (7)Career dual enrollment shall be provided as a 390 curricular option for secondary students to pursue in order to 391 earn industry certifications adopted pursuant to s. 1008.44, 392 which count as credits toward the high school diploma. Career 393 dual enrollment shall be available for secondary students 394 seeking a degree and industry certification through a career 395 education program or course. Each career center established 396 under s. 1001.44 shall enter into an agreement with each high 397 school in any school district it serves. Beginning with the 398 2019-2020 school year, the agreement must be completed annually 399 and submitted by the career center to the Department of 400 Education by August 1. The agreement must: 401 (f)Delineate costs incurred by each entity and determine 402 how transportation will be provided for students who are unable 403 to provide their own transportation and how students will be 404 notified of such transportation. 405 (g)Address scheduling changes that will increase access 406 and student participation. 407 (21)Each district school superintendent and each public 408 postsecondary institution president shall develop a 409 comprehensive dual enrollment articulation agreement for the 410 respective school district and postsecondary institution. The 411 superintendent and president shall establish an articulation 412 committee for the purpose of developing the agreement. Each 413 state university president may designate a university 414 representative to participate in the development of a dual 415 enrollment articulation agreement. A dual enrollment 416 articulation agreement shall be completed and submitted annually 417 by the postsecondary institution to the Department of Education 418 on or before August 1. The agreement must include, but is not 419 limited to: 420 (p)Any scheduling changes that are necessary to increase 421 access and student participation. 422 Section 10.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.