The State Board of Education in Florida has commended the achievements of the state's apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs. A recent report highlights Florida's advancements towards becoming the leading state for workforce education by 2030. The Board also approved a new rule that allows educators with restricted classical education certification to teach over 1,400 courses listed in the Florida Department of Education’s Course Code Directory.
"Florida has prioritized investments in workforce education and our approach is paying off," stated Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. "Through workforce education, we are providing students with an educational choice that gives them high-demand skills that lead to high-wage jobs. I am also proud that we are continuing to support education choice through our new classical teaching certification and the addition of this certification to our Course Code Directory."
Apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs are integral to Florida's workforce initiative, serving as a primary source for skilled workers needed by the state's expanding economy. For the 2023-24 period, notable accomplishments include recognizing 10 school districts as Academically High Performing and identifying 774 Schools of Excellence across 48 districts.
Furthermore, the Board introduced a rule for implementing the Summer Bridge Program. This program offers early literacy instructional support for Voluntary Prekindergarten students who score below the 10th percentile on progress monitoring assessments.