Vocational pathway to high school graduation gets big help with Massullo’s bill

Dr. Massullo champion for Career Technical/Vocational alternative graduation pathways

Florida State Rep. Ralph E. Massullo, MD, Chairman PreK-12 Innovation Subcommittee, Wednesday, March 6, 2019, during the presentation of HB7055/PCB PKI 19-01 – Career Education, that received unanimous bipartisan approval and was reported out of committee favorably. Photo courtesy of The Florida Channel-www.thefloridachannel.org

On Wednesday, March 6^th, 2019, on just day two of the 2019 Florida legislative session, after just 15 minutes in Florida House’s PreK-12 Innovation Subcommittee, our State Representative Dr. Ralph Massullo’s HB7055/PCB PKI 19-01 – Career Education, received unanimous bipartisan approval and was reported out of committee favorably.

During his presentation, Rep. Massullo shared, “We haven’t emphasized the career part as much as we should. We’re making an effort to do that (with HB7055/PCB PKI 19-0)”.  The bill was praised by both Republican and Democratic leaders.  Personally, I believe this may be the most positive bipartisan education legislation that passes this 2019 Florida Legislative session.

Rep. Massullo explained that Florida’s growing labor market will need to fill an additional 1.7 million vacancies by 2030. He echoed that Florida is already struggling to meet that demand. That was further detailed in the committee’s analysis report of the bill which stated, “Between 2018 and 2025, 64 percent of the jobs created will require a postsecondary degree or certificate. Currently, 48.3 percent of working-age Floridians have a postsecondary degree or certificate, and without growth, the state will remain below the number necessary to fully meet the workforce demand. Florida ranks 21^st in the nation for the percentage of adults with education and high-quality workforce credentials.” (Click here to read the full analysis report.)

The passage of this bill is the foundation for developing true alternative pathways through Career Technical/Vocational/Workforce education that leads to high school graduation.  My deep hope is that in future legislative sessions more will be done to provide needed alternatives to state required tests for graduation and provide for options like the use of individual student portfolios to demonstrate mastery of knowledge like we have available to students in 3^rd grade.

There’s a long way to go before this bill becomes law but it’s a huge step forward, and this bill will be an excellent footing to build upon.

I am so grateful to Rep. Massullo, for his tireless commitment to our students, for his great understanding on these issues, and for diligently working to lead his peers to make formative change that will positively impact students’ lives and our future Florida economy.

If this bill passes both chambers and is signed into law by Governor DeSantis it will;

• • Revises the school grades formula to recognize career certificate clock hour dual enrollment and establishes formal career dual enrollment agreements between high schools and career centers;
  • Allows students with an industry certification to earn two mathematics credits for Algebra I;
  • Allows a computer science credit to substitute for a mathematics or science credit and requires a biennial review of career education courses for alignment with high school graduation requirements;
  • Requires the Department of Education to provide assistance in increasing public awareness of apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship opportunities;
  • Requires the elimination of industry certifications that are not aligned to industry needs;
  • Establishes a “College and Career Decision Day” to recognize high school seniors for their postsecondary education and career plans;
  • Doubles the cap on career and professional education (CAPE) Digital Tool certificates the State Board of Education may identify for weighted FTE funding; and
  • Reestablishes a middle grades career planning course requirement.

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