RECENT LEGISLATION ADDRESSING CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
2005 – Workforce 2005 Task Force (SB 364)
Task / Recommendations / Activities Related to the IssueFunding sources: Review and determine amount that should be appropriated for grades 7-12 and higher education. / *Commission a study of funding sources to determine the amount for adequate funding at all levels. / The CTE Study was conducted in 2008.
2+2 Program: Review and recommend changes to reflect the “strong natural ties” between education and workforce and economic development. / 1)*Improve statewide articulation and marketing of 2+2 programs and ensure college-level rigor and college-level proficiencies.
2)*Change the name from Professional Technical Education to Career and Technical Education. / New standards for Dual Credit approved by the Unified Education Enterprise (UEE). Approval process now in place.
UEE completed a dual credit study and an analysis of students taking dual credit in high school in 2007-08 with subsequent performance in college.
Attached is a summary of the dual credit teacher qualifications prepared for the Council of Instructional Administrators and UEE.
OAR 589-007-0200reflects the policy for 2+2 and dual credit programs in community colleges.
See ODE dual credit data and resources at
Oregon Skill Setshave been created through statewide and national industry input, so the things that students are asked to know and be able to do are the most current and relevant skills for each career area or interest area. The lists include academic, technical and career related knowledge and skills.
Credit for Proficiencyprovides students the opportunity to earn graduation credits within Oregon’s standards-based system by demonstrating what they know and can do. Students may demonstrate proficiency through classroom work or documentation of learning experiences outside of school, or through a combination of these means.
The Expanded Options Program helps create a seamless education system for students enrolled in grades 11 and 12 to have additional options to continue or complete their education, earn concurrent high school and college credits, and gain early entry into postsecondary education.
600-800 CTE Programsof Studyare under development during the 5 year Perkins federal funding cycle ending in 2013. Alignment and articulation are key components.
Name change was completed.
Funding models: Recommend innovative and cost-effective funding models of CTE programs and associated student leadership programs. / Increase professional development opportunities for teachers to implement leadership opportunities for students. Ensure funding for Student Leadership Development Center (now Career and Technical Student Organization). / Perkins Reserve Funds have been an additional resource for professional development. However, the primary role for PD for student leadership is conducted through the Student Leadership Development Center. Currently, they are underfunded and have limited capacity to manage logistics and teacher training.
Some work is underway to determine if and how student leadership competitions can serve as a methodology for technical skill assessments.
ODE staff attend state student leadership conventions and provide teacher professional development on-site as well as on state in-service day. Student Leadership is an integral component of a CTE POS instruction, and not a stand-alone activity. Any training needs to align with new standards associated with the development of CTE Programs of Study and the new national policy initiatives.
ODE staff has conducted hundreds of PD for CTE leaders and teachers including the annual OACTE Conference, Superintendent’s Summer Institute, and CTE Regional Coordinators Monthly Professional Development. The ODE maintains ongoing WebEx opportunities, and secondary teachers may participate in state funded mentoring programs.
The Legislature has maintained a portion of the funding for Student Leadership.
Local eligible recipients (Perkins) may invest funds within state and federal guidelines. Student Leadership organizations have continued to identify resources within the state and local communities.Perkins funds support the CTSO state level staff.
Community Colleges are reviewing their Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs’ current math level, and discussing changes in program or math requirements.
Access to high-quality programs: Examine access to high-quality programs. / 1)*Create a 4-year Bachelor of Applied Science degree program.
2)Fund a full-time position at ODE to connect high-wage, high-demand and emerging occupations with local CTE programs. / Work is underway through the UEE, and the draft report (4/22/10) is located at:
Every state approved community college CTE program has an advisory committee.
The Oregon Employment Department, in collaboration with the Oregon Workforce Investment Board (OWIB), Oregon Department of Education, and CCWD, developed definitions for high-wage, high-skill, and high-demand occupations by region.
ODE does not have position authority for an additional CTE position; current requirements do not allow for ODE to dedicate a full time FTE. All CTE staff work with workforce through the revision of the Oregon Skill Sets and various statewide projects to which they are assigned. However, all CTE staff work to support the utilization of workforce partners in the revision of the Oregon Skill Sets, at Student Leadership Programs and Boards, etc.
Distance education: Review and recommend new partnerships to build capacity. / Use the OregonVirtualSchool District to pilot a CTE program in nursing and allied health. / CCWD has approximately $2 million (2009-11) for statewide community college nursing and allied health programs.
Teacher quality: Review and recommend quality teacher education programs for CTE teachers. / Increase the number of teachers prepared to teach in CTE programs. / Extensive work is underway with Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC) to revise CTE licensure requirements and provide more flexibility for teachers to enter the CTE arena.
Secondary Teacher Licensure Issues and Solutions
Few viable routes to CTE licensure/ endorsement (university teacher education cohorts unrealistic; Instructor Appraisal Committee (IAC)-only route created a bottle-neck). /
- New teacher prep requirements based on Perkins PD Task Force recommendations (WOU has developed 15-credit online option to be implemented fall 2010).
- Improved option available for university recommendation of related work experience in addition to degree (hours required more reasonable with university terms).
- New option for licensed teachers - ODE approval of work experience bypasses IAC; teacher not tied to program.
IAC one-size-fits-all: inappropriate or not applicable for all candidates /
- IAC revised into two tracks with appropriate committee membership for education/business & industry.
- Teacher prep requirement areas more specific.
- Work experience requirement options improved (internships, volunteer work; time frame more realistic).
- CTE Restricted Substitute License provides interested candidates a way to prepare for licensure and substitute in multiple districts.
Inconsistent local control over mentoring and Professional Development Programs (PDP). /
- Evaluations, recommendations and roster must now be signed and initialed by committee chair, local administrator, and regional coordinator; application signed by ODE specialist.
- Required mentors must be trained as approved by ODE.
- CTI I License must be renewed each year of its three-year span with renewal dependent on applicant meeting identified sufficient progress toward PDP.
CTE endorsements not current, too specific, and created barriers for otherwise qualified teachers to work in and/or develop related programs of study. /
- New endorsements follow national cluster work.
- Additional options for teachers to add endorsements to existing licenses.
- Some endorsements cross career areas.
- National Center for Educational Statistics codes attached to licenses adds flexibility beyond individual career area, but with related skills.
Few, if any substitutes available; classroom teachers unable or willing to participate in professional development. /
- CTE Restricted Substitute License - intent to build pool of pre-prepared teachers who can substitute and be available for full-time employment
Administrators and new teachers unfamiliar with the Oregon CTE system. /
- “Introduction to CTE in Oregon” included in required teacher prep areas; proposed for other teacher/ administrator preparation programs.
Program practices: Identify practices leading to high student performance; identify barriers to and costs of implementation. / Group elected to set aside this task due to the lack of endorsed teachers within the taskforce membership. /
- ODE staff continues to provide information on research based practices and promising practices. There is no methodology in place to allow for the assessment of costs of best practices. The CTE Study conducted in 2008 highlighted the reality that identifying costs specifically associated with CTE implementation is practically impossible in Oregon.
- Oregon has been a member of the Successful Practices Network (National). Schools have implemented their strategies, and the Oregon Association of Career and Technical Education has featured their leaders as speakers and hosted workshops.
*Priority Recommendations
2007 – The Oregon Career and Technical Education Study (HB 5019)
Task / Recommendations / Activities Related to the IssueStudy best practices related to CTE. Examine programs already established in Oregon, as well as Washington and California models and their funding mechanism. / CTE Administrative Structure - Establish and expand formal and informal administrative partnerships that reach beyond K–12 and community colleges to include private andpublic colleges and universities, apprenticeship programs, and private career schools.
•Expand all existing statewide CTE articulation agreements to include private andpublic four-year colleges and universities.
• Encourage regional CTE coordinators and community college deans with CTE responsibilityto establish or expand working relationships with private and public colleges,apprenticeship programs, and career schools. That may include askingrepresentatives from these institutions and programs in each region to attend meetingsto ensure their initiatives and issues are represented as part of their region’s approachto CTE.
• Invite representatives from public and private four-year institutions, apprenticeshipprograms, and private career schools to attend the statewide CTE Network meetingsas regular members. Identify roles for the representatives to ensure that meetingsprovide opportunities for all sectors to be fully engaged. / The OWIB’s Youth and Education Committee funded projects that partners with the Oregon Building Congress and Apprenticeship Programs:
Lane Community College & Partners: Focused on high school students typically underprepared for entering the workforce due to socioeconomic or other disadvantages and leverages LCC’s emerging Sustainability Pathway, which includes the Water Conservation Associate of Applied Science degree program and several degrees and certifications in LCC’s Energy Management Program—an internationally recognized degree and certificate program at LCC.
Clackamas Career & Technical Education & Partners: Focused on creating a sustainability career pathway from secondary institutions to post-secondary Sustainability and Renewable Energy and engineering programs. This need was based on high growth in sustainability careers and emerging student interest in environmental concerns and renewable energy. This project helps identify Career and Technical Education classes that integrate math and science classes with technical lessons relevant to the sustainability field.
RogueCommunity College & Partners: Key learning of SIS (summer institute on sustainability) was that there is NOT a separate world of sustainability. To guide students for future careers we must take a multidisciplinary approach to help students understand trends in sustainability in multiple fields and to discern what “green” means. The Project uses Sustainable Building Science as the theme and there will be a focus on construction. The plan will lead to informed decisions about college programs CTE or Transfer that will continue student’s education, knowledge and skills in sustainable building science and other possible CTE programs.
Youth Apprenticeships -Youth apprenticeships can enhance the ability of Oregon’s high schools and secondary and postsecondary CTE programs to meet outcomes for successful recruitment, retention of, program completion, and entry into high wage, high skill, high demand occupations by students with diverse heritage and non-traditional backgrounds. Achievement and demonstration of the Essential Skills required for attainment of Oregon’s High School Diploma will be facilitated for students participating in youth apprenticeship programs. Students completing youth apprenticeships will also be well prepared to earn the Oregon Career Readiness Certificate, verifying that they possess the foundational skills that employers need.
- Expansion to additional partnerships for programmatic implementation is a local decision.
- Oregon has continued to fund regional consortia through Perkins. One issue associated with only federally funded CTE programs is the issue of accountability including student performance data, as well as teachers that are qualified to meet articulation requirements.
- All Statewide CTE Network meetings are public meetings. Due to the intensive work related to Perkins implementation, much of the training, etc. is related to the implementation of CTE Programs of Study and utilization of Perkins funds within the legal parameters.
- Some CTE Network Regional Coordinators and many community college staff coordinate with local /regional workforce partners.
- The Statewide Meeting for Career and Technical Education and CTE Network meetings are open to the public. The CTE Network meetings are an essential meeting structure to deal with the state and federal requirements for federally funded programs. While other parties may attend, the content is rarely appropriate for programs that are not federal fund recipients. Due to staff reductions, ODE and CCWD do not have staff capacity or funding to develop and support additional statewide meetings.
CTE Delivery System - Provide targeted technical assistance to support the design andexpansion of Programs of Study.
• Identify existing, standards-based curricular resources that might be adapted for stateuse. Examples include Project Lead the Way or the Math-in-CTEprogram, successfully piloted by the Lane Education Service District.
• Create and pilot a statewide model for connecting academic knowledge with technicalskills identified in the Oregon Skill Sets.
• Provide targeted professional development to equip academic and CTE instructorsat the secondary and postsecondary levels with the skills they need to createand support the development of Programs of Study. /
- ODE has 8 CTE Education Specialists that give full support to helping programs design and expand CTE POS. Three FTE support staff also support the efforts. However, 2 positions currently vacant are in the process of being filled.
- The Oregon Skill Sets have been revised and reflect national standards for CTE instruction. Math in CTE has been implemented across the state with 3 final groups being trained this year. Project Lead the Way is being used in various programs throughout the state.
- Applied Academic Research Project under development in conjunction with the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education.
CTE Delivery System - Assist students in reaching their goals and preparing for theworkplace by expanding advanced skill training opportunities for secondary students.
• Provide incentives for neighboring high schools and school districts to coordinatewith one another and with community colleges and other workforce developmentagencies to reduce duplication of programs and leverage capacity at existing facilities.
• Relocate CTE instructional equipment among high schools and colleges and arrangefor coordinated purchasing among regional partners to avoid unnecessary duplicationof services across sites.
• Encourage the development and evaluate the outcomes of charter schools, magnetschools, and academy programs that provide integrated academic and CTE instructionthat aligns with the Programs of Study model.
• Coordinate with labor organizations and unions to increase opportunities for studentsto enter apprenticeships in high-wage, high-skill, and high-demand careers.
• Co-locate secondary and postsecondary programs in satellite sites in order to shareresources, particularly in rural areas where access to specialized training and instructionalequipment is limited.
• Improve career-related learning experiences by developing criteria that define highqualitycareer-related learning standards for students in different grades and by creatingtools and material supports that schools and their business partners can use whendeveloping programs. / See comments on CTE POS.
- No state funds are available for incentives. Perkins funds are distributed on a regional basis.
- There are efforts in some regions, such as the Mid-Willamette Education Consortium to purchase & move equipment among neighboring district CTE programs to provide affordable means of providing opportunities for students.
- ODE and CCWD maintains performance records on all schools and colleges that have CTE programs.
- ODE participates in and provides a subcommittee facilitator for the Affirmative Action Task Force of the Bureau of Labor & Industries to recruit & retain more women and minorities in apprenticeship programs. The group has developed a new apprenticeship information web page:
•ODE staff participates in the Oregon Youth Council (subcommittee of OWIB).
•Oregon maintains a statewide apprenticeship degree program; various new programs have developed in places like Tillamook.
- The Oregon Diploma project has given extensive work to Essential Skills, Extended Application,