Staff Reports
A proposed overhaul of the Florida College System from Sen. Dorothy Hukill has been passed Senate and is heading to a conference next week after amendments by the House.
“This legislation (SB 374) will strengthen and expand college and university partnerships so the next generation of Floridians can benefit from our excellent 2+2 program,” said Sen. Bill Galvano, who has pushed Hukill’s College Competitiveness Act during her absence for cancer treatment.
“The bill also clarifies the process for colleges to apply for new bachelor degree programs to ensure colleges can appropriately respond to the workforce needs of their communities,” Galvano said in a statement.
Lobby Tools reports that the bill passed the Senate 36-2 Wednesday, a day after Miami Republican House. Rep. Carlos Trujillo amended the bill with the language from HB 5601. T
The bill will next go to conference.
Hukill’s bill requires colleges to enter a minimum of one articulation agreement with a university. It also sets a 15 percent cap on students enrolled in baccalaureate courses at colleges. A similar bill HB 929, caps upper-level enrollment at 20 percent.
The Senate bill sets up a State Board of Community Colleges to manage the FCS, taking oversight from the State Board of Education. Lobby Tools notes that the House language does not set up a new oversight body.
