Florida schools will help students plan for careers even if they don’t want to seek a four-year college degree under a wide-ranging education bill sent to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday.
The bill is a priority for DeSantis, who called for the changes in his State of the State speech that opened the 60-day legislative session. The bill was unanimously passed by the House and Senate on the 59th day of the session.
“This is the most transformational thing we have done in education since Gov. (Jeb) Bush presided over us,” said Republican Sen. Travis Hutson. “There are so many good things in this bill.”
The bill will require schools to place a stronger emphasis on vocational and technical training and apprenticeships, beginning with required courses for middle school students on career and education training. The idea is to get students to begin thinking about their career options once they graduate from high school and how to achieve those goals. The state will track high-skilled, well-paying jobs that are in high demand and help train students who are interested in those careers.