1004.99 Florida Ready to Work Certification Program.

1004.99 Florida Ready to Work Certification Program.

   (1) There is created the Florida Ready to Work Certification Program to enhance the workplace skills of Florida’s students to better prepare them for successful employment in specific occupations.

   (2) The Florida Ready to Work Certification Program may be conducted in public middle and high schools, 1community colleges, technical centers, one-stop career centers, vocational rehabilitation centers, and Department of Juvenile Justice educational facilities. The program may be made available to other entities that provide job training. The Department of Education shall establish institutional readiness criteria for program implementation.

   (3) The Florida Ready to Work Certification Program shall be composed of:

   (a) A comprehensive identification of workplace skills for each occupation identified for inclusion in the program by the Agency for Workforce Innovation and the Department of Education.

   (b) A preinstructional assessment that delineates the student’s mastery level on the specific workplace skills identified for that occupation.

   (c) A targeted instructional program limited to those identified workplace skills in which the student is not proficient as measured by the preinstructional assessment. Instruction must utilize a web-based program and be customized to meet identified specific needs of local employers.

   (d) A Florida Ready to Work Credential and portfolio awarded to students upon successful completion of the instruction. Each portfolio must delineate the skills demonstrated by the student as evidence of the student’s preparation for employment.

   (4) A Florida Ready to Work Credential shall be awarded to a student who successfully passes assessments in Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, and Locating Information or any other assessments of comparable rigor. Each assessment shall be scored on a scale of 3 to 7. The level of the credential each student receives is based on the following:

   (a) A bronze-level credential requires a minimum score of 3 or above on each of the assessments.

   (b) A silver-level credential requires a minimum score of 4 or above on each of the assessments.

   (c) A gold-level credential requires a minimum score of 5 or above on each of the assessments.

   (5) The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Agency for Workforce Innovation, may adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of this section.

History. s. 35, ch. 2006-74; s. 15, ch. 2008-235.

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Note. Section 21, ch. 2010-70, directs the Division of Statutory Revision to prepare a reviser’s bill to substitute the term “Florida College System institution” for the terms “Florida college,” “community college,” and “junior college” where those terms appear in the Florida K-20 Education Code.