Florida's Developmental Education Reform under Senate Bill 1720

Florida's Developmental Education Reform under Senate Bill 1720 is a comprehensive statewide policy implemented in 2014 across all 28 Florida College System institutions. The reform made developmental education optional for recent Florida public high school graduates (entering grade 9 in 2003/04 or later) and active-duty military personnel, while nonexempt students (approximately one-third of first-time-in-college students, including those from out-of-state schools, private schools, home schools, and those without standard Florida high school diplomas) remained required to take placement tests and enroll in developmental courses if scoring below college-ready. For all students requiring developmental education, the reform mandated accelerated instructional strategies including modularized, compressed, co-requisite, or contextualized courses instead of traditional semester-long courses. Additionally, all institutions were required to provide enhanced advising and academic support services to all incoming students regardless of placement status. The reform targeted math as a critical gatekeeper subject, with students progressing through sequences from lower-level developmental math through upper-level developmental math to Intermediate Algebra (first college-level) and finally gateway math courses.