Career and Technical Education.
Career and Technical Education (CTE) is a planned program of courses and learning experiences that begins with exploration of career options and supports basic academic and life skills.  Career and Technical Education instruction is delivered through programs at middle and high schools, through approved online courses, and at skill centers, the regional instructional venues that provide access to comprehensive, industry-defined CTE programs that prepare students for careers, employment, apprenticeships, and postsecondary education.

Career and Technical Education instruction is provided through two general classifications of courses?exploratory and preparatory?both of which must comply with numerous standards established by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). 

Core Plus.
Core Plus is a two-year CTE instruction program that is designed to prepare students for a structured pathway to employment in one of three sectors:  aerospace/advanced manufacturing; construction; and maritime.  Core Plus instructional materials are vetted by industry partners?the Boeing Company, the Associated General Contractors Education Foundation, and the Manufacturing Industrial Council?and are approved for classroom use by the OSPI.  

According to the OSPI, more than 5,500 students participated in approximately 120 Core Plus programs in high schools and skill centers in the 2021-22 school year.

Initial Core Plus offerings for students began with the aerospace/advanced manufacturing instruction program and later expanded to include the construction and maritime programs.  State law contemplates additional Core Plus programs in health care and information technology.

The two-year high school curriculum used for Core Plus instruction is validated by the applicable industry and uses standardized certificate systems for documenting student attainment of learning goals and objectives.  The first year of the curriculum teaches basic manufacturing skills that apply to industries across all Washington industrial sectors, with the second year providing more in-depth instruction in the industry sector.

Administrative and funding provisions for Core Plus are established in the state's biennial operating budget, not in statute.  Operating budget funding for Core Plus programs was initially approved in 2017 and the funding levels have subsequently increased.

Allied Health Professions Program.
The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), in collaboration with the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), the Department of Health, the Health Workforce Council, a statewide organization representing career and technical education, representatives from the allied health industry, and representatives from labor organizations representing allied health professions, is directed to develop an Allied Health Professions Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program (Allied Health Program) for providing instruction to students who are pursuing industry-recognized nondegree credentials that:  lead to entry level positions in allied health professions, and lead or articulate to either related, recognized nondegree credentials or two or four-year degrees, or both.

The curriculum and other instructional materials for the allied health program, which must reflect consideration of a specified list of issues that includes instructional, training and professional development, and community relationship issues, must be available for optional use in school districts and skill centers beginning in the 2027-28 school year.

In meeting the obligations related to the Allied Health Program, the OSPI must:

• consult with representatives from allied health profession employers and labor organizations representing allied health employees for the purpose of promoting industry sector partnerships, developing relationships with employers that are committed to hiring students who have completed the Allied Health Program, and soliciting recommendations for its establishment on specified topics and other issues deemed necessary by the entities with which it must collaborate;
• implement a process for soliciting comments about the Allied Health Program's establishment and operation from teachers and students, including students' parents or guardians; and
• consider any preliminary or final recommendations of the Statewide CTE Task Force.

After the Allied Health Program is established, the OSPI must convene and collaborate with an advisory committee consisting of industry leadership from the allied health sector, representatives from a statewide entity representing businesses in the sector, and representatives from labor organizations representing employees in allied health professions for the purpose of:

• informing the administration and continual improvement of the Allied Health Program;
• reviewing data and outcomes;
• recommending program improvements;
• ensuring that the Allied Health Program reflects needed industry competencies; and
• identifying appropriate program credentials.

The OSPI is also authorized to adopt and revise rules as necessary for the implementation for the Allied Health Program and associated responsibilities.

Statewide Career and Technical Education Task Force.
The Statewide CTE Task Force (Task Force) is established in the OSPI with the following eight members:

• the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) or the SPI's designee;
• two representatives from a statewide organization representing CTE, at least one of whom must be a CTE classroom instructor;
• a representative of CTE Core Plus Aerospace/Advanced Manufacturing selected by an organization representing aerospace or advanced industrial manufacturers;
• a representative of CTE Core Plus Construction selected by an organization representing general contractors;
• a representative of CTE Core Plus Maritime selected by an organization representing maritime interests;
• a representative from the SBCTC selected by the SBCTC; and
• a representative from the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (Workforce Board) selected by the Workforce Board.

The SPI or the SPI's designee must chair the Task Force, and staff support for the Task Force must be provided by the OSPI.  Provisions establishing the Task Force and prescribing its duties expire June 30, 2026.

The Task Force must develop recommendations for:

• expanding and strengthening the accessibility, stability, and uniformity of secondary work-integrated learning opportunities, including CTE, career connected learning, regional apprenticeship programs, CTE Core Plus programs, work-based learning, internships and externships, and other types of work-integrated learning (these recommendations should address governance, operations, and codification, and must be in the form of draft legislation);
• the successful administration and operation of CTE Core Plus programs through appropriate collaboration with industry sector leadership from program areas; and
• a CTE Core Plus model framework that can be used to guide the expansion, establishment, and operation of CTE Core Plus programs.

In making recommendations on a CTE Core Plus model framework, the Task Force must consider, at a minimum, 10 specific items, including:

• curricula and instructional hours that lead or articulate to industry-recognized nondegree credentials;
• training and professional development for educators and counselors;
• the development, maintenance, and expansion of industry, labor, and community partnerships; and
• alignment with postsecondary education and training programs.

The Legislature does not intend for the recommendations of the Task Force to modify the operation of CTE Core Plus programs established prior to January 1, 2024.
 
The Task Force must report its findings and recommendations to the Governor, the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, and the State Board of Education by November 15, 2025.

(In support) With more than 5,500 participating students, Core Plus is a successful program.  More than 1,000 former Core Plus students have been hired by Boeing, and this represents the strength of the program.  By codifying a new program, the Legislature will help to ensure its establishment and the participation of industry.  Policymakers look forward to the program helping to create a new generation of health care professionals.

This bill is a terrific opportunity and clarifying amendments for it are likely.  There is a health care worker shortage, and this bill should be passed now.  Native communities are using Core Plus programs.

Everybody deserves a chance, and Core Plus programs give students who want to work a chance to succeed.

The Core Plus model uses and industry connections and partnerships with an approved curriculum that leads to industry credentials.  The bill is not trying to make new Core Plus program using existing Core Plus materials, it is instead trying to create a Core Plus platform that health care can use.

Core Plus is a manufacturing program, but this bill lifts the program.  Industry participation and free curriculum?provided by the industry?are non-negotiable components of Core Plus programs.  There are opportunities to continue improving this bill throughout the legislative process.

This bill is supported by skill center leaders.  This bill can be an additive program to existing Core Plus programs, and there are thousands of unfilled health care positions in the region.  Using the Core Plus approach for health care will have many benefits, including supporting student engagement, learning, and industry needs.

The current Core Plus model is good for industry and the social emotional well-being of students.  Bringing experts together to develop a model that can be applied to other sectors is important.  The bill promotes equity.

Providing work-based opportunities for students is challenging.  While there are differences between manufacturing and health care, there are overlaps in instructional delivery methods.  Advocates of the legislation hope that students will use health care instruction provided through the program as a career ladder.

(Opposed) None,

(Other) The Core Plus curriculum is developed by industry through an ongoing investment.  The bill does not include industry representation from the health care sector.  Is Core Plus the correct structure for this program?  Will allied health provide ongoing support for a new Core Plus program?  Core Plus programs should be codified, but the language for doing so should be drafted by industries.  The business community has not been involved in this bill.

The process called for in the bill will fundamentally affect the Core Plus systems that were originally developed by the Boeing Company.  The Core Plus program works beautifully for construction and manufacturing, with free curricula.  Policymakers should be cautious about the idea that Core Plus can be easily copied for other sectors.  Existing Core Plus grant programs should not be changed.

The magic of Core Plus is that it is industry-led.  This bill does not model that process, and the processes in the bill do not assure success.  Industry has not been engaged in the development of this bill.  The bill should be set aside for a year.  If not, section 2 should be removed from the bill.

(In support) None.

(Opposed) None.

(Other) The current Core Plus programs have been developed by industry and paid for by industry, and this bill would change that process.  It cost industry partners $1.1 million to develop the Core Plus Construction program curriculum beginning in 2016, and it was approved by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2020.  The program operates in 86 schools and 12 skills centers.  In 2024 the construction industry anticipates spending $700,000 in ongoing costs to continue supporting the program.  This bill would add the Core Plus standards into statute, which would be a positive outcome.

The minimum of 1,080 hours for the curriculum in the bill equates to two years in a skills center and the graduation pathway for comprehensive high school.  We are working with the sponsor on amendments that would stipulate the same criteria as the other three existing Core Plus programs, which includes 1,080 hours over a two-year program.  This amount of time is what needs to be in place for industry-sector employers to get qualified youth out of high school with credentials that they can use the day after they graduate in a workplace.  Without this amount of time, the program would not be Core Plus.

This is a bill that establishes a training program for an industry that was not engaged in development of the bill or the idea around the program, and industry participants were not in the room.  If there is going to be a program created for allied health professions through Core Plus, the bill should establish exactly what Core Plus is and how it is different from existing one-year programs that are already in high schools and skills centers across the state.

(In support) Representative Clyde Shavers, prime sponsor; Becky Wallace, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction; Charlie Brown, Washington Skills Centers Directors; Tim Knue, Washington Association for Career and Technical Education; Dave Gering, Manufacturing Industry Council; Scott Anderson, CSR Marine; Shani Watkins, West Sound Technical Skills Center; Kirsten Thornton, Renton Schools; and Tom Walker, Career and Technical Education Health Science Association.

Michele Willms, Associated General Contractors of Washington; and Emily Wittman, Association of Washington Business.