Brief Summary of Substitute Bill

Establishes the Vocational Alternative Learning Experience Pilot Program (Program) and directs the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to select up to 10 school districts to participate in the Program.
Specifies that schools participating in the Program are eligible for the vocational program funding enhancement for career and technical education (CTE) courses.
Requires the curriculum frameworks for CTE courses approved by the OSPI to include courses that may be offered in alternative learning experience (ALE) courses.
Requires the OSPI to develop and approve, before the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, a list of CTE courses that may be offered in ALE courses.

Background:

Alternative Learning Experience Courses.

Alternative learning experience (ALE) courses provide a way for students to be enrolled in public education without being required to meet the in-class seat-time requirements for regular instruction. Alternative learning experience courses may be delivered via online courses, remote courses, or site-based courses. Courses offered through ALE programs may be provided to students residing outside of the district offering the course, and may be provided to full or part-time students.

Districts providing ALE programs may claim state basic education funding for students enrolled in ALE courses, and are obligated to satisfy annual reporting requirements. The Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) separately calculates and allocates monies appropriated by the Legislature to school districts for each full-time equivalent student enrolled in an ALE course provided by the district.

Career and Technical Education, Funding Enhancement.

Career and technical education, or CTE, is a planned program of courses and learning experiences that begins with an exploration of career options and supports basic academic and life skills. As articulated in statute, CTE enables the achievement of high academic standards, leadership, options for high skill, high wage employment preparation, and advanced and continuing education.

Career and technical education instruction is provided in two general course classifications—exploratory and preparatory—both of which must comply with numerous standards established by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Career and technical education instruction is delivered through programs at middle and high schools, through approved online courses, and at skill centers, the regional CTE instructional venues established and operated by a host school district.

Students enrolled in vocational courses are funded at an enhanced rate that reflects lower class sizes and higher funding for materials, supplies, and operating costs. Any CTE funding allocations that exceed general funding allocations may only be used for specified CTE purposes.

Career and Technical Education Credits and Equivalencies.

Credits awarded through a CTE course apply to core academic and graduation requirements if equivalency requirements are met. High schools or school districts must have course equivalencies for CTE courses offered to students in high schools and skill centers.

The OSPI is required to support school district efforts to adopt course equivalencies by, in part, recommending CTE curriculum that is suitable for equivalencies, publicizing best practices of districts in developing and adopting equivalencies, and providing related technical assistance and guidance to school districts.

The OSPI, in consultation with technical work groups, is also required to develop and approve curriculum frameworks for a selected list of CTE courses with academic content that is considered equivalent in full, or part, to academic courses meeting graduation requirements. The content of the courses on the list must be aligned with the state's learning standards as well as industry standards.

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Summary of Substitute Bill:

Establishment of Pilot Program.

The Vocational Alternative Learning Experience Pilot Program (Program) is created. The purpose of the Program is to assess the feasibility and accountability in various course types, and implementation strategies for providing a vocational program funding enhancement to students enrolled in ALE courses in accordance with requirements for online courses and CTE instruction.

The OSPI must select up to 10 school districts to participate in the Program. Each district selected to participate in the Program must agree to do so for four complete school years, with the initial selections beginning their participation in the 2019-20 school year.

Schools participating in the Program are eligible for the vocational program funding enhancement for CTE courses, and restrictions that limit the uses of CTE funding allocations that exceed general funding allocations to specified CTE purposes continue to apply.

The OSPI must submit a report on the Program to education committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate by January 1, 2025, that includes:

the number of students participating in the Program that received the vocational program funding enhancement;
the impact of the Program to career and technical education programming;
the fiscal impact of the Program;
recommendations for statewide implementation; and
any other information deemed relevant by the OSPI.

Career and Technical Education Equivalencies.

Requirements governing the CTE curriculum framework approval process of the SPI are modified to specify that the list of CTE courses approved by the SPI must also include CTE courses that may be offered through ALE courses. Additionally, the SPI, before the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, must develop a list of CTE courses meeting equivalency requirements that may be offered in ALE courses.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:

The substitute bill makes the following changes to the original bill:

removes all provisions in the underlying bill requiring state funding for vocational ALE courses to include the vocational program funding enhancement for CTE courses;
establishes a vocational Program and directs the OSPI to select up to 10 school districts to participate in the Program;
specifies that school districts selected to participate in the Program must agree to do so for four complete school years, with the initial selections beginning their participation in the 2019-20 school year;
makes schools participating in the Program eligible for the vocational program funding enhancement for CTE courses;
establishes program reporting duties for the OSPI;
requires the curriculum frameworks for CTE courses approved by the OSPI to include courses that may be offered in ALE courses; and
requires the OSPI to develop and approve, before the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, a list of CTE courses that may be offered in ALE courses.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) The education of our students will continue to evolve, and the funding needs to respond to those changes. The bill will remove a penalty on the funding of vocational ALE courses.

Students taking ALE courses are not alternative students—they are public school students and they also need access to CTE courses. Prior to recent legislation, the ALE programs had access to CTE funding. This bill corrects that funding error and will help keep students engaged through meaningful educational opportunities provided to them. The ALE programs that receive CTE funding will have to abide by the same requirements as brick and mortar CTE programs.

The delivery of CTE instruction online is important and will be needed throughout life as employees navigate career changes. The work integrated learning partnerships that are part of CTE instruction are difficult to develop and sustain; doing so requires a committed staff. This bill will help with those partnership efforts.

(Opposed) None.

(Other) This bill will assist in providing students more access to quality CTE instruction. It is worth noting that CTE is a model of implementation, not a specific topic. An amendment for the bill that would reflect recent work of a CTE work group is being developed.

The Legislature should examine the report of the CTE work group to make sure that we have successful standards and delivery models for CTE instruction.