The 2023 Florida Legislature passed legislation that will have implications for school district K-12 career and technical education (CTE) programs and the implementation of the Florida Career and Professional Education (CAPE) Act. A summary of action required of school districts is provided below and in the appendix. Because many of the bills cross multiple offices and functions, we encourage everyone at our institutions to read the bills themselves and pay close attention to each section.

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Application Deadline: Sept. 30, 2023 The Master Credentials List online application is open year-round, with credentials evaluated and approved by the Credentials Review Committee for addition to the Master Credentials List on a quarterly basis. Industry certifications seeking secondary and/or postsecondary Career and Professional Education (CAPE) Act funding must also apply through the Master Credentials List application. Industry certifications seeking CAPE Act funding are reviewed annually by the Florida Department of Education. To be considered for CAPE Act funding, credentials must meet both CAPE eligibility criteria set forth in Rule 6A-6.0576, Florida Administrative Code & Florida Administrative Register and standards defined in the Framework of Quality. Applications for 2024-2025 CAPE Act funding are accepted through Sept. 30, 2023. Local workforce development board staff; public school principals, including those who work for career and technical education directors; and Florida College System administrators may submit applications. Applications must be complete, and include a letter of endorsement from each of the following: ·    The local workforce development board. ·    A Florida-based business or regional trade organization. ·    A state, regional or local economic development organization. APPLY NOW! Questions? Contact: mcl@careersourceflorida.com

Good morning,

Senate Education Committee meets today. I have attached the short summary of the bills to be considered. The one of most interest to us is SB 196 (Senator Hutson), and the PDF of the analysis. HB 141(Rep. Arrington) is identical to SB 196. Of the bills I am following SB 196 is the only one that has an identical companion bill, which generally insures both will move through the process rapidly.  Below you will find an excerpt from the analysis of SB 196:

Effect of Proposed Changes:
SB 196 adds requirements to notify parents and students of career and academic planning options and work-based learning opportunities and pathways.

Middle Grades Career Planning
The bill requires a middle grade student’s personalized academic and career plan to include information on the career and technical education graduation pathway option13 and work-based learning opportunities, including internships and preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs.
Additionally, the bill requires the student’s plan to be developed in consultation with a certified school counselor.

Notification of Student Acceleration Options
The bill expands the required annual school district parental notification on high school acceleration options to include notification to students and requires such notification to be in a language that is understandable to students and parents. The bill adds to the information required to be included in the notification to include:
· Career and professional academies.
· Career-themed courses.
· The career and technical education pathway option to earn a standard high school diploma
school counselor.

The CRC approved the MCL lists in the agenda with no changes. The industry certifications list for 2023-2024 begins on page 95 of the agenda. The updated 2022-2023 list begins on page 9.

On page 30/129 you will find the list of seven new Certification Submissions that did not meet demand requirements but did meet the CAPE requirements. They need to be submitted using local demand and working with your local CareerSource. You have a March 15^th deadline, if you wish them to be considered for the 2023-24 list.

This is the link to the submission portal:

https://careersourceflorida.com/boardroom/florida-credentials-review-committee/master-credentials-list/

There is a Q and A posted in the link. CareerSource stated they would provide a webinar later this month to walk through the process of submission.

I will follow up with CareerSource to try a get a date for the TA webinar and when we can expect to see the list of industry certifications and the basis of denials.

Steve Harrell , Escambia, and Deelynn Bennett, Charlotte had an exchange on the worker’s comp. reimbursement. Deelynn had a process in place that seemed to be working. She was willing to share with others.

There also was an exchange concerning the implementation of HB 1467 and the approval of instructional materials. Specifically, in regards to CTE instructional materials the group was split on the necessity to review materials which obviously did not contain the content which was targeted by the bill.