HB 333: "An Act relating to technical readiness and career training education in public schools."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 333 01 "An Act relating to technical readiness and career training education in public schools." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 04 to read: 05 LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the legislature that the Alaska technical 06 readiness and career training system will serve as the foundation of a statewide framework for 07 comprehensive career and technical education by providing dedicated and direct funding to 08 school districts to offer high quality, hands-on learning opportunities for students in grades six 09 through 12, through the incentivized integration of technical readiness, career training, and 10 work-based learning alongside traditional academic curricula and programs. 11 * Sec. 2. AS 14.17.420(a) is amended to read: 12 (a) As a component of public school funding, a district is eligible for special 13 needs and secondary school vocational and technical instruction funding and may be 14 eligible for intensive services funding as follows: 15 (1) special needs funding is available to a district to assist the district
01 in providing special education, gifted and talented education, vocational education, 02 and bilingual education services to its students; a special needs funding factor of 1.20 03 shall be applied as set out in AS 14.17.410(b)(1); 04 (2) in addition to the special needs funding for which a district is 05 eligible under (1) of this subsection, a district is eligible for intensive services funding 06 for each special education student who needs and receives intensive services and is 07 enrolled on the last day of the count period; for each [SUCH] student, intensive 08 services funding is equal to the intensive student count multiplied by 13; 09 (3) in addition to the special needs and intensive services funding 10 available under (1) and (2) of this subsection, secondary school vocational and 11 technical instruction funding is available to assist districts in providing vocational and 12 technical instruction to students who are enrolled in a secondary school; a secondary 13 school vocational and technical instruction funding factor of 1.025 [1.015] shall be 14 applied as set out in AS 14.17.410(b)(1); in this paragraph, "vocational and technical 15 instruction" excludes costs associated with 16 (A) administrative expenses; and 17 (B) instruction in general literacy, mathematics, and job 18 readiness skills. 19 * Sec. 3. AS 14.17 is amended by adding a new section to article 2 to read: 20 Sec. 14.17.530. Minimum expenditure for technical, career, and work- 21 based instruction. A district shall budget for and spend at least 80 percent of the 22 funds obtained for vocational and technical instruction under AS 14.17.420(a)(3) on 23 directly offering and supporting technical readiness, career training, and work-based 24 learning opportunities for students in grades six through 12. 25 * Sec. 4. AS 14.30 is amended by adding new sections to read: 26 Article 17. Career and Technical Education. 27 Sec. 14.30.810. Alaska technical readiness and career training system. (a) 28 The Alaska technical readiness and career training system is established in the 29 department to help develop and expand technical readiness and career training 30 programs across districts and to support the ongoing maintenance of the programs. 31 (b) A technical readiness and career training program developed under this
01 section may include classroom instruction, laboratory-based technical education, 02 industry-aligned certification programs, hands-on training, apprenticeships, 03 internships, cooperative education, and other work-based learning opportunities. Each 04 technical readiness and career training program must 05 (1) be structured so that a student is evaluated based on the student's 06 degree of mastery of defined knowledge, skills, and abilities, as determined by the 07 program instructor; 08 (2) be designed to provide students with 09 (A) career pathways; 10 (B) credentials that build progressively on one another over 11 time and collectively contribute toward additional credentials, postsecondary 12 degrees, advanced training, or career achievements within a defined career 13 pathway; and 14 (C) opportunities through technical readiness, career training, 15 or work-based learning programs that are accepted for credit toward high 16 school graduation, postsecondary education, or advanced standing or 17 placement in a public or private educational or training institution; 18 (3) be developed in collaboration with partners in the private sector, 19 labor organizations, tribal entities, postsecondary educational institutions, private 20 training providers, and municipal governments to ensure the program is aligned with 21 current and future workforce needs; 22 (4) integrate technical readiness and work-based learning by providing 23 students with 24 (A) foundational academic knowledge; 25 (B) industry-recognized technical skills; and 26 (C) practical competencies necessary for successful entry into 27 the workforce, apprenticeships, technical training programs, or postsecondary 28 educational institutions. 29 (c) In this section, "industry-aligned certification program" means a course of 30 education or training that prepares students for the attainment of credentials that are 31 recognized, endorsed, or required by employers, industry associations, labor
01 organizations, or regulatory bodies within a specific industry or occupational field and 02 that reflect current or projected standards of workforce skills and employment needs 03 as identified through collaborations with private sector, labor, tribal, or postsecondary 04 partners. 05 Sec. 14.30.820. Technical readiness and career training system 06 coordinator. A technical readiness and career training system coordinator is 07 established in the department to oversee the Alaska technical readiness and career 08 training system established in the department. The coordinator shall 09 (1) develop and maintain a repository of career and technical education 10 resources in the department, including resources relating to curricula, best practices, 11 and industry-aligned training modules; 12 (2) support districts with developing, implementing, and maintaining 13 technical readiness and career training programs; 14 (3) facilitate partnerships between districts, industry partners, labor 15 organizations, tribal entities, private training programs, and postsecondary institutions 16 to support technical readiness and career training programs; 17 (4) regularly evaluate the effect of career and technical education on 18 student outcomes and workforce readiness; 19 (5) provide recommendations for program improvements; 20 (6) collect and analyze data on technical readiness and career training 21 program enrollment and completion rates and the number of career and technical 22 education students who are placed in apprenticeships, obtained employment, and 23 attended postsecondary educational institutions; and 24 (7) create and maintain a model agreement for districts and partner 25 entities to use as provided under AS 14.30.830(a). 26 Sec. 14.30.830. Technical readiness and career training in our 27 neighborhood program. (a) A district may enter into an agreement with a partner 28 entity to allow high school students to earn school credit for participation in technical 29 readiness, career training education, and work-based learning opportunities provided 30 by the partner entity. To take effect, an agreement must be ratified by the school board 31 and approved by the technical readiness and career training system coordinator. A
01 district and partner entity may use the model agreement created and maintained by the 02 coordinator under AS 14.30.820(7) or develop another agreement to establish the 03 terms of participation. A district shall allow school credits earned under an agreement 04 to apply toward meeting the requirements for a certificate of graduation from high 05 school. 06 (b) Subject to appropriation, a district is eligible to receive $150 for each half- 07 unit of credit earned by a student through an agreement with a partner entity, up to a 08 maximum of $450 a student each school year. 09 (c) On or before the 10th legislative day of each regular session of the 10 legislature, the department shall submit a report on education offered under this 11 section, including, for the previous school year, the total amount awarded to each 12 district under (b) of this section, the number of students in each grade level for whom 13 each district received funding under (b) of this section, and the names of partner 14 entities that have entered into agreements with districts authorized under (a) of this 15 section. The department shall deliver a copy of the report to the senate secretary and 16 the chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the legislature that the report 17 is available. 18 Sec. 14.30.840. Definitions. In AS 14.30.810 - 14.30.840, 19 (1) "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.900; 20 (2) "partner entity" means an in-state postsecondary educational 21 institution, tribal entity, labor organization, business, nonprofit, or municipal 22 government with which a district has entered into an agreement under AS 14.30.830.