The week of December 10th was the first legislative committee meetings for the coming year. House and Senate leadership made their committee appointments and the ACE Legislative Committee was in Tallahassee making rounds to members of the Senate and House Education committees. Members of the ACE Legislative Committee, Dave Barnes, Chairman, Robert Breitbard, Mary Keen, as well as Jon Conley, the ACE lobbyist from Emergent Design and Development and Valorie Boyd visited with key legislators and staff to discuss adult education issues. These initial meetings were for introduction purposes of what is ACE of Florida and whom do we represent. The Committee briefly presented key issues and concerns: Residency/tuition and co-enrollment. During the committee meetings beginning in January and through the end of session, watch your email for the weekly Legislative Alerts.
ACE of Florida 2013 Legislative Priorities
* Modify the residency requirement for students participating in Adult Education Programs which allows for a Florida resident to have to show minimum documentation.
* Eliminate having to document one year’s continuous residency as a requirement for in-state tuition.
* Permanently establish co-enrolled options for students seeking to participate in Adult Education Programs for credit recovery.
* Charge DOE with developing a comprehensive course list.
* Support level funding from previous year’s allocation for workforce programs.
For House Higher Education Committee, House Education Appropriations Committee, Senate Education Committee and Senate Sub Committee Appropriations members and contact information, highlight the “Advocacy” header at the top of the page and click on “2013 ACE Legislative Update.”