During a visit to Valley Career and Technical Center in Fishersville, VA, on July 1, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced a new CTE bill he is introducing soon with Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), the Educating Tomorrow's Workforce Act.
The legislation builds on the effectiveness of the programs of study model by including a more rigorous definition requiring alignment with state-identified standards, progression in content specificity, multiple entry and exit points for students and the culmination in the attainment of an industry-recognized credential. Since their inclusion in the 2006 reauthorization of the Perkins Act, programs of study have proven to be a highly effective method of organizing CTE programs to offer students a sequence of courses leading from secondary school to some form of postsecondary education.
The bill would also introduce a comprehensive, annual needs assessment of program quality elements to allow local eligible recipients to better identify and meet the needs of students and the local or regional labor market. Among the list of elements is professional development for CTE educators, work-based learning opportunities, up-to-date equipment and technology and opportunities for students to earn postsecondary credit in high school.
ACTE supports the goals of this bill by Sens. Kaine and Portman, including the utilization of the programs of study model for CTE and the enhanced needs assessment. We hope that, as the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee moves forward with a Perkins CTE Act reauthorization, the ideas set forth in this bill will be taken into account.
During his visit to Valley Tech, Sen. Kaine toured the school's precision machines shop, metal trade shop and nursing program before holding a round-table discussion with CTE educators and administrators on the needs of CTE today. Sen. Portman will be visiting a CTE school in the Cincinnati, OH, area next week, and we will provide an update on that after it occurs.
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