Hutson continues to seek expanded workforce training

Today, Historic City News learned that Senator Travis Hutson has filed a bill that he says will better prepare high school students to evaluate the viability of their potential career paths.  The bill, SB-1578, directs the Department of Education to provide “career landscape” information about various jobs through local high school guidance counselors.

If this bill successfully makes its way through the Florida legislature, it will build on reform and expansion of workforce training that Hutson introduced in 2019.

“The Department must share information about the costs of college compared to the profitability of a given field,” Hutson told local reporters.  “These graduating students should learn about alternative career paths and have an option for earlier training in a charter setting.”

To accomplish that, the new bill removes limits to the number of charters for affiliates of the Florida College System.  These expanded charters would be eligible for Florida Education Finance Program funding as if their students were in traditional public schools.

Hutson previously found support in committees last year for SB-130, which would cede job-growth grant fund money to certain charter schools that offer the Career and Technical Education track.  That bill has already cleared two committees leading up to the beginning of the Legislative Session next week.