ENROLLED
2022 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 69
BY REPRESENTATIVES BRASS, CORMIER, EDMONSTON, FIRMENT, FREIBERG,
GADBERRY, GAROFALO, HORTON, LARVADAIN, MARINO, PIERRE,
SCHAMERHORN, AND SEL DERS
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the state
Department of Education, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System,
and the Louisiana 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.
WHEREAS, as drivers age out of the workforce, driving schools close, and young
people pursue other opportunities, the American Trucking Association estimates a shortage
of 160,000 drivers by 2028; and
WHEREAS, according to the association, trucks move roughly 72.5% of the nation's
freight by weight; with a lack of drivers, delivering that freight will be a monumental task;
and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports about 28,100 openings for
diesel service technicians and mechanics are projected each year, on average, over the next
decade; many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who
transfer to different occupations or retire; and
WHEREAS, the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program, proposed by the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), will soon become operational; the program
will allow people as young as eighteen to drive interstate semi trucks; and
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WHEREAS, providing the classroom instruction portion of commercial driver's
license (CDL) certification to high school students through dual enrollment and subsequently
providing driving instruction after they have reached the age of eighteen will both shorten
the time between high school graduation and employment and reduce the cost to the students
pursuing CDLs or a transportation-related program; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) is
a member of the Next Generation in Trucking Association, a nonprofit organization creating
and promoting CDL driver and diesel technical training programs for the next generation;
and
WHEREAS, the Board of Regents and the State Board of Elementary and Secondary
Education have demonstrated success through the Fast Forward Program, a program aimed
at achieving the goal that, beginning with the freshman class of 2025, all public high school
graduates in Louisiana will complete high school with academic or career-technical college
credit, a postsecondary credential of value, or both; and
WHEREAS, in the report submitted to the legislative transportation committees in
response to House Concurrent Resolution No. 62 of the 2021 Regular Session of the
Legislature, LCTCS proposed a framework offering both a logistics credential and a
postsecondary education credential of value covering the theory portion of the entry level
driving program, which is a requirement prior to entering the behind-the-wheel instruction;
and
WHEREAS, the utilization of dual enrollment and the Fast Forward Program to
deliver the classroom instruction necessary for the CDL will help meet the demand for
drivers with CDLs in Louisiana and help provide additional high-wage and high-demand
employment opportunities to the young citizens of our state.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the state
Department of Education, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, and the
Louisiana Workforce Commission to collaborate to establish an industry-based credential,
offered through dual enrollment, for the classroom instruction portion of CDL training.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the instruction shall cover the FMCSA's required
theory portion of the entry-level driver training program.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State Board of Elementary and Secondary
Education, the state Department of Education, the Louisiana Community and Technical
College System, and the Louisiana Workforce Commission shall provide a written report to
the House Committee on Education, Senate Committee on Education, House Committee on
Transportation, Highways and Public Works, and Senate Committee on Transportation,
Highways and Public Works not later than September 1, 2022, relative to progress made, any
impediments to implementation, and recommendations for any legislation necessary to
implement the requests of this Resolution.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the state
superintendent of education, the system president of the Louisiana Community and
Technical College System, and the secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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