Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

BILL AS INTRODUCED                                                            H.716
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                                         H.716
 Introduced by Representatives Marcotte of Coventry and Jerome of Brandon
 Referred to Committee on
 Date:
 Subject: Education; career and technical education; flexible pathways
 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to make changes
 to Vermont’s career and technical education (CTE) system, including:
         (1) basing the tuition charged to a school district on the district’s prior
 year full-time equivalent student enrollment in a CTE center;
         (2) requiring school districts to provide students in grades six through
 eight with career enrichment and exposure, including at least one annual visit
 to the school district’s regional career and technical education center;
         (3) requiring school districts to provide students enrolled in grades nine
 and 10 a genuine opportunity to participate fully in pre-tech and exploratory
 career and technical courses;
         (4) requiring the Agency of Education to create and supervisory unions
 to adopt a model comprehensive career development policy;
         (5) changing oversight of CTE from the State Board of Education to the
 Secretary of Education;
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       (6) requiring the Vermont State Colleges Corporation to maintain
 program and course articulation agreements with all secondary CTE centers in
 certain programs;
       (7) articulating the intent to include CTEs in updates to State aid for
 school construction; and
       (8) requiring the Agency of Education to develop a statewide school
 calendar.
    An act relating to career and technical education
 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
                              * * * CTE Tuition * * *
 Sec. 1. 16 V.S.A. § 1552 is amended to read:
 § 1552. SECONDARY STUDENT TUITION
                                        ***
    (d) The tuition charged to a school district within Vermont shall be based
 on the average of the district’s three prior years’ year’s full-time equivalent
 student enrollment in the career technical center.
 Sec. 2. 16 V.S.A. § 1561 is amended to read:
 § 1561. TUITION REDUCTION
    (a) In this section:
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       (1) “Student” means a Vermont secondary student without a diploma
 regardless of age and regardless of whether the student is enrolled in a high
 school in Vermont.
       (2) “Full-time equivalent student” means the average of a Vermont
 school district’s three prior years’ year’s full-time equivalent enrollment of
 students in the career technical center.
                                        ***
            * * * CTE Opportunities for Grades Six through 10 * * *
 Sec. 3. 16 V.S.A. § 1541a is amended to read:
 § 1541a. RESPONSIBILITY OF LOCAL BOARDS IN SENDING
           DISTRICTS
    (a) A school board of a sending district that offers public education in
 grade 11 or 12 shall:
       (1) Provide students enrolled in grades 11 and 12 with a genuine
 opportunity to participate fully and to benefit from career technical education.
       (2) Provide students enrolled in programs at career technical centers
 transportation between its high school building and the career technical center
 or centers in its designated service region or regions.
       (3) If the career technical center for the region does not offer a course of
 study desired by a student, pay tuition on behalf of that student who applies
 and is accepted to another career technical center that does offer such a course VT LEG #373220 v.3
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 of study. The district of residence is not responsible for providing
 transportation for a student attending a career technical center under this
 subdivision.
       (4) Provide students in grades six through eight with career enrichment
 and exposure, including at least one annual visit to the school district’s
 regional career and technical education center.
       (5) Provide students enrolled in grades nine and 10 a genuine
 opportunity to participate fully in pre-tech and exploratory career and technical
 courses.
                                       ***
 Sec. 4. 16 V.S.A. § 1547 is added to read:
 § 1547. COMPREHENSIVE CAREER DEVELOPMENT POLICY
    (a) The Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of
 the Department of Labor, shall develop a model Comprehensive Career
 Development Policy and implementation plan for all secondary students. The
 Secretary shall review the model policy not less than every five years and
 make a determination as to whether the policy needs updating. The model
 policy shall address the following:
       (1) the role of CTE centers in providing career-focused education;
       (2) how each supervisory union’s career education and counseling
 policy practices align with the CTE programs of study;
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       (3) how supervisory unions will work with CTE centers and other
 supervisory unions in the CTE region to develop common and joint courses
 and approaches to career development, career exploration, and CTE exposure;
       (4) a plan for meeting the pre-tech and exploratory CTE requirements
 under subdivision 1541a(a)(5) of this title; and
       (5) a plan for meeting the career enrichment and exposure requirements
 under subdivision 1541a(a)(4) of this title.
    (b) Each supervisory union board shall develop, adopt, and ensure
 implementation of a policy and plan for comprehensive career development
 that is consistent with and at least as comprehensive as the model policy
 developed by the Secretary. Any supervisory union board that fails to adopt
 such a policy or procedures shall be presumed to have adopted the most current
 model policy and procedures published by the Secretary.
    (c) If the Secretary determines that a supervisory union or school district is
 failing to comply with the policy required under this section, the Secretary
 shall describe in writing actions that a district or supervisory union shall take in
 order to comply with the required policy. If the supervisory union or school
 district fails to comply or make sufficient progress within one year after the
 determination by the Secretary, the Secretary shall recommend to the State
 Board one or more of the actions contained in subdivisions 165(b)(1)–(5).
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 Sec. 5. DEVELOPMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE CAREER
         DEVELOPMENT POLICY; REPORT
    (a) On or before August 1, 2024, the Secretary of Education shall develop
 and issue the model Comprehensive Career Development Policy required
 under 16 V.S.A. § 1547.
    (b) On or before September 15 2024, each supervisory union shall develop,
 adopt, and ensure implementation of a policy and plan for comprehensive
 career development that is consistent with and at least as comprehensive as the
 model policy developed by the Secretary, as required under 16 V.S.A. § 1547.
    (c) On or before December 1, 2024, the Agency of Education shall issue a
 written report to the House Committees on Commerce and Economic
 Development, on Education, and on Ways and Means and the Senate
 Committees on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs, on
 Education, and on Finance with the following information regarding the policy
 required under 16 V.S.A. § 1547:
       (1) a list of supervisory unions that have adopted the required policy;
       (2) a list of supervisory unions that have failed to adopt the required
 policy and have therefore been deemed to have adopted the model policy
 developed by the Secretary; and
       (3) any efforts the Agency has undertaken to help supervisory unions
 and school districts come into compliance with the required policy.
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                           * * * Construction Aid * * *
 Sec. 6. CONSTRUCTION AID; CAREER AND TECHNICAL
         EDUCATION
    It is the intent of the General Assembly to ensure that career and technical
 education centers and their associated facilities are appropriately and equitably
 included in future updates to the State’s construction aid program under
 16 V.S.A. chapter 123.
                            * * * CTE Oversight * * *
 Sec. 7. 16 V.S.A. chapter 37, subchapter 2 is amended to read:
             CHAPTER 37. CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION
   Subchapter 2. State Board of Education Oversight of Career and Technical
                                     Education
                                       ***
 § 1531. RESPONSIBILITY OF STATE BOARD SECRETARY
    (a) The State Board Secretary has overall responsibility for the
 effectiveness of career technical education. This requires the Board Secretary
 to collect suitable information and to take appropriate steps within its the
 Secretary’s legal, financial, and personnel resources to ensure that:
                                       ***
    (b) In order to provide regional career technical education services
 efficiently, the State Board Secretary shall designate a service region for each VT LEG #373220 v.3
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 career technical center. However, the Board Secretary may designate a service
 region for two or more comprehensive high schools if that region is not served
 by a career technical center.
    (c) For a school district that is geographically isolated from a Vermont
 career technical center, the State Board Secretary may approve a career
 technical center in another state as the career technical center that district
 students may attend. In this case, the school district shall receive
 transportation assistance pursuant to section 1563 of this title and tuition
 assistance pursuant to subsection 1561(c) of this title. Any student who is a
 resident in the Windham Southwest Supervisory Union and who is enrolled at
 public expense in the Charles H. McCann Technical School or the Franklin
 County Technical School shall be considered to be attending an approved
 career technical center in another state pursuant to this subsection, and, if the
 student is from a school district eligible for a merger support grant pursuant to
 section 4015 of this title or a small school weight pursuant to section 4010 of
 this title, the student’s full-time equivalency shall be computed according to
 time attending the school.
 § 1532. MINIMUM STANDARDS; MEASUREMENT OF STANDARDS
    (a) The State Board Agency of Education shall adopt by rule:
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       (1) Minimum standards for the operation and performance of career
 technical centers that include the education quality standards adopted by the
 State Board under subdivision 164(9) and section 165 of this title.
       (2) Standards for student performance based on the standards adopted
 by the State Board under subdivision 164(9) of this title and standards for
 industry recognized credentials.
                                       ***
    (b) The following shall be adopted by procedure or rule:
       (1) competencies proficiencies that graduates of each kind of career
 technical program should be able to demonstrate, including career technical
 competencies necessary for the student’s intended employment;
       (2) minimum admissions competencies proficiencies for entrance into
 each career technical course of study;
                                       ***
 § 1533. CAREER TECHNICAL CENTER EVALUATION
    (a) At least once in each period of five years, and in coordination with the
 Vermont Advisory Council on Career Technical Education, the Secretary shall
 evaluate the effectiveness of each career technical center in the State. The
 State Board Secretary by rule shall prescribe the method for conducting these
 evaluations.
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    (b) Evaluations of career technical centers shall consider at least the
 following areas:
       (1) compliance with this chapter and the rules of the State Board
 Secretary;
       (2) the condition and suitability of the facility and its equipment;
       (3) the quality of the course of study, including faculty development
 policies and instruction;
       (4) the overall success of the center at combining academic education,
 skill training, and employability trait development into its program;
       (5) the overall success of the center in providing regionwide services
 and a flexible response to student needs, integrating its courses of study into a
 coherent program, and coordinating its program with postsecondary career
 technical education services;
       (6) the satisfaction of the center’s customer groups, including graduates,
 sending schools, and local industry;
       (7) the adequacy and effectiveness of the center in meeting the
 educational and employment needs of all its eligible students, including its
 success in taking steps to encourage each student to consider enrolling in
 courses not traditional for that student’s gender; and
       (8) alignment of the program, and other center operations, to Agency of
 Education, District Quality Standards (CVR 23-020).
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    (c) [Repealed.]
 § 1534. COURSE OF STUDY EVALUATION
    (a) At least once in each period of five years, and in coordination with the
 Vermont Advisory Council on Career Technical Education, the Secretary shall
 evaluate the effectiveness of each course of study offered by any career
 technical center in the State. The State Board Secretary by rule shall prescribe
 the method for conducting these evaluations.
                                      ***
 Sec. 8. TRANSFER OF RULEMAKING AUTHORITY; TRANSFER OF
         RULES
    (a) The statutory authority to adopt rules by the State Board of Education
 pertaining to the oversight of career and technical education adopted under
 16 V.S.A. chapter 37 and 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 is transferred from the State
 Board of Education to the Agency of Education.
    (b) All rules pertaining to career and technical education adopted by the
 State Board of Education under 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 prior to July 1, 2024 shall
 be deemed the rules of the Agency of Education and remain in effect until
 amended or repealed by the Agency of Education pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter
 25.
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   (c) The Agency of Education shall provide notice of the transfer to the
 Secretary of State and the Legislative Committee on Administrative rules in
 accordance with 3 V.S.A. § 848(d)(2).
          * * * Postsecondary Program Articulation Agreements * * *
 Sec. 9. 16 V.S.A. § 1594 is added to read:
 § 1594. POSTSECONDARY PROGRAM ALIGNMENT
   (a) In order to promote a seamless pathway from CTE to postsecondary
 opportunities, the Vermont State Colleges Corporation shall maintain program
 and course articulation agreements with all secondary CTE centers in the
 following programs:
      (1) manufacturing;
      (2) engineering;<