(1) There is established a Florida College System Program Fund. This fund shall comprise all appropriations made by the Legislature for the support of the current operating program and shall be apportioned and distributed to the Florida College System institution districts of the state on the basis of procedures established by law and rules of the State Board of Education. The annual apportionment for each Florida College System institution district shall be distributed monthly in payments as nearly equal as possible.
(2) Performance funding for industry certifications for Florida College System institutions is contingent upon specific appropriation in the General Appropriations Act and shall be determined as follows:(a) Postsecondary industry certifications identified on the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List approved by the State Board of Education under s. 1008.44 are eligible for performance funding. (b) Each Florida College System institution shall be provided $1,000 for each industry certification earned by a student under paragraph (a). If funds are insufficient to fully fund the calculated total award, such funds shall be prorated. Beginning with the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the Credentials Review Committee established in s. 445.004 shall develop a returned-value funding formula to allocate institution performance funds that rewards student job placements and wages for students earning industry certifications, with a focus on increasing the economic mobility of underserved populations. One-third of the performance funds shall be allocated based on student job placements. The remaining two-thirds shall be allocated using a tiered, weighted system based on aggregate student wages that exceed minimum wage, with the highest weight applied to the highest wage tier, with additional weight for underserved populations. Student wages above minimum wage are considered to be the value added by the institution’s training. At a minimum, the formula must take into account variables such as differences in population and wages across the state. (3) None of the funds made available in the Florida College System Program Fund, or funds made available to Florida College System institutions outside the Florida College System Program Fund, may be used to implement, organize, direct, coordinate, or administer, or to support the implementation, organization, direction, coordination, or administration of, activities related to, or involving, travel to a terrorist state. For purposes of this section, “terrorist state” is defined as any state, country, or nation designated by the United States Department of State as a state sponsor of terrorism.
(4) State funds provided for the Florida College System Program Fund may not be expended for the education of state or federal inmates.
