Workforce education postsecondary student fees.

(1) This section applies to students enrolled in workforce education programs who are reported for funding and fees charged for college credit instruction leading to an associate in applied science degree or an associate in science degree authorized pursuant to s. 1007.331, except that college credit fees for the Florida College System institutions are governed by s. 1009.23.

(2) All students shall be charged fees except students who are exempt from fees or students whose fees are waived.

(3)(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, fees for students who are nonresidents for tuition purposes must offset the full cost of instruction. Residency of students shall be determined as required in s. 1009.21. Fee-nonexempt students enrolled in applied academics for adult education instruction shall be charged fees equal to the fees charged for adult general education programs. Each Florida College System institution that conducts developmental education and applied academics for adult education instruction in the same class section may charge a single fee for both types of instruction.

(b) Fees for continuing workforce education shall be locally determined by the district school board or Florida College System institution board of trustees. Expenditures for the continuing workforce education program provided by the Florida College System institution or school district must be fully supported by fees. Enrollments in continuing workforce education courses may not be counted for purposes of funding full-time equivalent enrollment.

(c) For programs leading to a career certificate or an applied technology diploma, the standard tuition shall be $2.33 per contact hour for residents and nonresidents and the out-of-state fee shall be $6.99 per contact hour. For adult general education programs, a block tuition of $45 per half year or $30 per term shall be assessed. Each district school board and Florida College System institution board of trustees shall adopt policies and procedures for the collection of and accounting for the expenditure of the block tuition. All funds received from the block tuition shall be used only for adult general education programs. Students enrolled in adult general education programs may not be assessed the fees authorized in subsection (6), subsection (7), or subsection (8).

(d) Each district school board and each Florida College System institution board of trustees may adopt tuition and out-of-state fees that vary no more than 5 percent below or 5 percent above the combined total of the standard tuition and out-of-state fees established in paragraph (c).

(e) The State Board of Education may adopt, by rule, the definitions and procedures that district school boards and Florida College System institution boards of trustees shall use in the calculation of cost borne by students.

(4) For postsecondary vocational programs offered by career centers, the standard tuition shall be $71.98 per credit hour for residents and nonresidents, and the out-of-state fee shall be $215.94 per credit hour.

(5) A district school board or Florida College System institution board that has a service area that borders another state may implement a plan for a differential out-of-state fee.

(6) Each district school board and Florida College System institution board of trustees may establish a separate fee for financial aid purposes in an additional amount of up to 10 percent of the student fees collected for workforce education programs. All fees collected shall be deposited into a separate workforce education student financial aid fee trust fund of the school district or Florida College System institution to support students enrolled in workforce education programs. Any undisbursed balance remaining in the trust fund and interest income accruing to investments from the trust fund shall increase the total funds available for distribution to workforce education students. Awards shall be based on student financial need and distributed in accordance with a nationally recognized system of need analysis approved by the State Board of Education. Fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall be allocated in an expeditious manner.

(7)(a) Each district school board and Florida College System institution board of trustees may establish a separate fee for capital improvements, technology enhancements, equipping buildings, or the acquisition of improved real property which may not exceed 5 percent of tuition for resident students or 5 percent of tuition and out-of-state fees for nonresident students. Funds collected by Florida College System institutions through the fee may be bonded only for the purpose of financing or refinancing new construction and equipment, renovation, remodeling of educational facilities, or the acquisition of improved real property for use as educational facilities. The fee shall be collected as a component part of the tuition and fees, paid into a separate account, and expended only to acquire improved real property or construct and equip, maintain, improve, or enhance the certificate career education or adult education facilities of the school district or the educational facilities of the Florida College System institution. Projects and acquisitions of improved real property funded through the use of the capital improvement fee must meet the survey and construction requirements of chapter 1013. Pursuant to s. 216.0158, each district school board and Florida College System institution board of trustees shall identify each project, including maintenance projects, proposed to be funded in whole or in part by such fee. Capital improvement fee revenues may be pledged by a board of trustees as a dedicated revenue source to the repayment of debt, including lease-purchase agreements, with an overall term of not more than 7 years, including renewals, extensions, and refundings, and revenue bonds with a term not exceeding 20 years and not exceeding the useful life of the asset being financed, only for the new construction and equipment, renovation, or remodeling of educational facilities. Bonds authorized pursuant to this paragraph shall be requested by the Florida College System institution board of trustees and shall be issued by the Division of Bond Finance in compliance with s. 11(d), Art. VII of the State Constitution and the State Bond Act. The Division of Bond Finance may pledge fees collected by one or more Florida College System institutions to secure such bonds. Any project included in the approved educational plant survey pursuant to chapter 1013 is approved pursuant to s. 11(f), Art. VII of the State Constitution. Bonds issued pursuant to the State Bond Act may be validated in the manner provided by chapter 75. The complaint for such validation shall be filed in the circuit court of the county where the seat of state government is situated, the notice required to be published by s. 75.06 shall be published only in the county where the complaint is filed, and the complaint and order of the circuit court shall be served only on the state attorney of the circuit in which the action is pending. A maximum of 15 cents per credit hour may be allocated from the capital improvement fee for child care centers conducted by the district school board or Florida College System institution board of trustees. The use of capital improvement fees for such purpose shall be subordinate to the payment of any bonds secured by the fees.

(b) The state does hereby covenant with the holders of the bonds issued under paragraph (a) that it will not take any action that will materially and adversely affect the rights of such holders so long as the bonds authorized by paragraph (a) are outstanding.

(8) Each district school board and Florida College System institution board of trustees is authorized to establish a separate fee for technology, not to exceed 5 percent of tuition per credit hour or credit-hour equivalent for resident students and not to exceed 5 percent of tuition and the out-of-state fee per credit hour or credit-hour equivalent for nonresident students. Revenues generated from the technology fee shall be used to enhance instructional technology resources for students and faculty. Fifty percent of technology fee revenues may be pledged by a Florida College System institution board of trustees as a dedicated revenue source for the repayment of debt, including lease-purchase agreements, not to exceed the useful life of the asset being financed. Revenues generated from the technology fee may not be bonded.

(9) Each district school board and Florida College System institution board of trustees is authorized to establish specific fees for workforce development instruction not reported for state funding purposes or for workforce development instruction not reported as state funded full-time equivalent students. District school boards and Florida College System institution boards of trustees are not required to charge any other fee specified in this section for this type of instruction.

(10) Florida College System institution boards of trustees and district school boards are not authorized to charge students enrolled in workforce development programs any fee that is not specifically authorized by statute. In addition to tuition, out-of-state, financial aid, capital improvement, and technology fees, as authorized in this section, Florida College System institution boards of trustees and district school boards are authorized to establish fee schedules for the following user fees and fines: laboratory fees; parking fees and fines; library fees and fines; fees and fines relating to facilities and equipment use or damage; access or identification card fees; duplicating, photocopying, binding, or microfilming fees; standardized testing fees; diploma replacement fees; transcript fees; application fees; graduation fees; and late fees related to registration and payment. Such user fees and fines shall not exceed the cost of the services provided and shall only be charged to persons receiving the service. Parking fee revenues may be pledged by a Florida College System institution board of trustees as a dedicated revenue source for the repayment of debt, including lease-purchase agreements, with an overall term of not more than 7 years, including renewals, extensions, and refundings, and revenue bonds with a term not exceeding 20 years and not exceeding the useful life of the asset being financed. Florida College System institutions shall use the services of the Division of Bond Finance of the State Board of Administration to issue any revenue bonds authorized by this subsection. Any such bonds issued by the Division of Bond Finance shall be in compliance with the provisions of the State Bond Act. Bonds issued pursuant to the State Bond Act may be validated in the manner established in chapter 75. The complaint for such validation shall be filed in the circuit court of the county where the seat of state government is situated, the notice required to be published by s. 75.06 shall be published only in the county where the complaint is filed, and the complaint and order of the circuit court shall be served only on the state attorney of the circuit in which the action is pending.

(11) Each school district and Florida College System institution may assess a service charge for the payment of tuition and fees in installments and a convenience fee for the processing of automated or online credit card payments. However, the amount of the convenience fee for automated or online credit card payments may not exceed the total cost charged by the credit card company to the school district or Florida College System institution. Such service charge or convenience fee must be approved by the district school board or Florida College System institution board of trustees.

(12) Any school district or Florida College System institution that reports students who have not paid fees in an approved manner in calculations of full-time equivalent enrollments for state funding purposes shall be penalized at a rate equal to 2 times the value of such enrollments. Such penalty shall be charged against the following year’s allocation from workforce education funds or the Florida College System Program Fund and shall revert to the General Revenue Fund. The State Board of Education shall specify, as necessary in rule, approved methods of student fee payment. Such methods must include, but need not be limited to, student fee payment; payment through federal, state, or institutional financial aid; and employer fee payments.

(13)(a) The Board of Trustees of Santa Fe College may establish a transportation access fee. Revenue from the fee may be used only to provide or improve access to transportation services for students enrolled at Santa Fe College. The fee may not exceed $6 per credit hour. An increase in the transportation access fee may occur only once each fiscal year and must be implemented beginning with the fall term. A referendum must be held by the student government to approve the application of the fee.

(b) Notwithstanding ss. 1009.534, 1009.535, and 1009.536, the transportation access fee authorized under paragraph (a) may not be included in calculating the amount a student receives for a Florida Academic Scholars award, a Florida Medallion Scholars award, a Florida Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award, or a Florida Gold Seal CAPE Scholars award.

(14) Each school district and Florida College System institution shall report only those students who have actually enrolled in instruction provided or supervised by instructional personnel under contract with the district or Florida College System institution in calculations of actual full-time enrollments for state funding purposes. A student who has been exempted from taking a course or who has been granted academic or technical credit through means other than actual coursework completed at the granting institution may not be calculated for enrollment in the course from which the student has been exempted or for which the student has been granted credit. School districts and Florida College System institutions that report enrollments in violation of this subsection shall be penalized at a rate equal to 2 times the value of such enrollments. Such penalty shall be charged against the following year’s allocation from workforce education funds and shall revert to the General Revenue Fund.