Career and Technical Education. Career and Technical Education (CTE) means a planned program of courses and learning experiences that begins with exploration of career options; supports basic academic and life skills; and enables achievement of high academic standards, leadership, options for high skill, high wage employment preparation, and advanced and continuing education. Every CTE course must be approved by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

Core Plus is a two-year CTE instruction program that is designed to prepare students for a pathway to employment in one of three sectors: aerospace and advanced manufacturing, construction, and maritime. Core Plus instructional materials are vetted by industry partners and approved by OSPI.

Statewide Career and Technical Education Task Force. Legislation enacted in 2024 established a two-year Statewide Career and Technical Education Task Force (task force) within OSPI. The task force's membership includes the Ssuperintendent of public instruction or a designee, numerous CTE experts, and representatives from state agencies.

The task force was directed to develop recommendations for expanding and strengthening secondary work-integrated learning opportunities, successfully operating CTE Core Plus Programs, and a CTE Core Plus model framework. The task force expires in June of 2026 and must report its findings to the Governor, Legislature, and State Board of Education by November 15, 2025.

Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping. The International Maritime Organization's Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) sets qualification standards for personnel on seagoing ships. The STCW requirements have been incorporated into federal regulations and policies for certain personnel and any mariner who works aboard a ship that operates outside the U.S. Territorial Boundary Line must hold an STCW endorsement. 

A mariner may obtain an STCW certificate by attending a U.S. Coast Guard-approved training school such as a Maritime Academy or Maritime Vocational School. The STCW provides for a variety of endorsements according to rank and vessel type; the entry-level endorsement is typically a five-day basic training class.

The membership of the task force is expanded to include a representative from the Washington State Department of Transportation's State Ferries Division. The task force is directed to develop recommendations for expanding and strengthening opportunities that lead or articulate to public and private postsecondary education programs approved by the U.S. Coast Guard for awarding the standards of training, certification, and watchkeeping credentials.