Both colleges and school districts provide workforce education, which includes adult education and postsecondary career education. Recent proposals to give colleges responsibility for all postsecondary career education and school districts responsibility for all adult education have both positive and negative aspects.
Florida's current structure allows school districts and colleges to locally decide how to divide workforce responsibilities, resulting in varying service delivery systems across the state. Despite the variation, districts and colleges typically avoid duplicating programs.
Consolidation could create more uniformity and make it easier to align and articulate postsecondary career education programs, but could weaken operational connections between districts' secondary and postsecondary career education programs and reduce the availability of flexible training options that benefit students. Our analysis of student outcomes for workforce education programs found slight but not overwhelming performance differences between district and college programs.
We provide options the Legislature could consider if it chooses to maintain the current workforce education structure but improve uniformity; implement a consolidation; or charge fees to offset some state costs and potentially motivate adult education students to achieve learning gains before leaving programs.

Career Statewide Articulation Agreements
Report 23-10 November 2023
Florida College System Industry Certifications
Report 19-10 October 2019
School District Postsecondary Industry Certifications
Report 19-09 October 2019
Completing Adult Education Programs Improves Students' Employability, But Program Completion Rates are Low
Report 11-04 January 2011

Copies of this report in print or alternate accessible format may be obtained by email OPPAGA@oppaga.fl.gov, telephone (850) 488-0021, or mail 111 W. Madison St., Room 312 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1475.