Bill > S1252

This bill revises Florida's higher education system by renaming the "Florida College System" to the "Florida Community College System" and making related terminology changes throughout the statutes. It also clarifies the mission of the K-20 education system to avoid program duplication, strengthens the State Board of Education's oversight of the Florida Community College System to ensure program consistency, and outlines specific enforcement actions the board can take if institutions fail to comply with laws and rules. Additionally, the bill modifies requirements for career and adult education programs, restricts technical centers and charter technical career centers from offering college-level degrees, and establishes new guidelines for Florida Community College System institutions seeking to offer baccalaureate degree programs, including stricter approval processes and enrollment limitations. It also introduces provisions for preeminent state research universities to partner with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for merit scholarships and expands the scope of articulation agreements to include industry certifications and credit transfers from Florida Community College System institutions to state universities, while also mandating a report on the status of Florida's "2+2" articulation system.