Policy and practice: an analysis of 2001 Florida State Bill 1162

This study examined the initially intended outcomes of the 200 I Florida Senate Bill 1162, a Florida law that established an educational policy granting community colleges the ability to confer baccalaureate degrees in teacher education programs. The intended outcomes included teachers filling growing vacancies statewide. This study found that 69% of Florida College System graduates from 2004-2010 found employment in Florida as teachers, and in fact, the overall percentage outpaced that of students graduating from a Florida State University System institution. This study also uncovered positive relationships between employment and individual student characteristics such as a graduates' age, major, and year they graduated, impacting their likelihood for employment. Overall, this study determined that the 200 I Florida Senate Bill 1162 is succeeding in fulfilling its intended outcome of producing community college baccalaureate degree holders that do indeed find employment in Florida as teachers.