Posts Tagged ‘Idaho’

State CTE Policy Spotlight: Governors Prioritize Workforce Development in their State of the State Addresses

Friday, March 29th, 2024

In this post, Policy Associate Velie Sando highlights how governors are championing workforce development, and by extension Career Technical Education (CTE) in their 2024 State of the State addresses.

As the new year unfolds, 38 governors across the nation have delivered their much-anticipated State of the State addresses, outlining their vision for the future and key educational priorities, including career readiness. Some governors vouched for increased funding toward CTE  initiatives while others highlighted accreditation as a means to address workforce demands in their state.  The emphasis on career readiness within the State of the State addresses aligns with Advance CTE’s Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education (CTE Without Limits), which leverages CTE as a catalyst for ensuring each learner can reach success in the career of their choice.  

This year, as in previous years, governors continue to emphasize workforce development in their efforts to prepare learners for the evolving job market. Thus far, 24 addresses implicate CTE in some capacity, as governors highlight apprenticeships, training programs, and initiatives such as free community college to address emerging labor market needs. 

Apprenticeships

With growing labor market demands, states including New Jersey and Pennsylvania have invested in apprenticeship programs to meet workforce needs in their state. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy highlighted doubling the number of apprenticeship programs in fields such as life sciences and renewable energy, reflecting a proactive approach to meeting workforce demands in emerging sectors. Similarly, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro celebrated 33 new apprenticeship programs, mentioning significant enrollment numbers and program expansions. Elsewhere, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee proposed expansions in apprenticeships, particularly in high-demand sectors like healthcare. Tennessee’s proposal aims to bridge the gap between education and employment, ensuring a skilled workforce meets the needs of the healthcare industry. Similarly, Colorado Governor Jared Polis aims to create 100 new private sector apprenticeships by June 30 and increase state government apprenticeships by 50%, while Missouri Governor Mike Parson announced a $3 million investment in youth apprenticeship opportunities.

Free Community College

Recognizing the pivotal role of education in workforce development, states including Colorado and Massachusetts have implemented initiatives to make higher education more accessible. Governor Polis of Colorado highlighted that their expansion of free community college for in-demand careers has already benefited 3,500 learners, empowering them with the skills needed to thrive in today’s job market. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy celebrated the MassReconnect program which offers free community college to adults aged 25 and older, removing barriers to education and training for mid-career professionals. Similarly, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer called for tuition-free community college for all high school graduates, addressing the financial burden often associated with pursuing higher education and ensuring equitable access to skill-building opportunities for all graduates. 

Training Programs

Governors recognize that investments in specialized training programs are crucial for addressing evolving workforce needs. Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee celebrated the launch of the first State Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies at Rhode Island College, underscoring the importance of staying ahead in emerging fields, laying the groundwork for a skilled workforce equipped to tackle cybersecurity challenges. Missouri invested $54 million in workforce training through the MoExcels initiative, demonstrating a commitment to equipping postsecondary institutions with the resources needed to deliver high-quality training programs.

Michigan highlighted free community college and training for medical technicians and electricians aged 21-24 through the Michigan Reconnect program, catering to the growing demand in these critical sectors. Massachusetts proposed building a workforce plan for growing industries, while Maine Governor Janet Mills celebrated the Maine Jobs Plan for investing over $200 million in skills attainment and training programs. Elsewhere, Idaho Governor Brad Little announced the Idaho LAUNCH grants that will cover up to $8,000 in costs to enroll in education or training programs after high school, incentivizing residents to pursue education and training aligned with in-demand careers. 

Governors across the nation are prioritizing workforce development initiatives to ensure a skilled and adaptable workforce for the future. By investing in apprenticeships, expanding access to free community college, and bolstering training programs, states are laying the foundation for economic growth and prosperity. Outside of workforce development, governors are also investing in rural communities to mitigate the barriers that hinder their access to educational and training opportunities. CTE can serve as the connector offered in communities to connect secondary and postsecondary classroom learning, work-based learning and apprenticeship, and skilling and reskilling training programs. 

Advance CTE and ACTE’s eleventh annual State Policies Impacting CTE: 2023 Year in Review and Advance CTE’s Longitudinal Year in Review Analysis Tool examine CTE and career readiness policies across the nation. While the report focuses on policy trends, the tool comprises every CTE-related policy enacted within each state since 2013. 

 

For further insights and resources connected to workforce development, check out our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Velie Sando, Policy Associate

By Jodi Langellotti in Public Policy
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Funding Career Technical Education: Incorporating Elements Into Funding Models to Address CTE Access, Completion and Program Quality

Wednesday, January 24th, 2024

Advance CTE released the 2023 State of CTE: An Analysis of State Secondary CTE Funding Models to highlight how states and the District of Columbia provide high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE) through various secondary CTE funding models and approaches. This blog, the third in a series, describes ways states have incorporated elements into their funding models to address CTE access, completion and program quality. 

Overview

Advance CTE’s vision for the future of CTE calls on states to design equitable funding models that direct funding to where it is needed most. Funding is not just about budget sheets but about investing in and fostering an environment where every learner’s potential is unleashed. A state’s commitment to CTE is reflected in their financial decisions, and states are making changes to secondary CTE funding models to better serve and offer opportunities for all learners.

Background

Advance CTE conducted a survey with State CTE Directors in summer 2022 to better understand the extent to which states are currently incorporating elements into funding models to address CTE access, completion and program quality. Forty-six state leaders responded to the survey, and Advance CTE followed up with select state leaders in interviews to gather additional information about dimensions of equity.

Some of the most salient findings from the survey of State CTE Directors include:

65 percent reported state funds supported access to secondary CTE programs for all learners, 56 percent reported state funds supported completion of secondary CTE programs of study for all learners, 54 percent reported state funds supported access to equipment and resources in CTE classrooms, 47 percent reported state funds supported access to college and career advisement, and 44 percent reported state funds supported attainment of CTE certifications while in high school.

There remains room for innovation in states’ secondary funding models as almost half of states are not supporting funding in one or several of the dimensions of equity. Additionally, almost a fifth of State CTE Directors indicated their state funding does not reflect any of the dimensions of equity. States should continue to evaluate and incorporate changes to secondary CTE funding models to ensure all learners have access and success through CTE.  

Highlighted Practices

States such as Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico and Texas are linking state funding to state-approved CTE programs meeting quality standards. This move ensures access for learners regardless of their geographical location. 

Other states, including Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas, are incentivizing learner enrollment and success in certain CTE courses or programs aligned with state labor market needs. These states use varying weights (i.e., multipliers) based on program types or course levels, aligning educational goals with workforce demands. For example, Indiana allocates amounts based on the number of CTE credit hours generated by districts and the enrollment in apprenticeship programs or work-based learning.1

Recent shifts in foundational education formulas or bonus structures have also resulted in positive change. Massachusetts, for instance, introduced incremental funding to its formula for Chapter 70 (i.e., the major program of state aid to public elementary and secondary schools) under the Student Opportunity Act, benefitting English language learners and learners experiencing low income, including those in CTE programs.2 You can learn more about Massachusetts in the state case study accompanying this release.

In Texas, local education agencies (LEAs) can earn outcomes bonuses for learners meeting the state’s college, career or military readiness measures. This bonus is weighted for learners who are considered economically disadvantaged or who are enrolled in special populations thereby tailoring additional funds to cater to learner needs, especially within CTE programs.3 You can learn more about Texas in the state case study and read about additional examples in the Research Report accompanying this release.

Recommendations

State leaders should consider the following recommendations if they plan to leverage funding incentives and/or prioritize geographies, learner or program characteristics and/or program areas:

Funding structures must continually evolve to bridge resource gaps among different learners. State CTE Directors can help shape funding conversations so learners thrive in an ever-evolving CTE landscape.

Additional Resources

Be sure to read the other blogs in this series: Funding Career Technical Education: Secondary CTE Funding Basics and Funding Career technical Education: Using the 2023 State of CTE Funding Report Resources. In the next blog in this series, we will explore how states also make contributions to CTE programs through non-categorical programmatic appropriations to support unique elements of CTE.

Please visit Advance CTE’s Learning that Works Resource Center for additional resources about CTE funding. 

Dr. Laura Maldonado, Senior Research Associate

By Layla Alagic in CTE Without Limits, Research
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Legislative Update: Congress Returns from Recess

Friday, December 1st, 2023

Congress returned this week from its Thanksgiving recess with a list of important agenda items that must be addressed before the end of the year. Elsewhere, the U.S. Department of Education announced new funding for full-service community schools while federal agencies announced the availability of free COVID-19 testing kits for schools. 

Agreement on Full-year FY24 Funding Remains Elusive

Prior to Thanksgiving, Congress passed another short-term extension of federal fiscal year 2023 (FY23) funding. The continuing resolution (CR) bifurcated the 12 individual spending bills that fund federal operations into two separate groups, each with a different expiration date. Of note for the Career Technical Education (CTE) community, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS-ED) appropriations component of this legislation would extend funding for programs like the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V) through February 2, along with seven other funding bills, while four other funding measures are set to expire on January 19 of next year.

With these new funding extensions now in place, lawmakers must still work to negotiate full-year FY24 funding legislation. However, lawmakers appear to be currently prioritizing other items on the legislative agenda before turning to this important issue. As these efforts take shape, Advance CTE will continue to advocate for the significant funding needs of the CTE community as part of the wider FY24 appropriations process. 

ED Announces New Community School Funding

On Tuesday, November 28, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced the distribution of roughly $74 million in new funding for full-service community schools — comprehensive K-12 schools that are intended to provide more holistic and comprehensive wraparound services and related supports to learners and families to improve wider outcomes. “I am proud that the Biden-Harris Administration is expanding the number of community schools across the country as an evidence-based strategy to Raise the Bar in education and to deliver on our commitment to support students, families, and whole communities,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona stated as part of the announcement. The new round of funding will target schools in four new states, including Idaho, Missouri, New Hampshire and Ohio. Read more in the press release.

COVID-19 Test Kits Available for Schools 

This week the U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new effort to distribute COVID-19 testing kits free of charge to schools across the country. “The Biden-Harris Administration remains a committed partner with schools in keeping our students and teachers safe and healthy,” said ED’s Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development Roberto Rodriguez as part of the announcement. Read more in the press release.

Steve Voytek, Policy Advisor

By Layla Alagic in Public Policy
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State CTE Policy Update: Expansion and Growth in Idaho CTE

Tuesday, May 30th, 2023

Idaho is looking at innovative ways to support its career technical education (CTE) ecosystem by giving learners earlier access to CTE opportunities. However, they are also focused on matching program design with local workforce needs. One piece of legislation passed during the 2023 legislative session explores an innovative approach to both approving and funding local CTE programs. 

On March 31, 2023, Idaho’s governor signed into law House Bill 267 which established the Idaho Career Ready Students Program. This program creates additional opportunities for students in grades seven through twelve to experience CTE through the creation of an eleven-person governing council and a pool of grant funding to be given to new CTE programs proposed by local education agencies (LEAs). This is a supplemental, separate initiative from the state’s current CTE program of study approval process. 

The primary function of this council is to determine the eligibility of CTE programs at an individual or regional level. They will also be tasked with determining the costs associated with building these programs, including any initial costs of investing in industry partnerships and local school systems. Additionally, they will have access to $10 million in grant money to invest in the expansion and modernization of CTE programs which will be divided evenly between secondary and postsecondary opportunities.

This council will also oversee an ongoing $5 million in funding to invest in middle school CTE, including ensuring that students in grades seven and eight receive career exploration opportunities. Middle school learners will be expected to complete a learner plan as part of their “first step standards,” a plan to align their high school experiences with their choices in career exploration.

The eleven-member council is housed within the Department of Education that is led by the state superintendent of public instruction. Council membership consists of the CTE state director, two secondary-level CTE instructors, one postsecondary CTE instructor, three governor-appointed industry representatives, one representative from the Idaho workforce development council, one member of the state House of Representatives as appointed by the speaker, as well as one member of the state senate as appointed by the president pro tempore of the state senate.

Through this law, the goal is to create 180 new local CTE programs as well as provide financial literacy courses to all high school seniors. This works in conjunction with Idaho’s continuing investment in CTE, which is to facilitate an overall increase in funding to $34 million from 2020-2024. The council must also develop a long-term method to fund successful programs through the creation of an added-cost funding formula. The state superintendent, along with the state CTE director, is required to provide reports to the legislature on both program effectiveness and any added costs.

Appropriating funding for middle school CTE programming is an action many states are beginning to look into since the earlier learners have exposure to different career pathways, the more likely they are to embrace pathways outside of the ones they witness in their immediate environment. Allowing experts from the secondary and postsecondary CTE field, experts representing state workforce needs and the legislature to work together to disseminate the funding creates an interesting opportunity to collaboratively steer local CTE programs in the direction learners need to thrive in the workforce. This policy is an innovative way to leverage the expertise of those leading Idaho forward in workforce development and CTE through funding that states may be interested in adapting.

Connect to the 2022 Year in Review for additional ideas for innovative funding policies.

Brice Thomas, Policy Associate

By Jodi Langellotti in Public Policy
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State CTE Policy Update: A Glimpse at the Year to Come

Tuesday, March 28th, 2023

While Advance CTE and The Association for Career Technical Education (ACTE)   Year in Review is a powerful tool to reference policies passed across the nation in 2022, new legislative agendas are constantly being designed and implemented. The 74, a non-profit education news organization, released Teacher Pay, School Choice, Literacy: Top Priorities for 44 Governors in 2023, highlighting the educational priorities of 2023 for the head executives of each state. 

Notably, the teaching process and workforce development were identified as priorities for many governors across the country. This blog elevates some of the policies mentioned that specifically speak to Advance CTE’s shared vision of ensuring that each learner is able to engage in a flexible and responsive career preparation ecosystem.  

While this is only a taste of the legislative agenda for 2023, it does show that several governors are committed to providing strong CTE opportunities to their constituents. In addition to CTE-specific policies, governors have established a commitment to improving teacher pay and building teacher pipelines, removing barriers to practice within the healthcare profession and improving access to mental healthcare for learners.

With the first quarter of the year ending, Advance CTE will be monitoring see how these agendas fare among state legislatures. Advance CTE will be providing updates via the member newsletter and a comprehensive list of all passed legislation in the Year In Review for 2023.

With many governors focused on policies related to credentialing and dual enrollment, The State of CTE: Early Postsecondary Opportunities is a great resource for more information on these topics.

Brice Thomas, Policy Associate

By Jodi Langellotti in Public Policy
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State CTE Policy Update: Examining CTE Instructor Compensation Strategies

Thursday, September 22nd, 2022

The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) released its report “State of the States 2022: Teacher Compensation Strategies” earlier this month. This report takes a deep dive into the compensation strategies each state and the District of Columbia use to continue to recruit and retain talented instructors.

Instructors are the backbone of high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE) and are essential to ensuring that each learner is fully supported by the career preparation ecosystem of their state. “Teacher Compensation Strategies” divides compensation strategies into three different categories: 1) Differentiated pay; 2) Performance pay, and 3) Pay for prior work. While the first two offer their own merit, and all can perhaps be used in some combination, pay for prior work may offer an elegant solution for staffing CTE teachers.

A common barrier to CTE teacher recruitment and retention is matching instructor salaries, which are historically lower than industry salaries talented CTE instructors often transfer from. In an effort to reduce the gap, states can offer instructors an increase in pay based on experience from non-school related careers relative to the subject matter they are teaching. This strategy embraces the promise to capture and value all learning that occurs, wherever and whenever it occurs. Below are some highlights from the report on the current application of this strategy::

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of the states currently using pay for prior experience strategies, North Carolina and Louisiana took two different approaches. North Carolina, per the report, awards one year of credit per two years of relevant, non-education work experience pre-bachelor degree, and a one-for-one exchange post attaining a bachelor’s. Louisiana school districts are required to develop compensation plans that take into account effectiveness, experience, and demand with no one factor being given a weight of more than 50 percent. The report highlights that language surrounding this particular strategy is often vague which makes it hard to track if it is being enacted.

With teacher attrition at unprecedented levels and teacher recruitment levels dropping, state CTE leaders have the opportunity to provide innovative solutions to teacher compensation. You can read the full report here: State of the States 2022: Teacher Compensation Strategies. Advance CTE’s Learning that Works Resource Center provides additional tools on embedding credit for prior learning and other state approaches to fully documenting skills. 

Brice Thomas, Policy Associate 

By Stacy Whitehouse in Public Policy
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State Policies Impacting Industry-Recognized Credentials

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022

State education agencies, legislators and educators faced significant challenges from the coronavirus pandemic, including adapting to remote and hybrid delivery of hands-on learning, and responding to local and national skilled labor shortages. The number of state-level CTE policies enacted that affect Career Technical Education (CTE) fell to the lowest number in 2020 since Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) began publishing these annual Year in Review reports.

However, with a new commitment to upskilling and reskilling American learners and a CTE without limits, 41 states enacted 138 policies impacting CTE and career readiness in 2021. Advance CTE and ACTE have witnessed the return of pre-pandemic numbers in state policy actions in 2021 with policies affecting the secondary, postsecondary, adult and/or workforce systems, and including legislation, executive orders, and budget provisions that significantly changed funding.

Each year, Advance CTE and ACTE publish a yearly state policy tracker and categorize each state policy action by topic. In 2021, the top five topics that state policy most frequently addressed were:

Industry-recognized Credentials
Policies that address the attainment of credentials recognized by industry, including micro-credentials, such as badges, and educational Degrees are categorized by this topic. Nineteen states enacted 33 policies affecting industry-recognized credentials. Policies in this area are designed to increase or incentivize the attainment of certifications, credentials or degrees aligned with labor market information or industry need. Below are a few state policy actions from this category: 

State Policies Impacting CTE: 2021 Year in Review marks the ninth annual review of CTE and career readiness policies from across the United States conducted by Advance CTE and ACTE. This report does not describe every policy enacted within each state but instead focuses on national policy trends. 

View the full report and 2021 state policy tracker here

Dan Hinderliter, Senior Policy Associate 

By admin in Advance CTE Resources, Publications
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Getting to Know: Stakeholder Engagement at Advance CTE

Thursday, October 21st, 2021

The “Getting to Know” blog series features the work of State CTE Directors, state and federal policies, innovative programs and new initiatives from the Advance CTE staff. Learn more about each of these topics and the unique contributions to advancing Career Technical Education (CTE) that Advance CTE’s members work on every day.

Meet Dan Hinderliter! Dan is a State Policy Associate at Advance CTE and supports a number of different national projects. As a site liaison for the New Skills ready network, Dan works with two sites (Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana), providing resource and research support while also serving as a direct link to the national project team. He also works on site snapshots, the annual report and quarterly newsletters, as well as major publications that highlight promising national, state and local practices aligned with the principles of the New Skills ready network

Dan also supports the modernization of the National Career Clusters® Framework and spearheads the Year in Review, the annual aggregation of state policy impacting CTE. As part of the Year in Review process, Dan regularly tracks state-level legislation and other policy actions.

Q: Considering your work on the New Skills ready network initiative, how are the six sites leveraging stakeholder engagement to advance career pathways? 

A: Each of the six New Skills ready network sites is working to leverage stakeholder engagement in some capacity to advance career pathways. First, because each of the sites is composed of a variety of stakeholders, engagement with business and industry, postsecondary partners and K-12 institutions has to happen to ensure each voice is involved in and buys into the work of the site. Outside of the project teams, however, most sites are doing some level of stakeholder engagement involving learner and family communications practices. Some sites are surveying parents and learners to understand what resonates with them about available career pathways, while others have done focus groups to understand where there are gaps for learners in specific programs. Columbus, Ohio’s project team hired a minority-led communications firm, with roots in Columbus, to help share consistent messaging and work to understand how each stakeholder can be better supported.

View the 2020-2021 site snapshot for Columbus, Ohio here

Q: Earlier this year, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) released State Policies Impacting CTE: 2020 Year in Review where industry partnership was a frequently addressed topic area. Are there any states that can serve as a model for policy actions around stakeholder engagement? 

A: Every year, states enact new legislation that impacts how each state engages with stakeholders, either through input gathering or through information sharing. Many states, including Colorado, Hawai’i, Idaho and Missouri (among others), passed legislation this year requiring a state agency to collect and disseminate information that allows learners to make more informed decisions about their futures, including information about in-demand jobs or industry recognized credential attainment. Other states are using legislative action to improve equity and access in part through stakeholder engagement; Oregon and Washington, for example, now require institutions to collect feedback or input from diverse or historically marginalized stakeholder groups to inform new practices and strategies that will increase access to high-quality CTE programs for those groups. At the beginning of 2022, we will release our state policy tracker for 2021 which includes the above legislative actions and others.

Q: One of the foundational commitments within CTE Without Limits is based on stakeholder engagement. How can states, through such partnerships, ensure each learner reaches success in a career of their choice? 

A: Advance CTE’s shared vision, CTE Without Limits, calls for CTE to be incredibly learner-centric and for programs to ensure that the learner voice is incorporated into each decision about career pathways or programs. As states continue to expand access and equity in their CTE programs and work toward dismantling systemic barriers in CTE, the learner voice must be an integral part of these conversations, as only the learner who participated in the program can fully understand the consequences of decisions made at each level. At the same time, states and local institutions can continue to expand offerings by building partnerships with community based organizations to offer learner supports or with business and industry to offer new or improved work-based learning opportunities. By including opportunities for stakeholder groups like learners, their families and local businesses to provide input into decisions surrounding CTE, states can ensure that their career pathways and CTE programs are truly aligned with the needs of their communities.

Q: Lastly, Advance CTE announced the modernization of The National Career Clusters® Framework. How has Advance CTE prioritized stakeholder engagement and the voices of the field in this work? 

A: Though we don’t yet know what our end product will look like at the conclusion of these modernization efforts, we did know the process had to be highly collaborative to ensure everyone buys into whatever the outcome happens to be. As such, we have included a lot of opportunity to incorporate feedback from the field; we convened an expert kitchen cabinet to provide insights about the purpose and uses of the Framework, opened a crowdsourcing portal to collect feedback from the larger field about critical changes they’d like to see, and held workshops to assist in the prototyping of a new Framework. In this next phase of work, we’re hoping to hold focus groups to discuss the future of the Framework. As we near a model for a new, modernized Framework, we are hoping to have many more conversations with stakeholders about how they can implement the Framework in their own state and community to ensure that the modernized Framework is implemented with fidelity.

For resources and tools to increase stakeholder engagement in CTE, visit the Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Senior Associate Digital Media 

By admin in Uncategorized
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Governors Praise CTE, Workforce Development in 2021 State of the State Addresses

Thursday, February 11th, 2021

Since the beginning of the year, over 35 governors have delivered their State of the State addresses, sharing their visions for the future of their state and highlighting educational priorities. Some addresses proposed to create new Career Technical Education (CTE) initiatives or increase funding for work-based learning, while others emphasized the importance of preparing students for their careers. In all, 24 addresses implicated CTE in some capacity, especially in the areas of workforce development, work-based learning and funding.  

Workforce Development

Speeches most commonly addressed workforce development at all learner levels which, considering states’ strategies for economic recovery, comes as no surprise. At the secondary level, Missouri Governor Mike Parson set a goal of 12,000 high school students with the WorkKeys Certification, calling the program an “important stepping stone for students who are not immediately college bound but have the knowledge and skills to fill high-demand jobs.” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced the creation of the Better Kentucky Promise Program, a postsecondary-focused initiative to help over 6,000 Kentucky residents complete associate degrees or secure industry-recognized certificates. At the adult level, Governor Greg Gianforte of Montana announced the establishment of the Montana Trades Education Credit, which subsidizes businesses through scholarships up to 50% of the cost of upskilling or reskilling employees, and highlighted the Missouri One Start program, which has trained over 100,000 adults through 400 employer training partnerships.

Work-Based Learning

Many governors highlighted the importance of work-based learning initiatives in providing secondary students with career-ready skills. Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa applauded efforts to integrate work-based learning into the K-12 curriculum and called on legislators to make work-based learning an expectation in all Iowa schools. Governor Brad Little similarly highlighted the role of work-based learning in Idaho, committing to further connecting students and employers for on-the-job experiences and professional skill development. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy also called for an expansion in this area, directing the Alaska Department of Education to create an apprenticeship program allowing secondary students to receive credit while working for local employers.

Funding and New Initiatives

Announcements of new or proposed funding also featured prominently across many speeches. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster proposed $97 million for high-demand job skills training and workforce scholarships and grants to improve access to skills-based certificates. Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee highlighted the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) Act, which consisted of $25 million in grants for 28 projects focused on CTE program expansion, and proposed a $10 million expansion for ten new sites, prioritizing economically disadvantaged communities. North Dakota Governor Doug Borgum advocated for $45 million allocated to supporting the expansion and development of successful CTE centers through matched grants, while South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem announced the Build Dakota Scholarship, a five-year, $40 million investment to match students with high-demand career opportunities. Investment in access to and expansion of CTE programming and training remains a clear priority nationwide. 

Outside of CTE related areas, governors also focused heavily on equity in education, including highlighting how COVID-19 has disproportionately exacerbated achievement gaps for communities of color and allocating additional funding for expansion of broadband to students still participating in virtual learning. Advance CTE will continue to monitor the State of the State Addresses as they happen for their relevance to CTE.

Additional resources can be found in our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Dan Hinderliter, Policy Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
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This Week in CTE

Friday, October 30th, 2020

We have compiled a list of highlights in Career Technical Education (CTE) from this week to share with you.

CAREERS IN CONSTRUCTION MONTH

Build Your Future is hosting a construction video contest, I BUILT THIS, and giving away more than $20,000 in prizes. Learn more and submit a video here.

Thank you for participating in Careers in Construction Month! Continue to share these resources to engage with students about the opportunities in the construction industry.

TWEET OF THE THE WEEK

Congratulations to Alabama welding instructor, Mark Pilotte, for being recognized by SkillsUSA as the instructor of the month! 

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE OF THE WEEK

Opportunity America has  launched a survey, with the support of the Lumina Foundation, aimed at learning about community colleges’ workforce education. The results will be essential information for state and federal policymakers by providing evidence to support an increased need for funding. Institutions that take part will be entered in a drawing, and three will receive donations of up to $10,000 to fund scholarships for noncredit workforce students. Participating institutions will also receive customized reports that allow them to compare their institutions to an aggregate of other colleges that take part – a tool for planning and innovation. The study can be found here and will be in the field through January 2021.

FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM OF THE WEEK

The School Ambassador Fellowship Program strives to fulfill the U.S. Department of Education’s mission to leverage the perspectives and expertise of outstanding educators to inform national education programs and initiatives. The Fellowship program is now accepting applications for the 2021-2022 cohort!

Selected Fellows become a liaison between their local schools and district and the department. Through local, state and national interactions with key stakeholders, fellows will help to elevate student voices and provide solutions to the challenges learners face today.  

Program information and applications can be viewed here. The application period remains open through Monday, January 11, 2021.

MIDDLE GRADES CTE PROGRAM OF THE WEEK

In a pilot program for middle grades CTE, Idaho has selected a career navigator tool for learners. Learners in the early stages of schooling will have the opportunity to embark upon career exploration and career counseling before entering into high school and postsecondary opportunities. Read more here

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

Through an analysis of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) state (and Washington D.C.) plans, Advance CTE identified common aspects that are indicative of a comprehensive and cohesive state plan, a number of which go beyond the law’s requirements and expectations.

The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities is the first of its kind to examine how states have leveraged the development of Perkins V state plans to advance the dual priorities of expanding quality and increasing equity within their CTE systems.

View The State of Career Technical Education: An Analysis of States’ Perkins V Priorities in our Learning that Works Resource Center.

Brittany Cannady, Digital Media Associate

By admin in Uncategorized
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