Update: Florida bill to recognize training while incarcerated
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed Senate Bill 472, a measure that allows credits earned from prison-based educational programs to count toward professional licensing requirements. The Correctional Education Program (CEP) within the Department of Corrections offers 92 career and technical education courses across 37 vocational trades, including barbering, cosmetology, electrical contracting, landscaping, plumbing, and HVAC contracting. Over the past four years, the CEP has awarded 36,689 certificates and industry-recognized credentials. Previously, these certifications were largely only valid while the recipients were incarcerated and were not recognized outside of prison. The new law mandates that the Department of Corrections, in coordination with relevant licensing boards within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, design a program to ensure that credits earned from prison classes are recognized and counted toward professional licensing requirements.