New Career and Academic Planning Requirements for Students

Original title: Career and Academic Planning for Middle and High School Students

March 13, 2026

Companion · HB 417same policy, House version

education career-planning vocational-training middle-school high-school k

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

The Frame

What this does

The bill mandates that families receive specific data on local job markets, starting salaries, and scholarship eligibility, which directly impacts how students select their high school courses and post-graduation pathways.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Middle and high school students

Students must participate in annual plan reviews and attend mandatory career planning meetings.

Parents of students

Parents are required to receive annual information regarding career and technical education programs and attend 8th-grade planning meetings.

District school boards

Boards are responsible for providing career information and organizing mandatory planning meetings for 8th-grade students.

What changed

Last recorded activity March 13, 2026.

What's next

Introduced.

Summary

This bill requires Florida school districts to provide students and parents with detailed information about career and technical education programs starting in 5th grade. It also mandates that middle schools hold career planning meetings for 8th graders and requires high school students to review their academic and career plans annually.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do these new career planning requirements start?

The bill requires information to be provided starting before the end of 5th grade, with specific planning meetings occurring in 8th grade.

What information will be provided at the 8th-grade planning meeting?

The meeting must cover career and technical education options, postsecondary planning, scholarship eligibility, local job market data, opportunities, and a demonstration of the state's online career planning system.

Do high school students have to keep using their career plan?

Yes, the bill requires students to review their annually starting in 9th grade.

Why It Matters

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Increased Emphasis on Career Data

The bill shifts the focus of middle school career planning from general exploration to data-driven decision-making by requiring the inclusion of specific regional job market data and starting salaries.

Florida Department of Commerce CareerSource Florida, Inc.