Thunkable, the leading mobile app vibe coding platform for iOS and Android, has officially been added to the Florida Department of Education's 2026–27 CAPE Industry Certification Funding List. The designation gives eligible Florida schools and districts a new, state-recognized pathway to fund and support students who learn technology by actually building it — designing, testing, and publishing real mobile and web applications, rather than only studying technology concepts in the abstract.
CAPE Turns Student Certifications Into District Funding
Florida's Career and Professional Education (CAPE) Act connects K-12 and postsecondary education to the state's workforce needs by identifying industry certifications students can earn before they graduate. Each year, the State Board of Education adopts a CAPE Industry Certification Funding List, based on recommendations from the Commissioner of Education, under Florida Statute 1008.44 and Rule 6A-6.0576, Florida Administrative Code. Before any credential can be considered for that list, it must first be approved on the statewide Master Credentials List maintained by CareerSource Florida, which evaluates credentials for labor-market demand and wage value.
Certifications on the CAPE list carry real weight for schools: districts can earn additional full-time equivalent (FTE) student funding under Florida's Education Finance Program when students successfully complete a qualifying certification, per Florida Statute 1011.62. Industry certification attainment also factors into Florida's school accountability system — at the middle school level, passing a qualifying exam can count toward the “Middle School Acceleration” component of a school's grade, and at the high school level, earning an industry certification is one of several ways a graduate can satisfy the “College and Career Acceleration” component used in calculating school and district grades, alongside test scores, learning gains, and graduation rates. Certification success is one contributing factor among several in that calculation, not a standalone or automatic driver of a school's grade.
What This Means for Florida Schools and Students
With Thunkable now on the CAPE list, eligible Florida schools and districts can pursue additional funding tied to students who successfully complete Thunkable’s CAPE-approved program, subject to CAPE’s standard eligibility and reporting rules. In practice, that gives CTE directors, computer science teachers, and school leaders a state-supported option for building or expanding a program where the culminating assessment is a working, published app rather than only a written exam.
Thunkable's addition comes as Florida continues to expand career and technical education, with more than 818,000 K-12 students participating in CTE programs during the 2024–25 school year.
“Most students today grow up as incredibly sophisticated consumers of technology. They know exactly what a good app should look and feel like,” said Arun Saigal, CEO and co-founder of Thunkable. “What's changing is how many of them can also be the ones who build it. We built Thunkable to lower that barrier, so you don't need years of traditional programming experience to take an idea and turn it into a real, working app. Florida's recognition of this certification reinforces that building with technology is a valuable skill, no matter what career a student ultimately pursues.”
Building an app teaches more than syntax. Students who go through the app building process practice defining a real problem, designing an interface other people can actually use, testing their assumptions, and iterating based on what doesn't work. That cycle develops computational thinking, product design, creativity, iteration, and basic entrepreneurship alongside core digital literacy — skills that carry over into fields well beyond software development.
Florida educators and district leaders who want to learn more about Thunkable's CAPE-eligible certification can visit www.thunkable.com/education or contact Thunkable’s EDU team at [email protected]. The current CAPE Industry Certification Funding List is maintained by the Florida Department of Education and is publicly available.
About Thunkable
Thunkable is the leading mobile app vibe coding platform for iOS and Android that lets anyone build fully native iOS, Android, and web applications without traditional programming experience. Founded by researchers with roots at MIT and Google, Thunkable has powered the creation of more than 12 million apps by users ranging from students and solopreneurs to teams inside Fortune 100 companies. The company's mission is to turn passive consumers of technology into active creators. Learn more at thunkable.com.
Media Contact:
Thunkable
[email protected]
Thunkable for Education empowers students in Computer Science and Entrepreneurship programs to design, build, and launch real mobile apps. Its drag-and-drop platform makes app creation accessible, engaging, and career-relevant, turning ideas into publish-ready apps for iOS and Android.
