READ FIRST TIME 02/17/11.   

     AN ACT Relating to creating a strategic plan for career and technical education; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature continues to find that access to high quality career and technical education for middle and high school students is a key strategy for reducing the dropout rate and closing the achievement gap. Career and technical education increases the number of young people who obtain a meaningful postsecondary credential. Improving career and technical education is also an efficiency measure, because reductions in the dropout rate are associated with increased earnings for individuals and reduced societal costs in the criminal justice and welfare systems.
     (2) The legislature further finds that much progress has been made since 2008 to enhance the rigor and relevance of career and technical education programs and to align and integrate instruction more closely with academic subjects, high demand fields, industry certification, and postsecondary education. Activities to support these objectives have included:
     (a) Requiring all preparatory career and technical education programs to lead to industry certification or offer dual high school and college credit;
     (b) Expanding state support for middle school career and technical education programs, especially in science, technology, and engineering;
     (c) Providing support for schools to develop or upgrade programs in high demand fields and offer preapprenticeships;
     (d) Developing model career and technical programs of study leading to industry credentials or degrees;
     (e) Assisting school districts with identifying academic and career and technical education course equivalencies;
     (f) Pilot-testing programs to integrate academic, career and technical, basic skills, and English as a second language instruction; and
     (g) Developing performance measures and targets for accountability.
     (3) Therefore, the legislature intends to ensure that progress will be continued and enhanced by providing a mechanism for monitoring continuous improvement in the rigor, relevance, and recognition of secondary career and technical education programs and improvement in students' access to these programs.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) Within existing resources, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall convene a working group to develop a statewide strategic plan for secondary career and technical education.
     (2) The strategic plan must include:
     (a) A vision statement, goals, and measurable annual objectives for continuous improvement in the rigor, relevance, recognition, and student access in career and technical education programs that build on current initiatives and progress in improving career and technical education, and are consistent with targets and performance measures required under the federal Carl Perkins act; and
     (b) Recommended activities and strategies, in priority order, to accomplish the objectives and goals, including activities and strategies that:
     (i) Can be accomplished within current resources and funding formulas;
     (ii) Should receive top priority for additional investment; and
     (iii) Could be phased-in over the next ten years.
     (3) In particular, the working group must examine:
     (a) Proposed changes to high school graduation requirements and strategies to ensure that students continue to have opportunities to pursue career and technical education career and college pathways along with a meaningful high school diploma;
     (b) How career and technical education courses can be used to meet the common core standards and how in turn the standards can be used to enhance the rigor of career and technical education;
     (c) Ways to improve student access to high quality career and technical education courses and work experiences, not only in skill centers but also in middle school, comprehensive high schools, and rural areas;
     (d) Ways to improve the transition from K-12 to community and technical college, university, and private technical college programs;
     (e) Methods for replicating innovative middle and high schools that engage students in exploring careers, use project-based learning, and build meaningful partnerships with businesses and the community; and
     (f) A framework for a series of career and technical education certifications that are: (i) Transferable between and among secondary schools and postsecondary institutions; and (ii) articulated across secondary and postsecondary levels so that students receive credit for knowledge and skills they have already mastered.
     (4) The working group membership shall include:
     (a) School district and skill center career and technical education directors and teachers and school guidance counselors;
     (b) Community and technical college professional-technical faculty;
     (c) At least one of each of the following: A school director, a principal, a counselor, and a parent;
     (d) Representatives from industry, labor, tech prep consortia, local workforce development councils, private technical colleges, and the Washington association for career and technical education; and
     (e) A representative from the workforce training and education coordinating board.
     (5) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall submit a progress report to the education committees of the legislature and to the quality education council by December 1, 2011. The final strategic plan, including priorities, recommendations, and measurable annual objectives for continuous improvement, is due by December 1, 2012.