Bill > S7038

Introduced Session

An act relating to education; amending s. 251.001, F.S.; requiring each Florida College System institution and state university to waive tuition and fees for members of the Florida State Guard if certain conditions are met; creating s. 413.0114, F.S.; requiring entities that offer fee-based services to individuals who are blind or visually impaired to disclose in writing whether the service may be obtained elsewhere at no cost; providing requirements for the disclosure; authorizing the State Board of Education to adopt rules; amending s. 413.208, F.S.; requiring certain service providers to apply to, rather than register with, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation; requiring the division to establish minimum qualifications for service providers; requiring the division to establish an annual application period; authorizing the division to approve or deny any service provider application; providing that, as of a specified date, only certain service providers may participate in the vocational rehabilitation program; requiring the division to develop and make publicly available a certain annual report; requiring service providers to meet certain standards to maintain approved status; requiring that the rates for vocational rehabilitation services meet certain criteria; amending s. 491.005, F.S.; revising the date for a requirement to obtain a license as a marriage and family therapist; amending s. 1001.7065, F.S.; revising academic and research excellence standards; amending s. 1001.92, F.S.; revising certain performance-based metrics; amending s. 1003.437, F.S.; requiring the State Board of Education to establish a uniform weighted grading system for specified courses and articulated acceleration mechanisms; requiring district school boards to use the system for a specified purpose; creating s. 1004.0983, F.S.; requiring state universities and Florida College System institutions to adopt and implement specified policies and procedures relating to safety; specifying requirements for such policies and procedures; requiring state universities and Florida College System institutions to annually review and update the policies and procedures; authorizing the Board of Governors and the State Board of Education to adopt regulations and rules, respectively; amending s. 1005.06, F.S.; revising the list of institutions that are not under the jurisdiction of the Commission for Independent Education; amending s. 1007.25, F.S.; revising the timeframe for Florida College System institutions and state universities to submit comments in response to a specified notice of intent; amending s. 1007.271, F.S.; revising the list of postsecondary institutions that are eligible to participate in a dual enrollment program; amending s. 1008.30, F.S.; deleting a requirement for the State Board of Education to adopt rules; authorizing school district career centers to use alternative methods adopted by the board in lieu of common placement tests to assess students in basic communication and computation skills; authorizing Florida College System institutions to request approval of institution specific alternative methods; making conforming changes; amending s. 1008.44, F.S.; deleting a provision limiting how supplemental funding may be earned for the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List; amending s. 1008.47, F.S.; revising the timeframe for a public postsecondary institution to seek and obtain accreditation; amending s. 1009.21, F.S.; providing that a person may not lose his or her resident status for tuition purposes due to incarceration; providing that a person may not lose his or her resident status for tuition purposes due to his or her parent serving outside this state in certain capacities; amending s. 1009.26, F.S.; providing that a fee waiver only applies to a full time undergraduate student, beginning with a specified academic year; revising requirements for a fee waiver; amending s. 1009.30, F.S.; requiring that certain postsecondary institutions be reimbursed for public school students under the Dual Enrollment Scholarship Program; amending s. 1009.536, F.S.; revising student eligibility requirements for the Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars and Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars awards; authorizing a student to apply for the Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars award within a specified timeframe; amending s. 1009.893, F.S.; authorizing a student to defer an award under the Benacquisto Scholarship Program; amending s. 1009.983, F.S.; authorizing a specified designee with certain credentials to serve as director of the direct-support organization for the Florida Prepaid College Foundation, Inc.; amending s. 1009.986, F.S.; revising the membership of the board of directors of Florida ABLE, Inc.; amending s. 1011.62, F.S.; revising the academic acceleration options supplement in the Florida Education Finance Program to include a method for calculating additional full-time equivalent membership based on a specified course and test score; providing specified bonuses; amending s. 1011.84, F.S.; revising the components to be considered by the Legislature in determining an apportionment of state funds to a Florida College System institution; deleting obsolete provisions; amending s. 1013.841, F.S.; requiring all Florida College System institutions, rather than only certain institutions, to maintain a specified carry forward balance; providing that a Florida College System institution may retain an annual reserve amount exceeding the carry forward balance; deleting obsolete provisions; authorizing the inclusion in a carry forward spending plan of the retention of a carry forward balance as a reserve fund for a specified use; providing an effective date.

AI Summary

No sponsors listed

Other Sponsors (3)

CS/CS by Rules read 1st time (on 02/25/2026)

Official Document