Continuing Adaptations

To address concerns about the cost and effectiveness of developmental education (DE), Florida lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1720 (SB 1720) in 2013. This bill required institutions in the Florida College System (FCS) to implement comprehensive DE reform by the fall semester of 2014. SB 1720 made three major changes to Florida’s DE policy. First, certain students became exempt from college course placement testing and DE. Exempt students include military personnel and students who began attending a Florida public high school in 2003/04 or after and went on to earn a diploma. Second, FCS institutions became required to offer developmental courses using four modalities: compressed, contextualized, modularized, and co-requisite. Third, colleges were required to offer enhanced student advising to facilitate student enrollment in the new course offerings and to develop meta-majors that students select based on their interests, aca- demic goals, and career aspirations.