Bills aim to shake up Indiana career and technical education
03/01/2017
Two competing bills in the House and Senate intend shake up Indiana career and technical education.
HB 1008 would repeal Indiana's Works Councils and the Advisory Committee on CTE on July 1, 2018.
It would create something new called the "high value workforce ready credit-bearing grant," administered by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) that is provided to an applicant who:
- is an Indiana resident
- meets certain schooling requirements
- is enrolled at Ivy Tech or Vincennes at least half-time
- meets various other requirements
The grant is renewable under certain conditions and is valid for the lesser of two years or the number of credit hours needed.
The bill would also create a high value workforce ready noncredit-bearing grant that does not require the applicant to be enrolled in a post-secondary program.
The DWD would work with employers to identify eligible employee recipients and local government and employer groups in specific economic sectors or regions.
The DWD would work with the Commission for Higher Education to determine which noncredit-bearing credentials are eligible for the noncredit-bearing grant.
It would require each state provider of programs, including school corporations, to prepare an annual report on their respective workforce-related programs, which includes an explanation of how the program aligns and coordinates with Indiana's workforce needs.
SB 198 is now the Senate's version of the career and technical education (CTE) bill. See House version (HB 1008) above. Major changes in how CTE funds would flow are embedded in this bill and not all of the consequences for these changes have been publicly articulated.
Currently $110 million is allocated to school districts and area career centers through the Department of Education and the school funding formula. SB 198 would transfer those funds in their entirety to the DWD, thereby reducing tuition support to school districts from the school funding formula since CTE funds are included in that distribution currently. ISTA believes this change could reduce funding available to public schools for CTE.
The effective date for the change in funding source is aggressively set in the bill as July 1, 2017.
SB 198 also hands over to DWD approved program control which would remove meaningful input from educators on curriculum decisions from schools.
The formula for distribution of the CTE funds would change, and there is no funding formula run to guide stakeholders on how these changes could be expected to impact current programs. There are many unknowns, including how CTE funds would remain bargainable with regard to salary and wage-related benefits.
Under the new formula, programs would be categorized as high value programs, moderate value programs and less than moderate value programs. The value is based upon employment demand and wage level associated with the career that is tied to the program.
Additionally, each CTE program is classified as an apprenticeship program, a cooperative education program, a work-based learning program, an introductory program or a foundational CTE course. Again, DWD would determine all of these parameters. On top of all of this, SB 198 would still make distribution of grant money to schools permissive at the DWD's discretion and not an entitlement based upon enrollment in courses.
ISTA recognizes that both DWD and DOE have roles in identifying relevant CTE programs. However, there are too many unanswered questions with regard to the implementation of this bill. The authors of this bill have stated to ISTA an understanding of the problems. However, no amendments were approved on the Senate floor that would have fixed even some of these issues. As a result of these concerns, ISTA opposes the bill as it is currently drafted.