Take action today! Computer Coding is not a foreign language! SB 468 by former Yahoo! executive, Senator Jeremy Ring makes computer coding equal to foreign language studies. This bill does one thing: it sets up a lucrative market for vendors eager to sell coding courses.
Florida already allows computer science to count toward high school science or math graduation requirements. Although SB 468 “forces” state universities to accept coding as a substitute for current foreign language admission requirements, the legislature has zero authority to make this demand.
According to staff analysis of companion HB 887, requiring Florida colleges and state universities to accept coding in lieu of foreign language likely “infringes upon the State University System (SUS) Board of Governors’ (BOG) constitutional responsibility to govern admissions to SUS institutions, as confirmed by the SUS Governance Agreement and in statute.”
Students will be left to figure out if any out-of-state schools in the nation will dismiss their own foreign language admissions requirements in favor of coding. Florida high school graduates who lack foreign language study will find themselves at an extreme disadvantage.
Use your voice. SB 468 is poor public policy. It makes conditions worse, not better for Florida high school students. This is about expanding a market for vendors, not about what’s best for kids.
If you like what we’ve been doing since 2009, please help us continue to fund this quick way to speak up and take action.
