HLS 22RS-1836 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 69
BY REPRESENTATIVE BRASS
CURRICULA/DRIVER ED: Requests establishment of credentials for commercial driver's
license classroom training
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the state
3 Department of Education, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System,
4 and the Louisiana Workforce Commission to collaborate to establish an industry-
5 based credential offered through dual enrollment for the classroom instruction
6 portion of commercial driver's license training.
7 WHEREAS, as drivers age out of the workforce, driving schools close, and young
8people pursue other opportunities, the American Trucking Association estimates a shortage
9of 160,000 drivers by 2028; and
10 WHEREAS, according to the association, trucks move roughly 72.5% of the nation's
11freight by weight; with a lack of drivers, delivering that freight will be a monumental task;
12and
13 WHEREAS, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports about 28,100 openings for
14diesel service technicians and mechanics are projected each year, on average, over the next
15decade; many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who
16transfer to different occupations or retire; and
17 WHEREAS, the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program, proposed by the Federal
18Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), will soon become operational; the program
19will allow people as young as eighteen to drive interstate semi trucks; and
20 WHEREAS, providing the classroom instruction portion of commercial driver's
21license (CDL) certification to high school students through dual enrollment and subsequently
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HCR NO. 69
1providing driving instruction after they have reached the age of eighteen will both shorten
2the time between high school graduation and employment and reduce the cost to the students
3pursuing CDLs or a transportation-related program; and
4 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) is
5a member of the Next Generation in Trucking Association, a nonprofit organization creating
6and promoting CDL driver and diesel technical training programs for the next generation;
7and
8 WHEREAS, the Board of Regents and the State Board of Elementary and Secondary
9Education have demonstrated success through the Fast Forward Program, a program aimed
10at achieving the goal that, beginning with the freshman class of 2025, all public high school
11graduates in Louisiana will complete high school with academic or career-technical college
12credit, a postsecondary credential of value, or both; and
13 WHEREAS, in the report submitted to the legislative transportation committees in
14response to House Concurrent Resolution No. 62 of the 2021 Regular Session of the
15Legislature, LCTCS proposed a framework offering both a logistics credential and a
16postsecondary education credential of value covering the theory portion of the entry level
17driving program, which is a requirement prior to entering the behind-the-wheel instruction;
18and
19 WHEREAS, the utilization of dual enrollment and the Fast Forward Program to
20deliver the classroom instruction necessary for the CDL will help meet the demand for
21drivers with CDLs in Louisiana and help provide additional high-wage and high-demand
22employment opportunities to the young citizens of our state.
23 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
24urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the state
25Department of Education, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, and the
26Louisiana Workforce Commission to collaborate to establish an industry-based credential,
27offered through dual enrollment, for the classroom instruction portion of CDL training.
28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the instruction shall cover the FMCSA's required
29theory portion of the entry-level driver training program.
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HCR NO. 69
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such instruction be made available to students
2for the 2022-2023 school year.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State Board of Elementary and Secondary
4Education, the state Department of Education, the Louisiana Community and Technical
5College System, and the Louisiana Workforce Commission shall provide a written report to
6the House Committee on Education, Senate Committee on Education, House Committee on
7Transportation, Highways and Public Works, and Senate Committee on Transportation,
8Highways and Public Works not later than September 1, 2022, relative to progress made, any
9impediments to implementation, and recommendations for any legislation necessary to
10implement the charges of this Resolution.
11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
12president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the state
13superintendent of education, the system president of the Louisiana Community and
14Technical College System, and the secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 69 Original 2022 Regular Session Brass
Requests the State Bd. of Elementary and Secondary Education, the state Dept. of Education,
the La. Community and Technical College System, and the La. Workforce Commission to
collaborate to establish an industry-based credential offered through dual enrollment for the
classroom instruction portion of commercial driver's license training.
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