Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F.S., published in Vol. 38 No. 15, April 13, 2012 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly.

Subparagraph (5)(a)4. is amended to read:

(5) Pursuant to Section 1011.62(1), F.S., industry certifications approved by the State Board of Education for inclusion in the final “Industry Certification Funding List” shall be assigned one of the following weights: 0.1, 0.2, or 0.3. The weights shall be determined by values assigned to indicators of rigor and employment value, with 50 percent of the points based on rigor and 50 percent based on employment value. Rigor and employment value each shall be assigned up to three points for a total possible value of six.

(a) Rigor shall be determined by the State Board of Education using the number of instructional hours necessary to earn the industry certification with bonus points assigned for certifications with Gold Standard Career Pathways Industry Certification to Associate in Applied Science (AAS/Associate in Science (AS) Statewide Articulation Agreements approved by the State Board of Education. Instructional hour values shall be determined based on the classroom instructional hours and work experience hours necessary to earn the certification.

1. Classroom instructional hours shall be determined through one of the following methods:

a. Instructional hours identified by the certifying agency or,

b. Alignment of statewide curriculum frameworks to the competencies required for the industry certification based on the review of the Department of Education. This process shall include a review of standards in the curriculum frameworks, as adopted by the State Board of Education in Rule 6A-6.0571, F.A.C., for the secondary and postsecondary programs that align with the certification.

2. Work experience hours shall be determined based on the work hours required by the certifying agency to earn the certification.

3. Instructional hours shall be the sum of classroom instructional hours and work experience hours.

4. The maximum value for the rigor of the industry certification is three points. The total instructional hours necessary to earn the industry certification shall be converted to rigor points based on the following scale:

a. A value of 150 to 300 ~~299~~ hours equals 0.5 points.

b. A value of 301 ~~300~~ to 450 ~~449~~ hours equals 1.0 points.

c. A value of 451 450 to 600 ~~599~~ hours equals 1.5 points.

d. A value of 601 ~~600~~ to 750 ~~749~~ hours equals 2.0 points.

e. A value of 751 ~~750~~ to 900 ~~899~~ hours equals 2.5 points.

f. A value of 901 ~~900~~ or more hours equals 3.0 points.