FINAL BILL REPORT

SHB 1710

C 267 L 11

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Creating a strategic plan for career and technical education.

Sponsors: House Committee on Education (originally sponsored by Representatives Moscoso, Liias, Probst, Ladenburg, Hasegawa, McCoy, Haler, Dahlquist, Green, Wilcox, McCune, Zeiger, Roberts, Stanford, Billig, Maxwell, Hunt and Kenney).

House Committee on Education

Senate Committee on Higher Education & Workforce Development

Senate Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education

Background:

In 2008 a comprehensive set of initiatives was enacted in legislation, designed to enhance the rigor and relevance of secondary career and technical education (CTE) programs and to align and integrate CTE instruction more closely with academic subjects, high demand fields, industry certification, and postsecondary education.

The Legislature initially provided $2.75 million per year to support such activities as:

• requiring all preparatory CTE programs to lead to industry certification or offer dual high school and college credit;

• expanding state support for middle school CTE programs, especially in science, technology, and engineering;

• providing support for schools to develop or upgrade programs in high demand fields and offer pre-apprenticeships;

• developing model CTE programs of study leading to industry credentials or degrees;

• assisting school districts with identifying academic and CTE course equivalencies;

• pilot-testing programs to integrate academic, career and technical, basic skills, and English as a second language instruction; and

• developing performance measures and targets for accountability.

Summary:

Within existing resources, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction must convene a working group to develop a statewide strategic plan for secondary CTE.

The plan must include a vision statement, goals, and measurable annual objectives for continuous improvement that are consistent with those required under the federal Carl Perkins Act for secondary CTE programs. The plan must also recommend activities that:

• can be accomplished within current resources;

• should receive top priority for additional investment; and

• could be phased-in over the next 10 years.

The working group must examine at least the following issues:

• proposed changes to high school graduation requirements and ways to assure that students continue to have opportunities to pursue CTE pathways;

• the relationship between CTE courses and the Common Core Standards;

• ways to improve access to high quality CTE in a variety of school settings;

• ways to improve the transition from K-12 to college;

• methods for replicating innovative middle and high schools; and

• a framework for transferrable and articulated certifications between secondary and postsecondary CTE so that students receive credit for knowledge and skills already mastered.

Membership of the working group is specified.

A progress report is due to the Education Committees and the Quality Education Council by December 1, 2011, with a final strategic plan due December 1, 2012.

Votes on Final Passage: