Bill Text: FL S2042 | 2010 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: College and Career Transition Assistance Act [SPSC]
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Finance and Tax [S2042 Detail]
Download: Florida-2010-S2042-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2010 CS for SB 2042 By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability; and Senator Wise 585-04974-10 20102042c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the College and Career Transition 3 Assistance Act; providing a short title; providing 4 definitions; providing legislative findings and 5 intent; establishing a school-to-work program to be 6 operated in any school, Department of Juvenile Justice 7 facility, or charter school; providing requirements 8 for participation in the program; creating an 9 endowment fund within the Florida Endowment Foundation 10 for Florida’s Graduates; creating the Florida 11 Endowment Foundation for Florida’s Graduates; 12 establishing a board of directors; providing for 13 membership; providing terms; providing powers and 14 duties; requiring an annual audit report; requiring 15 that the board submit a report to the Governor, the 16 Legislature, and the Commissioner of Education; 17 requiring that the Department of Education adopt 18 rules; providing an effective date. 19 20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 21 22 Section 1. College and Career Transition Assistance Act.— 23 (1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “College 24 and Career Transition Assistance Act.” 25 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, the 26 term: 27 (a) “Board” means the board of directors of the Florida 28 Endowment Foundation for Florida’s Graduates. 29 (b) “Department” means the Department of Education. 30 (c) “Endowment fund” means an account established within 31 the Florida Endowment Foundation for Florida’s Graduates to 32 provide a continuing and growing source of revenue for efforts 33 relating to the transition from school to work. 34 (d) “Foundation” means the Florida Endowment Foundation for 35 Florida’s Graduates. 36 (3) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—The Legislature finds 37 that it is in the best interest of the state to have a well 38 educated and skilled workforce in order to be competitive in a 39 changing economy. It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure 40 a skilled workforce by creating a formal program that 41 facilitates the important transition from school to work and to 42 provide additional funding to achieve this goal. Therefore, the 43 Legislature finds that it is: 44 (a) Important to increase each student’s understanding of 45 postsecondary educational opportunities and career and work 46 readiness skills. 47 (b) Appropriate to encourage individual and corporate 48 support and involvement, as well as state support and 49 involvement, to promote employment opportunities for Florida’s 50 students. 51 (4) SCHOOL-TO-WORK PROGRAMS.—Except as otherwise provided 52 by law or by department rule, there is established a school-to 53 work program that shall be operated according to the process and 54 outcome standards of the department’s initiatives. 55 (a) A school-to-work program may be operated in any school 56 district, Department of Juvenile Justice facility, or charter 57 school. 58 (b) Participating organizations must be demographically 59 balanced to include urban and rural schools and be comprised of 60 schools in all geographic areas of the state. Each school that 61 is selected to participate in a school-to-work program shall 62 enter into a formal written agreement with the State Board of 63 Education which, at a minimum, details the responsibilities of 64 each party and the process and goals of the program. 65 (c) Each participating school, Department of Juvenile 66 Justice facility, or charter school shall select and approve 67 each student for participation in the school-to-work program 68 based on the student’s classification as an at-risk student. 69 (5) REVENUE FOR THE ENDOWMENT FUND.— 70 (a) An endowment fund is created as a long-term, stable, 71 and growing source of revenue which shall be administered by the 72 foundation pursuant to rules adopted by the department. 73 (b) The principal of the endowment fund shall consist of 74 legislative appropriations and bequests, gifts, grants, or 75 donations solicited from public or private sources by the 76 foundation. 77 (c) The foundation shall invest and reinvest moneys from 78 the principal of the endowment fund pursuant to ss. 215.44 79 215.53, Florida Statutes. Interest and investment income earned 80 from moneys in the endowment fund shall be annually transmitted 81 to the foundation, based upon a fiscal year beginning July 1 and 82 ending June 30, and shall be used to provide for the following: 83 1. Planning, research, and policy development for issues 84 related to school-to-work transition and publications and 85 dissemination of such information as may serve the objectives of 86 this section. 87 2. Promotion of initiatives for school-to-work transition. 88 3. Funding of programs that engage in, contract for, 89 foster, finance, or aid in job training and counseling for 90 school-to-work transition research, education, or demonstration, 91 or other related activities. 92 4. Funding of programs that engage in, contract for, 93 foster, finance, or aid in activities designed to advance better 94 public understanding and appreciation of the school-to-work 95 transition. 96 (6) THE FLORIDA ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION FOR FLORIDA’S 97 GRADUATES.— 98 (a) The Florida Endowment Foundation for Florida’s 99 Graduates is created, in support of the Department of Education, 100 to encourage public and private support and enhance the 101 transition of students from school to work. The foundation shall 102 be registered, incorporated, organized, and operated in 103 compliance with chapter 617, Florida Statutes. The foundation, 104 under contract with the department, shall operate in the most 105 open and accessible manner consistent with its public purpose. 106 The Florida Endowment Foundation for Florida’s Graduates and its 107 boards and advisory committees or similar groups created by the 108 foundation shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 119, 109 Florida Statutes, relating to public records and those 110 provisions of chapter 286, Florida Statutes, relating to public 111 meetings and records. 112 (b) The Florida Endowment Foundation for Florida’s 113 Graduates shall be governed by a board of directors. The board 114 of directors shall consist of 14 members as follows: 115 1. Three members, each of whom represents business and 116 industry, appointed by the Governor. 117 2. One member, who represents small business, appointed by 118 the President of the Senate. 119 3. One member, who represents a high-wage or high-growth 120 industry, appointed by the Speaker of the House of 121 Representatives. 122 4. The Commissioner of Education or his or her designee. 123 5. The director of the Agency for Workforce Innovation or 124 his or her designee. 125 6. The Secretary of Juvenile Justice or his or her 126 designee. 127 7. The Chancellor of the Division of Florida Colleges or 128 his or her designee. 129 8. The Chancellor of Career and Adult Education or his or 130 her designee. 131 9. One member from the Florida Legislative Black Caucus. 132 10. One member from the Florida Hispanic Legislative 133 Caucus. 134 11. One member from the Commission on African-American 135 Affairs. 136 12. One member from the State Commission on Hispanic 137 Affairs. 138 (c) Each member shall have an interest in the transition of 139 students from school to work and, if practicable, shall have: 140 1. Skills relating to work in a foundation or fundraising 141 activities, financial consulting, investment banking, or other 142 related experience; or 143 2. Experience in policymaking or executive-level positions 144 or have distinguished themselves in the fields of education, 145 business, or industry. 146 (d) Vacancies for the members who are appointed shall be 147 filled in the same manner as the original appointment. Such 148 members shall be appointed for terms of 3 years or until 149 resignation or removal for cause, except that members appointed 150 to serve initial terms shall be appointed to staggered terms of 151 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. 152 (e) Appointive members are eligible for reappointment and 153 may be removed for cause. 154 (f) A vacancy on the board of directors shall be filled for 155 the remainder of the unexpired term. 156 (g) A chairperson shall be appointed from the membership 157 for a term of 2 years and may be reappointed. However, the 158 chairperson may not serve more than 6 consecutive years. 159 (h) Each member is accountable for the proper performance 160 of his or her duties. Members may be removed from office for 161 malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, incompetence, or the 162 permanent inability to perform official duties or for pleading 163 nolo contendere to, or being found guilty of, a crime. 164 (7) ORGANIZATION, POWERS, AND DUTIES.—Within the limits 165 prescribed in this section: 166 (a) Upon appointment of its members, the board shall meet 167 and organize. Thereafter, the board shall hold such meetings as 168 are necessary to administer this section. 169 (b) The board may solicit and receive bequests, gifts, 170 grants, donations, goods, and services. Any gift that is 171 restricted as to its purpose may be used only for the purpose or 172 purposes stated by the donor. 173 (c) The board may enter into contracts with the Federal 174 Government, the state, local agencies, private entities, or 175 individuals in order to carry out the purposes of this section. 176 (d) The board may identify, initiate, and fund programs to 177 carry out the purposes of this section. 178 (e) The board may make gifts or grants to: 179 1. The state, or any political subdivision thereof, or any 180 public agency of state or local government. 181 2. A corporation, trust, association, or foundation 182 organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, 183 or scientific purposes. 184 (f) The board may advertise and solicit applications for 185 funding and shall evaluate applications and program proposals 186 submitted to the board. 187 (g) The board shall monitor, review, and annually evaluate 188 funded programs to determine whether funding should be 189 continued, terminated, reduced, or increased. 190 (h) The board shall operate the programs to ensure that the 191 goals of this section are met and shall recommend to the 192 Department of Education the adoption of rules as may be 193 necessary. 194 (i) The board may take such additional actions, including 195 independently organizing and conducting hiring, as are deemed 196 necessary and appropriate to administer the provisions of this 197 section. An employment position with the foundation is not state 198 employment. 199 (8) ANNUAL AUDIT.—The board shall cause to be conducted an 200 annual audit of the foundation’s financial accounts by an 201 independent certified public accountant. The annual audit report 202 shall be submitted to the Auditor General and the Department of 203 Education for review. The Auditor General and the department may 204 require and receive from the foundation, or from its independent 205 auditor, any relevant detail or supplemental data. 206 (9) ASSESSMENT OF PROGRAM RESULTS.—The foundation shall 207 assess the success of the programs by: 208 (a) Reviewing the program’s activities and submitting a 209 report to the Department of Education and the Legislature on or 210 before August 1 of each year. 211 (b) Coordinating an ongoing longitudinal study of 212 participants to determine the overall efficacy of the program. 213 (10) ANNUAL REPORT.—The board shall submit a report to the 214 Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House 215 of Representatives, and the Commissioner of Education on or 216 before January 1 of each year, which summarizes the performance 217 of the endowment fund for the previous fiscal year and the 218 foundation’s fundraising activities and performance, and details 219 those activities and programs supported by the earnings on the 220 endowment principal or by bequests, gifts, grants, donations, 221 and other valued goods and services received. 222 (11) RULES.—The Department of Education shall adopt rules 223 to administer this section. 224 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.
