Call for technical colleges to offer associate’s degree nursing programs
With an unprecedented nursing shortage continuing in Florida, Doug Wagner, deputy superintendent for operations in the Manatee County School District, has said he wants technical colleges to get permission to offer associate’s degree nursing programs. He remarked: “I could start the Doug Wagner (private) School of Nursing tomorrow… I could get approval from the Board of Nursing – if I’m a private school. Yet if you are a public school, you are told no, we can’t touch this.” Freshman House Rep. Will Robinson, R-Bradenton, filed legislation earlier this year that would allow technical colleges, which are managed by local school districts, to offer associate’s degree nursing programs, but his bill never advanced beyond the Higher Education and Career Readiness Subcommittee.
