Report Title:

Career and Technical Education Program; DOE Appropriation

Description:

Appropriates $3.4 million for re-design of the career and technical education programs within the department of education.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1358

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.

 

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

SECTION 1. Due to increasing concerns regarding Hawaii’s economy, the legislature finds that educational reform must be closely tied to and support the State’s economic development initiatives. The possibilities arising from educational programs preparing students to meet the workforce demands in the context of a diversified economy are limitless. Pivotal to realizing these possibilities is the transformation of career and technical education from a "hobby type" curriculum to that of a high-skills, career focused curriculum for all students directly supports Hawaii’s plans for economic development, and overtly addresses the mission of the department of education--providing students with the opportunities, not limited by time, for college-level coursework and program certification and/or endorsements to prepare them to be successful in a global society. Hence, preparing all graduates for postsecondary education and/or careers.

The redesign of career and technical education will occur in the context of school reform with an economic development focus. The following are identified as economic development focus areas for Hawaii and will be the basis for the redesign of career and technical education:

(1) Diversified agriculture;

(2) Astronomy and space technology;

(3) Biotechnology;

(4) Business services;

(5) Defense and dual-use technology;

(6) Film and television;

(7) Health care and medical technology; and

(8) Information technology.

The redesign of career and technical education will utilize the career pathway framework to organize curriculum in a way that will provide for the quality implementation of the pre-kindergarten through grade 20 higher education system, and that will support Hawaii’s economic development efforts. Through education, Hawaii will begin the journey of growing a qualified, highly skilled workforce that will attract and grow businesses and lead to the development of a diversified economy.

The redesign of career and technical education will also complement and enhance the department of education’s efforts to achieve its vision of the Hawaii public school graduate. Career and technical education supports standards-based education and can be the organizer of many components essential to school reform. The redesign of career and technical education neither begins nor ends at the high school. The strength of career and technical education’s redesign lies in the spiraling of essential concepts that seamlessly move from one level of learning to the next in a pre-kindergarten through grade 20 higher education system. Therefore, it is a viable means to address the federal government’s "No Child Left Behind" Act by more closely linking educational experiences and achievement with career opportunity and community. Without a framework of high standards, career-focused curricula become the latest version of the low track. Without contextualized approaches offered by multi-disciplinary, real-world learning, the standards movement reinforces an abstract and contrived curriculum that only works for a small group of students.

Research on high-performing high schools across the country shows high or improving test scores, good attendance, high graduation rates, low dropout rates, and high matriculation rates to postsecondary education. Career and technical education programs in these high-performing high schools exhibit the following common components:

(1) A focus on high-skill, high-wage careers;

(2) Incorporation of rigorous industry skill standards and certifications/endorsements;

(3) Integration of rigorous academic content with technical content;

(4) Implementation of a strong guidance and advisement program; and

(5) Strong alliances with postsecondary and business partners.

In Hawaii, the redesign of career and technical education that utilizes the career pathway framework incorporates all of the common components of high-performing high schools across the country. This initiative will enhance the achievement of articulated academic and industry standards. Career pathways provide the context in which students are able to achieve improved academic rigor through relevant, real-world experiences that integrate school-based learning, work-based learning, and current technology with the formal academic curriculum. To accomplish the type of teaching and learning mentioned above, schools must become more personalized and student centered. In order to sustain and further develop a strong system for a redesigned career and technical education, Hawaii must support its youth with career guidance, opportunities to apply classroom learning and develop leadership skills through participation in career and technical education student organizations (CTSO’s), intra-agency assistance in developing careers, personal adult advocates, and networks of support that serve as the foundation for lifelong learning.

The legislature finds and declares that:

(1) Hawaii must focus its efforts in order to derive the greatest return on investment of limited resources. Investing in the redesign of career and technical education will allow the State to leverage existing resources, along with additional resources to enable the development of a diversified economy and prepare students for careers that demand that workers have strong academic and career knowledge and skills, be adaptable to change, and are prepared for lifelong learning;

(2) The growth of Hawaii's population and the labor force require special efforts to attract, support, and retain businesses that pay high wages to highly-skilled workers. Improvement in the overall quality of the workforce is a vital component of economic development of Hawaii;

(3) The current array of education and training programs need to continue to move toward a more coherent P-20 system that necessitates close collaboration and cooperation between both public and private institutions/agencies;

(4) The policies and methods through which Hawaii provides education to prepare all young people for lifelong learning, higher education, and highly-skilled, highly-paid careers may be the most important component of Hawaii's economic growth;

(5) Sustaining and further developing and focusing career and technical education utilizing the career pathway framework needs to be the top priority in establishing an efficient and effective educational system and in establishing a seamless P-20 system of lifelong education and employment for all citizens in Hawaii; and

(6) Investing in Hawaii's career and technical education system will be a long-term investment that will ensure a supply of a highly-skilled and adaptable workforce. By successfully matching the skills of the emerging workforce with the needs of Hawaii's growing economy, career and technical education will be one of the most essential components in ensuring the State's competitive edge in an increasingly global economy.

The purpose of this Act is to support the implementation of the redesign of career and technical education through a strategic plan that will redesign career and technical education programs that: will be research-based, but will allow for flexibility in implementation; will provide for curriculum development in collaboration with postsecondary, business, and community partners; will include accountability measurements that will require schools to demonstrate increased student achievement and improved transition to appropriate employment, apprenticeships, or postsecondary institutions; will provide professional development and retraining of administrators and school staff, in partnership with the University of Hawaii and the private sector that will develop a teaching corps capable of implementing the new career and technical education design; and will provide facilities renovation and the purchase of specialized equipment to enable students to gain the real-world experience necessary for certifications and/or endorsements on a school campus.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1,200,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2003-2004, and the sum of $2,400,000 or so much thereof, as may be necessary for fiscal year 2004-2005, as follows:

(1) One full-time equivalent state educational specialist position at an annual salary of $70,000, to be assigned to the career and technical education program, to ensure the successful implementation of the redesign of career and technical education;

(2) One full-time equivalent support staff position at an annual salary of $30,000, to be assigned to the career and technical education program;

(3) Professional development and incentive funds for teachers and administrators of $100,000 in each fiscal year; and

(4) Facilities renovation and specialized equipment costs of $3,000,000.

SECTION 3. The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2003.

INTRODUCED BY:

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