FL Legislature Considered Millennium Schools:

Would Lock in School to Work

by

Shelley Nelson

 The Florida Legislature was preparing to vote on SB 860, the Millennium Schools bill sponsored by Senator Jim Horne(R), again this year after its failure during the 1999 legislative session. The failure of this bill agitated School to Work devotees who are eager to find a replacement for the School to Work system, soon to have its federal funds sunset in October 2000. In a nutshell, SB 860 was School to Work style legislation with the intention of expanding the "career cluster" approach to education programs recommended for all Florida high schools by July 2005.

Originally, the bill proposed 10 pilot sites across the state, with two Millennium schools to be located in each of the five education planning regions. The new bill stated in SEC.1(2) that "By 2005, all school districts in the state shall implement this pathway. These high schools are designated New Millennium High Schools and must assure that all students have the opportunity to earn a credential that guarantees their preparation for the new century's demands for career advancement through education."

The Tech-Prep Pathway must include: 1) work-based learning; 2) school based learning; and 3) community service activities related to the student's career path.

Those of us familiar with School to Work mandates easily recognize these requirements as one and the same.

SEC.3 stated, "A student may take a course within the Florida Tech-Prep Pathway as a participant in the pathway or as a non- participant. However, only a participant may be reported for full-time equivalent funding in the category established. A school district shall assure that the majority of students in any course within the pathway are participants.

SEC.3(4) stated, "Each full time equivalent student in such a program, including a student enrolled in a pilot program during the 2000-2001 school year, generates funds at one and one-half the cost factor for students enrolled in the basic program for grades 9-12."

SEC.4(7) stated, "Effective July 1, 2005, a student enrolled in a vocational education course that is not part of a certified Florida Tech- Prep Pathway program may not be reported for full time equivalent funding through the FEFP program unless the course is classified as exploratory, orientation or practical arts.”

Surely, this would inspire all school districts to encourage, if not require, that students enter the Tech-Prep Pathway with its 1.5 times FTE funding being a coercive measure for full participation. I read no ceiling caps on participation.

To highlight another aspect of this bill, SB 860 designed the "Sun- shine Technical Skills Certificate", a credential that mirrors the "Certificate of Initial Mastery" as outlined by Marc Tucker, President of the National Center on Education and the Economy in his 1990 SCANS report entitled,  "School to Work: A Human Resource Development System of the United States". Tucker envisioned a "seamless web" of skills training beginning in the home with the very young, and following the citizen throughout a lifetime.   

The "skills certificates" that Tucker outlined are designed to be prerequisites for employment, as the system is phased in. The Department of Commerce has, through directives of the Clinton administration, assigned numerical job codes to over 20,000 occupations in our country which will inevitably appear in workforce databases and individual portfolios as workers move through the new education/labor system. Many view, and rightfully so, that government plans to control education and labor through partnerships and contracts leading to what may well be considered a managed economy. At the local level of this system, high school career clusters and academies play an important role and will be designed based on local labor market needs and forecasts. This is clearly outlined in the regional School to Work implementation grants signed by school boards and Workforce Development Boards.  These events certainly allow individuals who are sensitive to the history of managed economies to reflect on Adolph Hitler's requirement that German workers carry a personal portfolio of their education/family/work histories as their passport to either employment or failure. Marc Tucker, in his joyful post-Presidential election letter to Hillary Clinton (fellow NCEE board member), stated that "we need to take a chapter out of the German book". No doubts about intentions here, folks.

SEC.7(9)(b) stated, "Pupil personnel services include staff members responsible for: advising students with regards to their abilities and aptitudes, educational and occupational opportunities, and personal and social adjustments, providing placement services, performing educational evaluations and similar functions.”  Included in this classification were guidance counselors, social workers, specialists and school psychologists.

Nowhere did this bill mention "parents" as being a part of this evaluation process. I would like to add that "workforce placement surveys" are administered to students even in the elementary years and often parents are the last to know.

SEC.9(2)(c) stated, "Develop programs for preservice and inservice training for the purpose of infusing career education concepts into the basic curricula of public schools and core curricula of community colleges and state universities and programs for preservice and inservice training for counselors and career specialists to assist in career counseling and placement and follow-up activities.

Interpreting this section, I found that the integration or "infusion" of career counseling in the K through 12 classroom would be enhanced, further requiring precious calcite for career-based activities at the expense of sequential academic instruction. Teachers would need to plan these activities as well as find the time to cover basic curriculum, already eviscerated by other socially engineered add-on requirements such as multiculturalism, environmentalism, cooperative learning groups, tolerance/diversity training and domestic violence and sexual harassment.

SEC.12(4)(1) stated, "District pupil progression plans shall provide for the substitution of vocational courses for the non- elective courses required for graduation pursuant to s.232.246. Beginning July 1, 2005 however, a vocational course may not be substituted for another required course unless it is part of a program certified under a Florida Tech-Prep Pathway that is certified as provided in Sec. 4 of this act. A student in grades 9 through 12 who enrolls in and satisfactorily completes a job-preparatory program may substitute credit for a portion of their required four credits in English, three credits in mathematics and three credits in science. The State Board of Education shall authorize by rule vocational course substitutions not to exceed two credits in each of the non-elective academic subject areas of English, mathematics and science. A vocational program which has been used as a substitute for a non- elective academic credit in one subject area may not be used as a substitute for another subject area."

What I concluded from this section was that a high school student in grades 9 through 12 enrolled in the Florida Tech-Prep Pathway could graduate with only 2 years of English, 1 year of math and 1 year of science, as long as they  successfully completed one of the "certified" vocational programs. Considering that a very large number of Florida's students graduate from high school with eighth grade reading, writing and math skills, the passage of this bill posed a great threat to the workforce, rather than enhancing it.

SEC.14(2)(a): “Each school board and superintendent shall direct the smooth transition of high school vocational programs and career education to the Florida Tech-Prep Pathways as provided in sections  1-7 and section 12 of this act. School board, superintendent and school accountability for career education within ELEMENTARY and secondary schools includes, but is not limited to: 

1. Student exposure to a variety of careers and provision of instruction to explore specific careers in greater depth;   

2. Student awareness of available vocational programs and corresponding occupations into which such programs lead; 

3. Student development of individual career plans; 

4. Integration of academic and vocational skills in the secondary curriculum; 

5. Student preparation to enter the workforce and enroll in post secondary education without being required to complete college preparatory or vocational preparatory instruction; 

6. Student retention in school through high school graduation;    

7. Vocational curriculum articulation with corresponding post- secondary programs in the local area technical center or community college or both.”

The Senate Staff Analysis and Economic Impact statement for SB 860 provided some interesting information and offered a committee substitute for the bill which I'm sure was intended to counteract the fact that the bill did not pass the Florida House of Representatives last legislative session.

Virtually all of the aspects of the bill remained the same, such as all vocational programs in the high schools must meet the requirements of the bill. It stated the bill had no effect on high school programs other than vocational or technical programs, nor did it require a high school to have a vocational component. The original bill, as written, required all schools to participate by July 2005. The committee summary still  stated, "technical programs that meet the requirement will be funded at 1.5 times the weight for basic programs 9-12."

I'd say that this funding would certainly be the impetus to adopt such a program, wouldn't you?

The summary went on to state under the heading, "Career Academies" that, "These schools, created in 1992 by s.233.068,F.S., are open-enrollment schools-within- schools that prepare students for a common occupational "cluster"- a group of related occupations that require varying levels of post secondary education. The 30 academies originally funded by the legislature have been increased to 46, with the additional 16 funded by the federal School to Work program."

Oddly, Senator Horne stated that his bill was not a School to Work bill, yet it clearly met all of the QPI (Quality Performance Indicators) as outlined in School to Work legislation, which have been phased into our schools over the last five years.

Another paragraph in the summary with the heading, "Outcome Information" stated,  "Data provided by the Florida Chamber of Commerce show that the members of the business community are not satisfied with the quality of Florida's workforce. Workforce Development is the top issue facing these businesses and many executives say high school graduates do not possess the basic skills needed to function at work. When surveyed about specific employees who have completed vocational programs, employers are generally satisfied with their technical skills, but less satisfied with their academic skills."      

So, to respond to the lack of academic skills, they designed a bill that allows students to substitute up to two years of English, two years of math and two years of science for a state approved vocational program! Add on top of this, the fact that the bill provided for guidance counselors to assist implementation of the industry- certified technical programs. The bill provided for "new" guidance counselors to be employed in each high school that adopts the Florida Tech-Prep Pathway (those that want the 1.5 FTE funding) and their new job would be to emphasize labor market trends and projections. The bill changed the name of occupational specialist to "career specialist" to emphasize the additional responsibilities of holding this important position in the New Millennium High Schools.

Section 10, "Provides that all full time equivalent students in a Florida Tech-Prep Pathway course generates a 1.5 times the basic cost factor for grades 9-12 and that students in any other job preparatory program courses generates no state funding". The summary concluded with "each year the legislature may appropriate incentive funding to high schools for each student who successfully completes a comprehensive technical program of study and receives an endorsement on his or her diploma."

More incentives, more coercive measures in a bill that would not only serve to heighten state intervention and mandates in vocational education, but would also dictate academic curriculum with the "infusion" of career activities at every grade level. I firmly believe in high standards and grade level benchmarks, but I question the need to dictate control over what was once the freedom to choose between a liberal arts or vocational education.                              

Considering that we often hear state legislators as well as US Congressmen  complain about Washington-style education bills and how we need local control, this bill was a tribute to "one size fits all" mentality. It had all the ingredients of Capitol Hill.

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From IVBE's newsletter Voices -- Spring/Summer, 2000