THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:	EMSC-VESID Committee
FROM:	Jean C. Stevens
SUBJECT:	Career and Technical Education Interim State Plan
DATE:	March 1, 2007
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 1 and 2
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision

 

Should the Board of Regents approve the career and technical education interim state plan as required under the federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006?

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

Required by federal statute.
         
Proposed Handling

 

This question will come before the Regents EMSC-VESID Committee for approval on March 19, 2007.

 

Procedural History

 

The career and technical education interim state plan was submitted to the Regents for approval in February.  Action was postponed pending clarification of the relationships between career and technical education programs approved under the Regents policy and Tech Prep programs funded by Title II of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act.  This information has been provided to the Regents in a separate document.  In February, the Regents also raised concern about the proposal to merge Title I and Title II funding.  After further consultation with the field and among Department staff, we have determined to maintain Title II funds separately with a one-year Request for Proposal issued to transition current Tech Prep providers into the new career pathways approach.  Tech Prep programs will be renamed as Career Pathways programs.  A subsequent five-year RFP will be issued to support activities in the broader career and technical education initiative.

 

Background Information

 

          New York State receives approximately $60 million in federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act funds annually.  Eighty-five percent is distributed by formula to eligible school districts, BOCES and postsecondary institutions.  Fifteen percent is used for administration and statewide initiatives to support CTE program improvements.  These monies support activities for more than 201,000 secondary and 268,000 postsecondary students.  Last August, the Act was renewed by Congress through the year 2013.

 

          Renewal of the legislation provides New York State with a unique opportunity to continue upgrading career and technical education programs and to make them a key initiative in implementation of the Regents P-16 reform strategy.  CTE can be a significant tool for at least three of the thirteen goals.  CTE can improve high school attendance and graduation rates; it can assist in helping students transition and persist in postsecondary programs; and it is a necessary component in raising learning standards to exceed global standards.

 

          The Office of Curriculum and Instruction Support in EMSC and the Office of K-16 Initiatives and Access Programs in Higher Education co-administer Perkins funding and are collaborating in developing the interim and final state plan for these funds that will assist local education agencies and postsecondary institutions in implementing actions included in the P-16 reform strategy.

 

          The Department must submit to the U.S. Department of Education an interim state plan for 2007-2008 in April 2007, and a final, five-year plan for the 2008-2009 year and beyond in early 2008.  The draft final plan will be disseminated for public comment in fall 2007 and will be subsequently submitted to the Regents for approval.  Since the Board of Regents is the governing board for career and technical education in New York State, your approval is required for both the interim and final plan. 

 

          The design of the state plan for CTE for the years 2007 through 2013 contains the following elements:

 

• Continued focus on academic rigor. Since the implementation of the Regents policy on CTE in 2001, the quality of both specialized and integrated core academics has improved in New York.  This was noted at the federal level and the Regents policy influenced the inclusion of this in the new legislation.  The new legislation encourages states to further refine this policy by incorporating programs of study into the academic program of all CTE students.  A program of study is a career pathway within one of sixteen career clusters. As already outlined in the New York State career plan/ Career Zone initiatives, the process begins at the elementary school level with broad career investigation and gradually becomes more specific as student interests and aptitudes develop.   It must include strong academics and both secondary and postsecondary study.  They must lead to an industry-recognized credential, a certificate, or a postsecondary degree. 

 

• Increased emphasis on successful student transitions.  The state plan will outline ways in which local education agencies and postsecondary institutions can assure that their students experience less need for remediation, lower costs and accelerated study opportunities at the next level of educational achievement.   This includes transitions from secondary to postsecondary and from two-year to four-year postsecondary institutions.  Institutions at all levels will be required to develop articulation agreements that have direct benefits to students.  These include automatic admission, acceptance of credits, and dual credits among others. 

 

• High skill, high wage, high demand jobs are in the forefront.  New York State CTE programs will be required to prioritize preparing students for careers that will offer a strong starting salary and will lead to advancement opportunities.  SED will work closely with the New York State Department of Labor to provide local education agencies and postsecondary institutions with appropriate regional economic development statistics needed to prepare students for careers in New York.  This interagency coordination will help make New York economically competitive by retaining qualified graduates rather than preparing students who then must leave New York to achieve success.  There will be added emphasis on career pathways that prepare students for scientific, technical engineering and mathematics related occupations.

 

• Regular reassessments of technical skill requirements.  Given the rapidly changing needs of business and industry, the skills required for career success are changing.  Local education agencies must, at a minimum, reassess the technical skill requirements for each of their CTE programs every five years.  These reassessments must be done collaboratively with appropriate input from local business and industry.  Postsecondary institutions also will be expected to define the technical skill requirements in their CTE programs.

 

• Increased requirements for accountability.  In order to evaluate performance at all levels, it is necessary to have good data.  Fortunately, the State Education Department has implemented unit record systems to determine performance outcomes for both secondary and postsecondary students.  In the Perkins legislation, the federal government has increased the student performance criteria for states, and states must do the same for local recipients of Perkins funds.  States which do not achieve expected performance levels could face monetary sanctions in the future.  States may also impose monetary sanctions on local recipients who fail to meet expectations two years in a row. The core performance standards for measuring the academic success of students are the same as those required under NCLB.  The continued development of the Department’s P-16 data system will put New York in the forefront in our ability to provide valid and reliable data.

 

• The Title II (Tech Prep Programs to be renamed Career Pathways Programs) funds will be maintained as a separate title emphasizing a Career Pathways approach.  Career Pathways is a coherent sequence of courses that transition students from secondary to postsecondary education, preparing them for high skill, high wage careers.  A one-year Request for Proposal (RFP) will be issued to transition current Tech Prep providers into the new legislation.  In 2008, a five-year RFP will be issued to obtain knowledgeable service providers who will have responsibility for Tech Prep activities in specific areas of New York State, and who will assist local education agencies to develop the career pathways emphasized in the new legislation. We expect that many of the existing Tech Prep Consortia will be strong applicants for these new contracts since they have significant experience in this area.  This will allow us to expand funding for Tech Prep activities and integrate these activities into the broader CTE initiative.  Tech Prep will be renamed Career Pathways Programs (CPP) which is a better title for the actual content and goals of this initiative.  Innovation will be achieved through a career pathways focus that is directly linked to local economic development plans, workforce investment, and emerging careers tied to regional postsecondary institutions and employers. 

 

• Teacher preparation and staff development will be strengthened to emphasize the academic and high skills aspects of the new Act.  Just as programs need to be continuously updated in a changing economy, so do the skills of the teachers who deliver the program content.  The new Act offers opportunities for using Perkins funds to help emerging and existing teachers meet the demands of preparing students for the 21^st Century global economy.

 

          The Perkins Act has evolved with each reauthorization.  Previous legislation emphasized funding support for improving the academic and technical performance of CTE students, particularly those students who reflect special population status.  The newest version of the Perkins Act retains its prior funding emphasis, but now adds the priority of preparing students for emerging and demanding careers.  As part of this focus, the new legislation expects that states will engage the education system and the business community in discussions of how to best prepare students for a global economy.  The theme of the new Perkins legislation coincides with the Regents P-16 reform strategy, presenting a timely opportunity for the Board of Regents to challenge the CTE education community in New York to respond.  

 

Recommendation

 

VOTED:  That the Board of Regents approve the July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008 career and technical education interim state plan outline and direct staff to complete the interim state plan for submission to the U.S. Department of Education as required under the federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

Upon approval of the Board of Regents, Department staff will complete the interim state plan and submit it to the U.S. Department of Education in April 2007. The interim state plan will be in effect from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.  The final state plan for 2007-2013 will be submitted to the Regents for approval in early 2008.