The purpose of this rule amendment is to incorporate changes made by the 2012 Legislature to the governing statutes. In addition, new certifications will be added to the Industry Certification Funding List, as incorporated by reference in the rule ...

 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
State Board of Education

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:
6A-6.0573Industry Certification Process.
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of this rule amendment is to incorporate changes made by the 2012 Legislature to the governing statutes. In addition, new certifications will be added to the Industry Certification Funding List, as incorporated by reference in the rule and referred to as the 2012-2013 Industry Certification Funding List. The Industry Certification Funding List must include weights for each industry certification for use in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) calculation, which are calculated on an annual basis.
SUMMARY: The 2012 Legislature amended Sections 1003.491-1003.4935, Florida Statutes, and Section 1011.62(1)(o), Florida Statutes. These changes require the Department to identify a list of industry certifications in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) that are appropriate for middle school students only. This requires the adoption of a separate list of middle school STEM certifications. The Department is adopting the “2012-2013 Industry Certification Funding List” and adopting by reference the “Comprehensive Industry Certification List, 2012-13” as approved and published March 1, 2012, by Workforce Florida, Inc. In addition, the Department is adding a designation to items on the “2012-13 Industry Certification Funding List” for STEM certifications.
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION:
The Agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has not been prepared by the agency.
The Agency has determined that the proposed rule does not require legislative ratification and is not expected to have any impact on the factors found in Section 120.541(2)(a), F.S. This is because the amendment incorporates by reference the 2012-2013 Industry Certification Funding List and Middle School STEM Industry Certification List which contains the certifications school districts can report to the Department of Education in order to seek additional funding calculated through the Florida Education Finance Program.
Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 1003.492(2) FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 1003.491, 1003.492, 1003.493, 1003.4935, 1011.62(1)(o) FS.
A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:
DATE AND TIME: January 15, 2013, 8:00 a.m.
PLACE: Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, 8511 Commodity Circle, Suite 100, Orlando, FL.
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Tara Goodman, Bureau Chief, Budget, Accountability, and Assessment, Career and Adult Education, 325 West Gaines St., Room 744, Tallahassee, FL., 32399, [phone]

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

6A-6.0573 Industry Certification Process.

(1) Pursuant to Section 1003.492(2), F.S., Workforce Florida, Inc.’s approved list of industry certifications, which has been named the “Workforce Florida, Inc. Comprehensive Industry Certification List for the Career and Professional Education Act, 2012-2013 2011-2012, Updated” (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-02159 http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-01140) is adopted by the State Board of Education and incorporated by reference in this rule. The “Workforce Florida, Inc. Comprehensive Industry Certification List for the Career and Professional Education Act, 2012-13 2011-2012, Updated” may be obtained from the Department of Education’s web site at http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/fcpea/default.asp.

(2) The “Comprehensive Industry Certification List” shall be published by March 1 of each calendar year.

(3) “Industry Certification Funding List.” The Department of Education shall review the approved “Comprehensive Industry Certification List” to identify certifications deemed sufficiently rigorous academically and, thus, eligible for additional full-time equivalent (FTE) membership funding, pursuant to Section 1011.62(1), F.S.

(a) This list will be known as the “2012-2013 2011-2012 Industry Certification Funding List, Updated” (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-02160 https://www.flrules.org/gateway/reference.asp?NO=Ref-01144) to be published by the Department of Education and is incorporated by reference in this rule. The “2012-2013 2011-2012 Industry Certification Funding List, Updated” may be obtained from the Department of Education’s web site at http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/fcpea/default.asp.

(b) To be considered for additional full-time equivalent membership funding and included on the “2012-2013 2011-2012 Industry Certification Funding List, Updated” in this paragraph, a certification shall:

1. Be on the “Comprehensive Industry Certification List;”

2. Be achievable by secondary students; and

3. Require a minimum of one hundred fifty (150) hours of instruction.; and

4. Have been offered for at least one year in a school district.

(c) The Commissioner of Education may waive the one-year requirement when failure to do so would inhibit preparation of students for emerging workforce opportunities.

(4) No later than March 5 each year, the Department of Education shall produce a preliminary “Industry Certification Funding List” and shall show the industry certifications for which registered career and professional academy students may be reported for additional full-time equivalent membership funding by school districts under Section 1011.62(1), F.S.

(a) School districts shall be provided a period of time to request additions to the preliminary “Industry Certification Funding List” prior to publication of the final “Industry Certification Funding List” for the following school year.

(b) School districts offering career and professional academies or career-themed courses under Section 1003.492, F.S., may submit requests to include an industry certification, not on the preliminary “Industry Certification Funding List,” to the final “Industry Certification Funding List” along with supporting documentation, to the Department of Education.

1. through (5)(a) No change.

(b) Employment value shall be determined by the State Board of Education, in consultation with Workforce Florida, Inc., using the entry wage, growth rate, and average annual openings for the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code linked to the industry certification, based on occupational linkages assigned by the Department of Economic Opportunity. 

1. The maximum employment value of the industry certification is three points. The State Board of Education shall assign one point to each certification for the three indicators: entry wage, growth rate, and average annual openings. Points shall be assigned to each certification based on the percentile ranking of the occupation to which it is linked among all occupations linked to certifications on the “Industry Certification Funding List.” The source for the employment information is data from Department of Economic Opportunity, Labor Market Statistics Center, Occupational Employment Statistics Program and Employment Projections Program, in the document “2007-12 2007-11 Comprehensive Industry Certification List with Employment Data, Updated” (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-02161 http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-01149) which is hereby incorporated by reference. The document can be accessed from the Department’s web site at http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/careeracademies/ca_home.asp.

2. through (d) No change.

(6) Pursuant to Section 1011.62(1), F.S., the State Board of Education shall adopt designations for items on the annual Industry Certification Funding List for certifications in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).  These designations will be identified for industry certifications that lead to occupations identified as STEM by the Department of Economic Opportunity in the document “Defining Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Occupations Based on O*NET Subject Knowledge Values (Importance and Level)” (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-02162) and is hereby incorporated by reference.

(7) The “Middle School STEM Industry Certification List.” The Department of Education shall adopt a list of industry certifications that are designated as STEM, thus, eligible for additional full-time equivalent (FTE) membership funding pursuant to Section 1011.62(1), F.S.

(a)This list will be known as the “2012-13 Middle School STEM Industry Certification List” (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-02163) to be published by the Department of Education and is incorporated by reference in this rule. The “2012-13 Middle School STEM Industry Certification List” may be obtained from the Department of Education’s web site at http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/fcpea/default.asp.

(b) To be considered for additional full-time equivalent membership funding and included on the “2012-13 Middle School STEM Industry Certification List” in this paragraph, a certification shall:

1.Be achievable by students enrolled in sixth grade, seventh grade, or eighth grade;

2.Require a minimum of seventy-five (75) hours of instruction;

3.Demonstrate skills for progression in a STEM career pathway or introductory skills that prepare for a certification designated as STEM on the “2012-2013 Industry Certification Funding List”;

4.Be a proctored examination that is assessed by an  independent, third party certifying entity using predetermined standards for knowledge, skills, and competencies; and

5.Not be a certification on the “2012-13 Industry Certification Funding List.”

(c) Students reported as earning a certification on the “Middle School STEM Industry Certification List” may not use those examinations to satisfy the requirements for earning a certification on the “Industry Certification Funding List.”

(8)(6) The final “Industry Certification Funding List” for the school year shall be published no later than the July 15, preceding the beginning of the school year. The list shall include a weight for use in the additional full-time equivalent membership calculation pursuant to Section 1011.62(1), F.S., as defined in subsection (5) of this rule.

(9)(7) Conditions for the additional full-time equivalent membership funding pursuant to Section 1011.62(1), F.S.

(a) A school district shall be eligible for additional FTE membership under the following conditions, for a maximum of 0.3 full-time equivalent membership funding per student:

1. Student is enrolled in a registered career and professional academy or is enrolled in a registered career-themed course.

2. Student completes a certification on the “Industry Certification Funding List.” or student in sixth, seventh, or eighth grade completes a certification on the “Middle School STEM Industry Certification List.”

3. Student receives a high school diploma or middle school student is promoted to ninth grade after earning an industry certification with a STEM designation on the “Industry Certification Funding List” or “Middle School STEM Industry Certification List.”

(b) Up to three (3) two certifications may be reported for a course.

(c) School districts may report students who complete industry certifications during the update period allowed by the Department of Education for survey 5 after an initial submission.

(10)(8) Registration of High School Career and Professional Academies. The Department of Education shall maintain a web site for school districts to register career and professional academies that meet the requirements of Section 1003.493, F.S.

(a) through (d) No change.

(11)(9) Registration of Middle School Career and Professional Academies. The Department of Education shall maintain a website for school districts to register middle school career and professional academies that meet the requirements of Section 1003.4935, F.S.

(a) through (d) No change.

(12) Registration of Career-Themed Courses. The Department of Education shall maintain a process by which school districts shall provide to the Department a list of career-themed courses by school that meet the statutory requirements of Section 1003.493(1), F.S. Form FCAPEA-03, Career and Professional Education Act Career-Themed Course Registration Form, (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-02164) and Form FCAPEA-04, Certification Form for the Registration of Career-Themed Courses (http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-02165) are hereby incorporated by reference in this rule to become effective February 2013, and shall be utilized for reporting the career-themed course information. Forms FCAPEA-03 and FCAPEA-04 may be found on the Department’s web site at: http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/fcpea/default.asp.

(a) As part of the registration process, superintendents shall certify that each career-themed course meets the requirements of Section 1003.493(1), F.S., and secondary school offering the career-themed course meets all of the requirements of Section 1003.493(4), F.S., or Section 1003.4935(2), F.S.

(b) Career-themed courses shall be registered by March 15 of the reporting year for the students in those courses to be eligible to generate the additional full-time equivalent membership funding based on the completion of industry certifications.

Rulemaking Authority 1003.492(2), 1011.62(1)(o) FS. Law Implemented 1003.491, 1003.492, 1003.493, 1003.4935, 1011.62(1)(o) FS. History–New 10-20-08, Amended 8-18-09, 6-22-10, 6-21-11, 10-25-11, 8-23-12,________.

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Rod Duckworth, Chancellor, Division of Career and Adult Education
NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Pam Stewart, Commissioner, Department of Education
DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: December 14, 2012
DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAR: August 24, 2012