Florida
Districts must give each student in grades 9 to 12 access to at least one opportunity.Work-based learning in Florida
What the state asks for, how it defines a work-based learning opportunity, and what a school has to do for each one.
What the state asks for
- What districts must do
- Each district school board ensures that each student in grades 9 to 12 has access to at least one work-based learning opportunity.
- Where credit attaches
- One diploma option, the career and technical education option, asks a student who enters grade 9 in the 2023-2024 school year or later for one and one-half credits in electives or work-based learning programs. It also asks for two credits in career and technical education that end in a program completion and an industry certification.
- Hours
- We found no number of hours for a work-based learning opportunity in Florida Statutes 446.0915 or Rule 6A-23.0042. The training agreement states the hours the student works each week.
- Who it applies to
- Every student in grades 9 to 12 has the access. The statute calls the diploma option an alternative that a student is eligible to complete.
Sources: Florida Statutes 446.0915(3) and 1003.4282(9)(a), 2026 Florida Statutes. Florida Administrative Code Rule 6A-23.0042(6)(b)7., effective May 3, 2022.
What Florida requires of a work-based learning opportunity
Quoted from the statute and the rule.
What Florida asks for
Definition
As used in this section, the term “work-based learning opportunity” means an interaction with industry or community professionals that occurs in a workplace setting, to the extent possible, or a simulated environment at an educational institution that allows firsthand experience with tasks required in a given career field, is aligned with curriculum and instruction, and is provided in partnership with an educational institution.
Criterion: age
Be developmentally appropriate.
Criterion: objectives
Identify learning objectives for the term of experience.
Criterion: industry
Explore multiple aspects of an industry.
Criterion: skills
Develop workplace skills and competencies.
Criterion: assessment
Assess performance.
Criterion: reflection
Provide opportunities for work-based reflection.
Criterion: next steps
Link to next steps in career planning and preparation in a student’s chosen career pathway.
Criterion: access
Be provided in an equal and fair manner.
Criterion: labor law
Be documented and reported in compliance with state and federal labor laws.
Paid experiences
A work-based learning opportunity should prioritize paid experiences, such as apprenticeship, preapprenticeship, and diversified education programs.
Training agreement
A training agreement is required when the work-based learning opportunity is multi-day and the employer supervisor is not the instructor.
How a KANU experience meets it: Your school and the employer partner sign a written agreement and plan for each student.
Evaluation
Providing an evaluation instrument to the employer supervisor to assess a student’s acquisition of the employability and technical skills referenced in the training agreement.
iYour school makes the final determination on any experience.
Sources: Florida Statutes 446.0915(1) and (2), 2026 Florida Statutes (definition, nine criteria and paid experiences). Florida Administrative Code Rule 6A-23.0042(6)(a) and (4)(a)7., effective May 3, 2022 (training agreement and evaluation).
The examples of work-based learning Florida lists
Eight examples, as the Department names them. School-based enterprises and virtual or simulated work-based learning are among them. Registered apprenticeships and preapprenticeships are governed by other rules.
Internships
Cooperative education on-the-job training (OJT)
Clinicals
Practicums
School-based enterprises
Service learning
Capstone or industry projects
Virtual or simulated work-based learning
Source: Florida Department of Education, Technical Assistance for the Work-Based Learning Standards Rule 6A-23.0042, F.A.C., Spring 2022 v.1.0, page 1 (examples) and page 2 (exclusion).
Things directors miss
Apprenticeships and preapprenticeships sit under a different rule.
The work-based learning rule does not cover them.
“For the purpose of this rule, an apprenticeship or preapprenticeship, as defined in Rule 6A-23.002, F.A.C., is not a work-based learning opportunity.”
Some familiar activities are not work-based learning.
The Department's technical assistance guide lists job shadowing, mentoring, informational interviews and company tours as activities that are not work-based learning.
A training agreement is not required in every case.
The rule names the cases where it is not. Where one is required, it is signed by the employer supervisor, the instructor and the student, or a parent or legal guardian for a student younger than 18.
“A training agreement is not required when the work-based learning opportunity takes place in a simulated work environment at an educational institution, during off-campus work-based learning entirely overseen by the instructor, or when the work-based learning opportunity takes place during a single-day.”
Insurance coverage comes before the student starts.
The school ensures, before a student starts, that the student is covered by the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance or has medical insurance coverage for injury or illness related to the opportunity.
“Ensuring, prior to a student engaging in a work-based learning opportunity, that the student is covered by the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance coverage or has medical insurance coverage for injury or illness related to the work-based learning opportunity.”
The student reflection is written.
The school sets up the process. It covers what the student accomplished and learned, how plans changed, and how the experience could improve.
“The educational institution shall implement a process by which a student conducts a written work-based learning reflection that addresses topics including, but not necessarily limited to:”
The school reports data to the Department.
The Department's technical assistance guide says reporting requirements may vary over time. KANU does not report on a school's behalf.
“The educational institution shall report data related to a work-based learning opportunity to the Florida Department of Education in accordance with the specifications of the Division of Career and Adult Education.”
Sources: Florida Administrative Code Rule 6A-23.0042(2)(i), (4)(a)8., (4)(c), (4)(e) and (6)(a), effective May 3, 2022. Florida Department of Education, Technical Assistance for the Work-Based Learning Standards Rule 6A-23.0042, F.A.C., Spring 2022 v.1.0, pages 1, 2 and 5.
See the experiences in the catalog
Each lists its planned hours.
Checked 13 October 2026
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