HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 455 Career-themed Courses
SPONSOR(S): Choice & Innovation Subcommittee, Dunkley and others
TIED BILLS: None. IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 1468
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Choice & Innovation Subcommittee 18 Y, 0 N, As CS Dixon Sleap
2) Postsecondary Education & Workforce
Subcommittee
3) Education & Employment Committee
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
To provide awareness of the career academies and career themed courses available to students, the bill
requires districts to inform students and parents during course selection for middle school of the career and
professional academy or career-themed course available within the district.
The bill requires the Career and Professional Education Act strategic 3-year plan a school district develops
with stakeholders, to include strategies to inform and promote the career and technical education (CTE)
opportunities available in the district to students, parents, the community, and stakeholders.
The Department of Education is required to include data collected on student achievement and performance in
industry-certified career education programs and career-themed courses in the annual CTE review.
The bill does not appear to have a fiscal impact.
The bill has an effective date of July 1, 2023.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
STORAGE NAME: h0455.CIS
DATE: 3/22/2023
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Florida Career and Professional Education (CAPE) Act
Present Situation
The Career and Professional Education (CAPE) Act was created to provide a statewide planning
partnership between the business and education communities to attract, expand and retain targeted,
high-value industry to sustain a strong, knowledge-based economy.1 The primary purpose of the CAPE
Act is to:2
Improve middle and high school academic performance by providing rigorous and relevant
curriculum opportunities;
Provide rigorous and relevant career-themed courses that articulate to postsecondary-level
coursework and lead to industry certification;
Support local and regional economic development;
Respond to Florida's critical workforce needs; and
Provide state residents with access to high-wage and high-demand careers.
Middle Grades Career and Professional Academy Courses and Career-Themed Courses
In accordance with the CAPE Act, each school district must plan and implement at least one middle
school CAPE academy or career-themed course.
A career and professional academy is a research-based program that integrates a rigorous academic
curriculum with an industry-specific curriculum aligned directly to priority workforce needs established
by the local workforce development board or the Department of Economic Opportunities. 3
A career-themed course is a course in a series of courses, that leads to an industry certification
identified in the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List adopted by the State Board of Education. 4
Middle school academies and career-themed courses must:5
Be aligned with at least one high school CAPE academy or career-themed course offered in
the district and maintain partnerships with local business and industry and economic
development boards;
Lead to careers in occupations aligned to the approved Cape Industry Certification Funding
List;
Integrate content from core subjects;
Integrate career and professional academy or career-themed course content with intensive
reading, English Language Arts, and mathematics;
Coordinate with high schools to maximize opportunities for middle grades students to earn
high school credit;
Provide access to virtual instruction courses;
Provide instruction from highly skilled professionals certified in the career subject matter;
Offer externships; and
Provide personalized student advisement that includes a parent-participation component.
1 Section 1003.491, F.S.
2 Section 1003.491(1), F.S.
3 Section1003.493(1)(a), F.S.
4 Section 1003.493(1)(b), F.S. and Rule 6A-6.057. See also, Florida Department of Education, CAPE Industry Certification Funding
List, https://www.fldoe.org/academics/career-adult-edu/cape-secondary/cape-industry-cert-funding-list-current.stml (last visited Mar.
13, 2023).
5 Section 1003.4935, F.S.
STORAGE NAME: h0455.CIS PAGE: 2
DATE: 3/22/2023
Strategic Plan
To comply with the CAPE Act, school boards are required to develop a strategic plan in partnership
with regional workforce boards, economic development agencies, and state-approved postsecondary
institutions to better align academy programs with local workforce needs. Two or more school districts
may collaborate in the development of the strategic plan and jointly offer an academy or career-themed
courses.6
The strategic 3-year plan must, among other factors, be constructed and based on: 7
Strategies to develop and implement career academies and career-themed courses that provide
personalized student advisement, including a parent-participation component, and coordination
with middle grades to promote and support career-themed courses and education planning.
Alignment of requirements for middle school career planning, middle and high school career and
professional academies or career-themed courses leading to industry certification or
postsecondary credit, and high school graduation requirements.
Strategies to provide professional development for secondary certified school counselors on the
benefits of career and professional academies and career-themed courses that lead to industry
certification.
Plans to sustain and improve career-themed courses and career and professional academies.
Strategies that ensure instruction by industry-certified faculty and standards and strategies to
maintain current industry credentials and for recruiting and retaining faculty to meet those
standards.
The strategic plan must be reviewed, updated, and jointly approved every three years.
Career and Technical Education (CTE) Review
Current law requires the Commissioner of Education (commissioner) to annually conduct a review of K-
12 and postsecondary CTE programs that, at a minimum, must examine: 8
Alignment of offerings with the framework of quality established by the Credentials Review
Committee.9
Alignment of offerings at the K-12 and postsecondary levels with credentials or degree
programs identified on the Master Credentials List.
Program utilization and unwarranted duplication across institutions serving the same
students in a geographical or service area.
Institutional performance measured by student outcomes.
6 Section 1003.491(2), F.S.
7 Section 1003.491(3), F.S.
8 Section 1003.491(5)(a), F.S.
9 Section 445.004(h), F.S. The purpose of the Credential Review Committee is to identify nondegree credentials and degree
credentials of value for approval by the state board and inclusion in the Master Credentials List. Such credentials must include
registered apprenticeship programs, industry certifications, licenses, advanced technical certificates, college credit certificates, career
certificates, applied technology diplomas, associate degrees, baccalaureate degrees, and graduate degrees. See also, Florida
Department of Education, Master Credential List (2022-2023), available at https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/20129/urlt/13-
3.pdf.
STORAGE NAME: h0455.CIS PAGE: 3
DATE: 3/22/2023
Using the findings from the CTE review,10 the commissioner is required to phase out CTE offerings
which are not aligned with the framework of quality established by the Credentials Review Committee, 11
do not meet labor market demand or institutional performance, or are unwarranted program
duplications.12
In addition to the CTE review, the DOE is required to collect student achievement and performance
data in industry-certified career education programs and career-themed courses that includes, but need
not be limited to, graduation rates, retention rates, Florida Bright Futures Scholarship awards,
additional educational attainment, employment records, earnings, industry certification, return on
investment, and employer satisfaction.13
Effect of Proposed Changes
To provide awareness of the career academies and career themed courses available to students, the
bill requires districts to inform students and parents during course selection for middle school of the
career and professional academy or career-themed course available within the district.
The bill requires the CAPE Act strategic 3-year plan a school district develops with stakeholders, to
include strategies to inform and promote the CTE opportunities available in the district to students,
parents, the community, and stakeholders.
The DOE is required to include data collected on student achievement and performance in industry-
certified career education programs and career-themed courses in the annual CTE review.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1: Amends s. 1003.491, F.S.; revising the requirements for a specified school district
strategic plan to include certain information.
Section 2: Amends s. 1003.492, F.S.; requiring the Department of Education to include specified
data in an annual review of K-12 and postsecondary career and technical education
offerings.
Section 3: Amends s. 1003.4935, F.S.; requiring the Department of Education to include specified
data in an annual review of K-12 and postsecondary career and technical education
offerings.
Section 4: Provides an effective date.
II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
None.
10 Florida Department of Education, Career and Technical Education Audit,
https://www.fldoe.org/careerpathways/index.stml#overview (last visited Mar. 14, 2023).
11 Section 445.004(4)(h), F.S. The Credentials Review Committee serves to centralize identification and designation of non-degree
and degree credentials of value for inclusion on the Master Credentials List. Credentials must include registered apprentices hip
programs, industry certification, licenses, advanced technical certificates, college credit certificates, career certificates, applied
technology diplomas, associate degrees, baccalaureate degrees, and graduate degrees .
12 Section 1003.491(5)(c), F.S.
13 Section 1003.492(3), F.S.
STORAGE NAME: h0455.CIS PAGE: 4
DATE: 3/22/2023
2. Expenditures:
None.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
None.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
The bill does not appear to have fiscal impact.
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
None.
2. Other:
None.
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
None.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.
IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
On March 21, 2023, the Choice & Innovation Subcommittee adopted a proposed committee substitute
(PCS) and reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute. The PCS differed from HB 455 by adding
the following:
requires the strategic 3-year plan to include strategies to inform and promote the career and
technical education opportunities available in the district to students, parents, the community and
stakeholders;
requires the Department of Education (DOE) to include data collected on student achievement and
performance in industry-certified career education programs and career-themed courses as part of
its annual review; and
requires districts to inform students and parents during course selection for middle school of the
career and professional academy or career-themed course available within the district.
The PCS removed the requirement for the DOE to identify career-themed courses for middle school
students.
The bill analysis is drafted to the committee substitute adopted by the Choice & Innovation Subcommittee.
STORAGE NAME: h0455.CIS PAGE: 5
DATE: 3/22/2023
STORAGE NAME: h0455.CIS PAGE: 6
DATE: 3/22/2023
Statutes affected: H 455 Filed: 1003.493
H 455 c1: 1003.492, 1003.4935