SB 442 — Postsecondary Education for Certain Military Personnel

Florida Senate - 2019 CS for SB 442 By Senatorthe LeeCommittee 20-01074-19on 2019442__Military Aand billVeterans toAffairs beand entitledSpace; An act relating to postsecondary education for certain military personnel;

and Senators Lee, Broxson, Cruz, Mayfield, and Diaz 583-03495-19 2019442c1 A bill to be entitled An act relating to postsecondary education for certain military personnel;

requiring the Board of Governors and State Board of Education, in consultation with the ChancellorsDepartment of theVeterans’ StateAffairs, University System and the Florida College System, to create a uniform system for the award of postsecondary college credit to certain servicemembers and veterans of the United States military;Armed Forces;

providingrequiring the requirementsArticulation forCoordinating suchCommittee uniformto system;convene a workgroup by a specified date;

requiringproviding publicmembership postsecondaryand institutionsduties toof participate in the uniformworkgroup; system;

providing administrative support for the workgroup;

requiring the workgroup to provide recommendations to the Board of Governors and State Board of Education by a specified date;

requiring the Articulation Coordinating Committee to review and identify military experience and credentials for postsecondary credit by a specified date;

requiring the Articulation Coordinating Committee to approve and the Board of Governors and State Board of Education to adopt a specified list;

requiring certain postsecondary institutions to award credit for specified military experience and credentials;

authorizing the award of additional credits;

requiring that certain credits be transferrable between specified postsecondary institutions;

requiring specified postsecondary institutions to waive the transcript fee for active duty members of the Armed Forces of the United StatesStates, certain veterans, and certaintheir veterans;spouses and dependents;

requiringproviding specifiedreporting postsecondaryrequirements institutionsfor tosuch provideinstitutions; a report to the Board of Governors and the State Board of Education;

requiring the Board of Governors and the State Board of EducationEducation, respectively, to adopt regulations and rules,rules; respectively;

2336 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

2538 Section 1. Section 1004.096, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

1004.096 College credit for military experience and training and education courses.— (1) In consultation with the ChancellorsDepartment of theVeterans’ StateAffairs, University System and the Florida College System, the Board of Governors shall adopt regulations and the State Board of Education shall adopt rules that create a uniform system that enables enable eligible servicemembers or veterans of the United States Armed Forces to earn postsecondary academic college credit at public postsecondary educational institutions for experience and college-level training and education acquired in the military.

(2) TheThe regulations and rules shall include,include butprocedures arefor credential evaluation and the award of postsecondary academic college credit, including, but not limited to:to, equivalency and alignment of military coursework with appropriate postsecondary college courses, and course descriptions, type and amount of college credit that may be awarded, and transfer of credit.

(a) Procedures(2) The forArticulation theCoordinating credentialCommittee evaluationshall ofconvene militarya credentialsworkgroup andby experienceAugust and31, the2019, awardto ofdevelop academica collegeuniform creditprocess basedfor ondetermining suchwhen credentialsmilitary experience and experience,credentials including,are butappropriate notfor limitedpostsecondary to,credit equivalency and alignmentto ofmeet militarythe courseworkrequirements andof experiencethis withsection. appropriate college courses and, course descriptions.

(b)1. A(a) The listworkgroup of courses for which academic college credit shall be awardedcomposed forof specifiedthe militaryfollowing credentials13 andmembers: experience.

Academic1. The collegechair creditof mustthe beArticulation offeredCoordinating forCommittee, requiredwho courseworkshall basedserve onas militarychair. credentials and experience, when appropriate.

2. The2. Four Statemembers Boardrepresenting ofacademic Educationaffairs administrators and Boardfaculty offrom Governorsstate mustuniversities, useappointed theby American Council on Education’s “Guide to the Evaluationchair of Educational Experiences in the ArmedBoard Services,” or a similar resource if such guide is discontinued, when determining which military credentials and experience shall be applied toward the award of academicGovernors. college credit, type and amount of college credit that may be awarded, and transfer of credit.

(c) A3. Four policymembers forrepresenting theacademic mandatoryaffairs transferadministrators ofand academicfaculty collegefrom creditsFlorida awardedCollege pursuantSystem toinstitutions, thisappointed sectionby betweenthe publicchair postsecondaryof educationalthe institutions.State Board of Education.

(d) The4. Two minimummembers numberrepresenting offaculty academicfrom collegecareer creditscenters, eachappointed publicby postsecondarythe educationalchair institutionof mustthe offerState forBoard qualifyingof militaryEducation. credentials and experience;

however,5. Two amembers publicrepresenting postsecondaryveterans, educationalappointed institutionby maythe offerexecutive additionaldirector academicof creditsthe forDepartment suchof credentialsVeterans’ andAffairs. experience, when appropriate.

(3) Each(b) The publicOffice postsecondaryof educationalK-20 institutionArticulation mustshall participateprovide inadministrative thesupport uniformfor systemthe createdworkgroup. under this section.

(c) The workgroup shall provide recommendations regarding a uniform process for determining postsecondary course equivalencies and the minimum credit that must be awarded for military experience and credentials to the Board of Governors and the State Board of Education by December 1, 2019, for approval at the next publicly noticed meeting of each board.

(d) The Articulation Coordinating Committee shall facilitate the review of military experience and credentials for postsecondary course equivalencies and the amount of credit that must be awarded beginning no later than January 1, 2020, in accordance with the approved process.

(e) The Articulation Coordinating Committee shall approve a list of postsecondary course equivalencies and the minimum credit that must be awarded for military experience and credentials no later than November 30, 2020, and annually thereafter.

The Board of Governors and the State Board of Education shall adopt the list approved by the Articulation Coordinating Committee at the next publicly noticed meeting of each board.

(f) State universities, Florida College System institutions, and career centers must award postsecondary credit for military experience and credentials based on the list adopted by the Board of Governors and the State Board of Education, if the credit is applicable toward the student’s degree or certificate.

Institutions may award additional postsecondary credit if appropriate.

Credit awarded in accordance with minimum credit requirements is guaranteed to transfer to other state universities, Florida College System institutions, and career centers as if the credit were earned at the receiving institution.

1001.44, or charter technical career center shall waive the transcript fee for a person who is an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States or an honorably discharged veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States.States and his or her spouse and dependents.