Career and Technical Education.
Career and technical education (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.  Students must earn one CTE credit to qualify for graduation, but the State Board of Education (SBE) permits students to meet this requirement through a qualifying occupational education course.
 
Instruction in CTE is provided through 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 (including satellite and branch skill centers), which are the regional CTE instructional venues established by a cooperative agreement and operated by a host school district.
 
Career and Technical Education Credits—Equivalencies.
A CTE course that meets equivalency requirements allows a student to meet core academic and graduation requirements by successfully completing the course.  Each high school or school district board of directors must adopt course equivalencies for CTE courses offered to students in high schools and skill centers.  As part of this requirement, each school district board of directors must develop a course equivalency approval procedure, and an equivalency may be for whole or partial credit.
 
Duties of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The OSPI has numerous duties related to CTE course equivalencies established in statute.  For example, the OSPI is required to support school district efforts to adopt course equivalencies by, in part, recommending a 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 convened for this purpose, must also develop and approve curriculum frameworks for a 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.  At the local level, school districts must grant academic course equivalency based on the approved list of CTE courses, but districts may also adopt local equivalency courses.  Until September 1, 2021, each school district board of directors was required to grant academic course equivalency for at least one statewide equivalency high school career and technical course from the list of approved courses.
 
Subject to funding requirements, the OSPI must also create methodologies for implementing equivalency crediting on a broader scale and facilitate its implementation by:

• implementing statewide CTE course equivalency frameworks for high schools and skill centers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; and
• providing competitive grant funds to school districts to increase the integration and rigor of academic instruction in CTE equivalency courses.

 
School districts and the OSPI must satisfy equivalency crediting reporting requirements.  School districts must annually report to the OSPI the annual number of:

• students participating in state-approved equivalency courses; and
• state approved equivalency credit courses offered in school districts and skill centers.

 
Additionally, each December 1, the OSPI must submit the following information to the Governor, the SBE, and the appropriate committees of the Legislature:

• the selected list of CTE equivalency courses and their curriculum frameworks approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction; and
• a summary of the school district equivalency crediting information reported annually to the OSPI.

In comparison to the original bill, the amended bill:

• restores an expired provision requiring school district boards of directors to grant academic course equivalency for at least one statewide equivalency high school CTE course from the list of courses approved by the SPI;
• makes clarifying changes by:
  • modifying interdistrict cooperative agreement requirements to specify that approved state and local equivalency courses offered by the host school district of a skill center must be honored as equivalency courses by all school districts participating in the skill center;
  • specifying that the list of approved local and state equivalency courses that is to be provided annually must be provided by the host school district;
  • specifying that students served at any core, branch, or satellite skill center campus must have access to academic credit for any approved local or state equivalency courses offered at those sites and in accordance with applicable transcription requirements;
  • providing that approved local or state equivalency courses at any core, branch, or satellite skill center must be offered for academic credit to all students participating in courses at those sites; and
  • modifying notification requirements that obligate schools with students in any of grades nine through 12 to provide information to students, parents, and guardians about the opportunities that exist for meeting credit-based graduation requirements through equivalency courses; and
• requires the SPI to convene a technical working group to develop a course equivalency crosswalk for technology-based competitive student activities that complies with specified equivalency and content requirements.