WIOA State Plan Common Elements

The Florida Higher Education Coordinating Council was established to identify needs and to facilitate solutions for creating new degree programs and establishing new educational institutes, campuses, or centers. The council makes recommendations to the Florida Legislature, the State Board of Education and the Board of Governors, State University System of Florida.

The Higher Education Coordinating Council includes the state university system, Florida college system, representatives of the business community, a member of the Florida Board of Governors, a member of the Florida State Board of Education, the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges, the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, Enterprise Florida and CareerSource Florida.

As the council develops recommendations it seeks to adhere to the following guiding principles:

• To achieve within existing resources a seamless academic educational system that fosters an integrated continuum of kindergarten through graduate school education for Florida’s students;
• To promote consistent education policy across all educational delivery systems, focusing on students;
• To promote substantially improved articulation across all educational delivery systems;
• To promote a system that maximizes educational access and allows the opportunity for a high-quality education for all Floridians;
• To promote a system of coordinated and consistent transfer of credit and data collection for improved accountability purposes between education delivery systems.

The council’s work is consistent with WIOA’s intent of bolstering strategic coordination among core programs for skills development to ensure local communities, the state and nation continue to build and maintain a competitive workforce.

For example, through the council’s leadership, in November 2016, Florida joined a growing number of states that adopted a postsecondary attainment goal. Florida’s goal: By 2025, 55 percent of Floridians ages 25 to 64 will attain a postsecondary certificate or degree.

Florida currently ranks 21st among the 50 states for education attainment beyond high school with 47 percent of work-age residents holding a postsecondary credential. However, by 2025, labor market estimates indicate more than 60 percent of jobs in Florida will require a postsecondary degree or certificate.

To address the attainment gap, the council has developed the Rise to 55 public campaign to help raise awareness, generate buy-in from stakeholders and the public and guide actions and investments to achieve the state goal. Along with the council, the Lumina Foundation and the Helios Education Foundation, the CareerSource Florida network is a partner in leading this initiative. The CareerSource Florida network is well positioned to help identify the training needs of key sectors that will require certificate-level and higher education and training. And, because of their effective convening role and access to relevant labor market data, workforce boards can help connect education systems with the businesses and business intelligence needed to make key decisions and investments that improve attainment and respond to marketplace needs, today and in the future.

Included in the collective work to support the Rise to 55 campaign and achievement of the state goal are plans underway for a series of regional convenings across the state to raise awareness and identify champions to help lead communities to develop and implement regional attainment goals and workplans in support of the overarching state goal. Workforce boards are participating in the convenings to ensure alignment with priorities such as sector partnerships to achieve common goals. Workforce boards work closely with their business customers and partners to ensure business leaders are part of the team helping to strategize and realize progress toward achieving regional and state attainment goals.

Blending Academics with Career and Technical Education

The VR Transition Youth program coordinates with state and local education agencies and officials to collaboratively offer youth with disabilities opportunities to gain work experiences that help them prepare for careers in the 21st century. Collaborations such as High School High Tech, Project SEARCH, Third Party Cooperative Arrangements and Postsecondary Education programs engage youth in both classroom and practical instruction that blends acquisition of certificates and work skills that align with occupations available through Career and Technical Education. Hands-on career exploration and preparation activities where learned skills, attitudes and behaviors can be applied in practical or real-world situations help youth to become and stay engaged.

Collaborating with Florida’s Universities and Colleges

FDBS consulted with the university system to coordinate and provide technical assistance to each other and to students and their families/guardians/surrogates. This enables the student’s transition from high school to postsecondary education activities and assimilation into the adult community. The intent of the university system agreement is to establish a process for ensuring accessibility, support, education and training of staff related to Americans with Disabilities Act regulations.

During the annual VR training conducted October 9-13, 2017, Chris Mullen, Executive Vice Chancellor for Colleges and Universities, provided information regarding the “Find My College Major” initiative. This initiative offers a website as a single point of reference for individuals seeking information on Florida’s colleges and courses/degrees. Chancellor for Career and Adult Education Rod Duckworth provided training on career pathways to FDBS staff.

Facilitating Postsecondary Education

VR has an interagency agreement coordinating transition services with state education officials (FDBS, BEESS). This state-level agreement includes agencies responsible for providing transition services to students leaving high school and going into postsecondary education/training, support services and/or employment. These agencies meet regularly to share information, ideas and initiatives; to collaborate on training and special projects; to cooperate in planning and budgeting; and support mutually beneficial areas of work.

The VR Transition Youth program administrator serves as a representative on the State Secondary Transition Interagency Committee. The program administrator works closely with the regional representatives of Project 10: The Transition Education Network, which is funded through a grant from the Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services within the Florida Department of Education to the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. Project 10 helps Florida school districts and stakeholders increase their ability to provide secondary transition services to students with disabilities and improve student academic success and postsecondary outcomes. Project 10 helps educators, parents, students, agency representatives and other stakeholders by providing capacity building to implement secondary transition services, interagency collaboration, transition legislation and policy and student development and outcomes. VR counselors serving transition students participate in each area’s local interagency councils. Interagency councils are a collaborative effort between VR and Department of Education partners, public high schools, adult service agencies, workforce programs, parents, students, advocates and employers cooperating to meet the transition needs of students with disabilities.