The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Appropriations
BILL: SB 2516
INTRODUCER: Appropriations Committee
SUBJECT: Education
DATE: February 1, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
Gray Sadberry AP Submitted as Comm. Bill/Fav
I. Summary:
SB 2516 conforms statutes to the funding decisions related to Education in the Senate proposed
General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. The bill:
Modifies statute to allow Florida College System institutions to participate in the State Group
Insurance Program and sets parameters for the participating institutions.
Creates the Graduation Alternative to Traditional Education (GATE) Program, GATE
Scholarship Program, and GATE Student Success Incentive Fund. All three programs are
aimed at providing high school students the opportunity to earn postsecondary course credits
at no cost to the student while pursuing the completion of a standard high school diploma or
equivalent credential.
Authorizes the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), the Department of Education (DOE)
and the Department of Children and Families to contract with AMIkids, Inc., to provide
alternatives to institutionalization or commitment.
Modifies the funding methodology related to charter schools sponsored by a state university
or Florida College System institution.
Establishes the Bridge to Speech program as an auditory-oral education program.
Modifies the Family Empowerment and Florida Tax Credit transportation scholarship by
setting a flat rate of $750, establishing an income eligibility requirement, and limits
scholarships to one per household.
Increases the percentage each early learning coalition (ELC) may retain and expend for
administrative costs to no more than five percent of funding paid by the ELCs to private
prekindergarten providers and public schools for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Program.
Creates the Charity for Change program to implement the required character education
standards and authorizes the program to use third-party providers to deliver after school and
summer services that empower students with an evidence-based character education
curriculum.
Modifies the calculation for the supplemental allocation for juvenile justice education
programs by requiring that the supplemental allocation be the sum of the class-size reduction
allocation and a calculated student allocation.
BILL: SB 2516 Page 2
The bill has an indeterminate fiscal impact. See Section V. Fiscal Impact Statement.
The bill takes effect on July 1, 2024.
II. Present Situation:
High School Graduation in Florida
Florida’s High School Graduation Requirements
To earn a standard high school diploma a student must complete a specified 24 credit option, an
International Baccalaureate curriculum, or an Advanced International Certificate of Education
curriculum.1
All students must pass the statewide, standardized grade 10 ELA assessment, or earn a
concordant score, and must pass the statewide, standardized Algebra I end-of-course (EOC)
assessment, or earn a comparative score, in order to earn a standard high school diploma.2 A
student enrolled in an Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or Advanced
International Certificate of Education (AICE) course who takes the respective AP, IB, or AICE
assessment and earns a specified score is not required to take the corresponding EOC
assessment.3
Students who earn the required credits to graduate, but fail to pass the required assessments or
achieve a 2.0 grade point average (GPA) are awarded a certificate of completion in a form
prescribed by the State Board of Education (SBE). In the 2021-2022 graduation cohort, 5,818
students earned a certificate of completion.4
High School Equivalency Diploma Program
The high school equivalency diploma offers students who are no longer enrolled in high school
an opportunity to earn a high school diploma by successfully passing the standard GED tests. To
be eligible for the high school equivalency diploma program students must meet the following
criteria:
At least 16 years old and currently enrolled in a prekindergarten-12 program.
Enrolled in and attending high school courses that meet high school graduation requirements.
In jeopardy of not graduating with their kindergarten cohort because they are overage for
grade, behind in credits, or have a low GPA.
Assessed at a seventh grade reading level or higher at the time of selection as documented by
the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) reading component or other assessment to
determine grade level proficiency.5
1
Section 1003.4282, F.S.
2
Section 1003.4282(3), F.S. Section 1008.22(3)(b)6., F.S.
3
Section 1008.22(3), F.S
4
Florida Department of Education, Florida’s High School Cohort 2021-22 Graduation Rate,
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7584/urlt/GradRates2122.pdf, (last visited Jan. 19, 2023).
5
Rule 6A-6.0212, F.A.C
BILL: SB 2516 Page 3
Each school district is required to offer and administer the high school equivalency diploma
examinations and the subject area examination to candidates. A candidate for a high school
equivalency diploma must be at least 18 years of age on the date of the examination, except that
in extraordinary circumstances, as provided for in rules of the district school board of the district
in which the candidate resides or attends school, a candidate may take the examination after
reaching the age of 16. School districts may not require a student who has reached the age of 16
to take any course before taking the examination unless the student fails to achieve a passing
score on the GED practice test.6
In 2022-2023, there were 8,888 students enrolled in a school district GED program, of whom
5,330 were 21 years of age or less. During that same time, there were 1,166 students enrolled in a
Florida College System (FCS) institution GED program, of whom 552 were 21 years of age or
less.7
Florida’s High School Graduation Rate
SBE rule provides that the 4-year graduation rate used in the school grades model be based on
the “uniform or federal graduation rate” or the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate outlined
in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).8 The ESEA defines the cohort for
graduation in four years is the number of students in the adjusted cohort for the graduating class
that formed based on first time ninth graders that entered in the fall four years prior.9 The
following adjustments are made to the graduation cohort over time to:
Add incoming transfer students based on their grade level and year of entry;
Remove deceased students; and
Remove students who withdrew to attend school in another state, private school, or a home-
education program.10
Each student in the graduation cohort receives a final classification as a graduate, dropout, or
non-graduate. Students who earned a GED-based diploma are counted as non-graduates in the
high school graduation rate, because the GED-based diploma is not recognized as a standard
diploma.11 In the 2021-2022 graduation cohort, 392 students earned a GED-based diploma and
4,837 were enrolled in an Adult Education program.12
6
Section 1003.435, F.S.
7
Email, Florida Department of Education, Governmental Relations (Dec. 8, 2023) (On file with the Senate Appropriations
Committee on Education).
8
Rule 6A-1.09981, F.A.C.
9
Section 8101(25) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
10
Florida Department of Education, 2021-22 Information Guide for the 4-year Graduation Rate Cohort,
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7584/urlt/2122GradRateInfoGuide.pdf, (last visited Jan. 19, 2023).
11
Section 8101(43) of ESEA defines a “regular high school diploma” and specifies that it may not be aligned to a State’s
alternate academic achievement standards and does not include a general equivalency diploma, certificate of completion,
certificate of attendance, or any other similar or lesser credential.
12
Florida Department of Education, Florida’s High School Cohort 2021-22 Graduation Rate,
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7584/urlt/GradRates2122.pdf, (last visited Jan. 21, 2023).
BILL: SB 2516 Page 4
School Grades
School grades are used to explain a school’s performance in a familiar, easy-to-understand
manner for parents and the public.13 School grades are also used to determine whether a school
must select or implement a turnaround option14 or whether a school is eligible for school
recognition funds as appropriated by the Legislature.15
Each school must receive a school grade based on the school’s performance on the following
components:
The percentage of eligible students passing statewide, standardized assessments in ELA,
mathematics, science, and social studies.
The percentage of eligible students who make learning gains in ELA and mathematics as
measured by statewide, standardized assessments.
The percentage of eligible students in the lowest 25 percent in ELA and mathematics, as
identified by prior year performance on statewide, standardized assessments, who make
learning gains as measured by statewide, standardized ELA assessments.
For schools comprised of grade levels that include grade 3, the percentage of eligible
students who score an achievement level 3 or higher on the grade 3 statewide, standardized
ELA assessment.
For schools comprised of middle grades 6 through 8 or grades 7 and 8, the percentage of
eligible students passing high school level statewide, standardized end-of-course assessments
or attaining national industry certifications identified in the CAPE Industry Certification
Funding List pursuant to SBE rule.16
For a school comprised of grades 9-12, or 10-12 the school’s grade is based on the following
components:
The 4-year high school graduation rate of the school.
The percentage of students who were eligible to earn college and career credit in a specified
acceleration mechanism, who earn a specified industry certification, or who participate in
Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps courses and earn a qualifying score on the Armed
Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.17
Federal Adult Secondary and Career Education Programs
Florida Workforce Education
At the postsecondary level, the terms “workforce education” and “workforce education program”
include:
Adult general education programs designed to improve the employability skills of the state’s
workforce.
13
Section 1008.34(1), F.S.
14
Section 1008.33(4), F.S.
15
Section 1008.36, F.S.
16
Section 1008.34(3), F.S.
17
Id and Rule 6A-1.09981 defines the four-year high school graduation rate as measured according to 34 CFR §200.19,
Other Academic Indicators.
BILL: SB 2516 Page 5
Career certificate programs, which are defined as a course of study that leads to one
completion point.
Applied technology diploma programs.
Continuing workforce education courses.
Degree career education programs.
Apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs.18
Adult Education programs in Florida were established to encourage the provision of educational
services that will enable adults to acquire.
The basic skills necessary to attain basic and functional literacy.
A high school diploma or successfully complete the high school equivalency examination.
An educational foundation that will enable them to become more employable, productive,
and self-sufficient citizens.
Knowledge and skills they need to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.19
An “applied technology diploma program” (ATD) is a course of study that is part of a technical
degree program consisting of either technical or college credit, and leads to employment in a
specific occupation.20 A public school district may offer an ATD program only as technical
credit, with college credit awarded to a student upon articulation to an FCS institution. Statewide
articulation among public schools and FCS institutions is guaranteed.21
To qualify for admission to an ATD program, a student must:22
Have a high school diploma, a high school equivalency diploma, or a certificate of
completion; or
Submit a signed affidavit by the student's parent or legal guardian attesting that the student
has completed a home education program that satisfies school attendance requirements.23
A “career certificate program” is a course of study that leads to at least one occupational
completion point. An “occupational completion point” means the occupational competencies that
qualify a person to enter an occupation that is linked to a career and technical program. The
career certificate program may also confer credit that may articulate with a diploma or career
degree education program.24 The DOE has established 29 statewide articulation agreements for
career certificate programs to career degree education programs.25
18
Section 1011.80(1), F.S.
19
Section 1004.93(1) and Florida Department of Education, Adult Education, https://www.fldoe.org/academics/career-adult-
edu/adult-edu/, (last visited Jan. 21, 2024).
20
Section 1004.02(7), F.S.
21
Section 1007.23(5), F.S.
22
Rule 6A-10.024(7), F.A.C.
23
Section 1002.41, F.S.
24
Section 1004.02, F.S.
25
Florida Department of Education, Statewide Articulation Agreements: Statewide Career Pathways,
https://www.fldoe.org/academics/career-adult-edu/career-technical-edu-agreements/psav-to-aas-as-degree.stml (last visited
Jan. 21, 2024).
BILL: SB 2516 Page 6
Funds for Operation of Workforce Education Programs
State funding for workforce education programs is calculated based on weighted student
enrollment and program costs, minus tuition and fee revenues, and including various
supplemental cost factors.26
Annual performance funding distributions to district school boards and state colleges are based
on student attainment of the credentials included in the CAPE Industry Certification Funding
List.27 Performance funding for industry certifications for school district workforce education
programs is contingent upon specific appropriation in the General Appropriations Act.28
Each district school board or FCS institution is provided $1,000 for each industry certification
earned by a workforce education student, or prorated if funds are insufficient to fully fund the
calculated total award.29
Workforce Education Tuition and Fees
For programs leading to a career certificate or an ATD, the standard tuition is $2.33 per contact
hour for residents. A block tuition of $45 per half year or $30 per term is assessed for students
enrolled in adult general education, which includes adult secondary education programs. Each
district school board and FCS institution may adopt tuition that is within the range of five percent
below to five percent above the standard tuition. Institutions may also adopt student financial aid,
capital improvement, and technology fees for students that are not enrolled in adult general
education programs. The student financial aid fee is capped at ten percent of tuition, while the
capital improvement and technology fees are capped at five percent of tuition.30
FCS institution boards of trustees and district school boards are also authorized to establish fee
schedules for the following user fees and fines: laboratory fees; parking fees and fines; library
fees and fines; fees and fines relating to facilities and equipment use or damage; access or
identification card fees; duplicating, photocopying, binding, or microfilming fees; standardized
testing fees; diploma replacement fees; transcript fees; application fees; graduation fees; and late
fees related to registration and payment. Such user fees and fines may not exceed the cost of the
services provided and may only be charged to persons receiving the service.31
Workfo