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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3419 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 531
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Kate Lipper-Garabedian and Jessica Ann Giannino
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to increase student access to career technical education schools and programs which are
aligned with regional labor market needs.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Kate Lipper-Garabedian32nd Middlesex1/20/2023Jessica Ann Giannino16th Suffolk1/20/2023Adam Scanlon14th Bristol1/31/2023James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol1/31/2023Hannah Kane11th Worcester1/31/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/3/2023Sally P. Kerans13th Essex2/3/2023Smitty Pignatelli3rd Berkshire2/3/2023Peter Capano11th Essex2/3/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire2/7/2023David Allen Robertson19th Middlesex2/9/2023Paul McMurtry11th Norfolk2/22/2023Rodney M. Elliott16th Middlesex2/22/2023 1 of 5
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3419 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 531
By Representatives Lipper-Garabedian of Melrose and Giannino of Revere, a petition
(accompanied by bill, House, No. 531) of Kate Lipper-Garabedian, Jessica Ann Giannino and
others for legislation to increase student access to career technical education schools and
programs which are aligned with regional labor market needs. Education.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 4542 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act to increase student access to career technical education schools and programs which are
aligned with regional labor market needs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 69 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following
26 sections:-
3 Section 37. For the purposes of sections 38 through 42, inclusive, the following terms
4shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:-
5 “Career technical education”, shall have the same meaning as vocational-technical
6education pursuant to section 1 of chapter 74.
7 “Office”, shall mean the office of career technical education. 2 of 5
8 Section 38. There shall be established within the department of elementary and
9secondary education an office of career technical education, which shall be under the supervision
10and management of the deputy commissioner of career technical education. The deputy
11commissioner shall be appointed by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education,
12with the approval of the board. It shall be the duty of said deputy commissioner to improve and
13maximize career technical education throughout the commonwealth, and to collaborate with the
14board to promulgate regulations and develop and implement polices to enhance the
15commonwealth’s career technical education programs, including but not limited to the ensuring
16the enforcement of regulations relative to certificates of occupational proficiency.
17 Section 39. The office shall promote and support with available resources innovative and
18collaborative career technical education demonstration programs in which students split time
19between their comprehensive high school and a school offering programs under chapter 74;
20provided, that under such programs, participating students’ daily schedule shall include required
21academic classes and vocational courses when the equipment is available.
22 Section 40. (a) The office shall develop credentials for students graduating from high
23quality career technical education programs in applied knowledge, effective relationships, and
24workplace skills as described in the federal Employability Skills Framework.
25 (b) The office shall ensure instructional ability and competence of career technical
26education instructors through the utilization of occupational advisory boards and nationally
27validated teacher competency testing.
28 (c)The office shall utilize both pre- and post-technical assessment in both cognitive and
29psychomotor domains to determine what students know and are able to do. 3 of 5
30 (d) The office shall collaborate with recognized industry credential providers such as a
31recognized industry credential provider to develop state-customized credentials to measure
32career readiness through skill assessments appropriate to each tier of career technical education.
33 (e) The office shall consider the use of the 21st Century Skills for Workplace Success
34Credential, including but not limited for use in validation of basic competencies prior to
35participation in externships or school-based enterprises and as a graduation or completion
36requirement for post-graduate and postsecondary chapter 74 programs.
37 (f) The office shall support the use of Industry Recognized Credentials, known as IRCs,
38in chapter 74 programs.
39 (g) The office shall support the use of both longitudinal and pre- and post-student
40assessment as a means of obtaining meaningful data for curricular improvement. Data may be
41utilized for facilities improvement, equipment investments, mission success, and professional
42development.
43 (h) The office shall engage in statewide data sharing agreements with credential providers
44that include a variety of access portals for a variety of levels of personnel, including but not
45limited to state, local career technical education administration, career technical education
46teachers, parents, and students, giving access to stakeholders to assess program effectiveness.
47 (i) The office shall encourage and work to increase the use of articulation agreements
48with community colleges and public universities and other dual credit programs to allow career
49technical education students to earn credit and stacked credentials that lead to an associate’s
50degree. 4 of 5
51 (j) The office shall implement and promote efforts, including those related to student
52outreach and retention, to ensure that career technical education programs are accessible to all
53students, including English language learners, students with disabilities, and student populations
54traditionally underrepresented in career technical education programs.
55 Section 41. The office shall work with the Regional Workforce Boards on an annual basis
56to determine the labor market needs in their region and, using that information, shall actively
57promote and facilitate the introduction of career technical education programs that align with
58regional demand. The office shall work with the regional workforce boards to assure curricular
59alignment to both local employers’ need and expected national standards for labor market needs.
60 Section 42. Any comprehensive high school shall have access to a minimum of 1 career
61technical education course or an approved career technical education internship to increase all
62students’ exposure to career technical education fields, enabling students to have the knowledge
63to access both college and careers.
64 SECTION 2. Section 3A of Chapter 70B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
65Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the number “17” and inserting “19” in place
66thereof, and further by inserting, after “Fire Chiefs' Association of Massachusetts, Inc.” the
67following:-
68 “, Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators, Inc., Alliance for Vocational
69Technical Education Coalition,”
70 SECTION 3. Subsection (c) of section 14B of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as so
71appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the third sentence and inserting in place thereof the
72following 2 sentences:- 5 of 5
73 “Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a city or town may
74simultaneously be a member of a vocational regional school district and any other type of
75regional school district. A city or town that belongs to a regional vocational school district may
76offer a vocational technical education program in its municipal high school; provided, however,
77that the program is approved under section 2 of chapter 74 of the General Laws; provided,
78further, that a vocational regional school district and any other type of regional school district
79serving the same town shall collaborate through the office of career technical education in
80offering reciprocal non-competitive programs under chapter 74 of the General Laws; provided,
81further, that said programs meet the labor market needs in a community’s region as determined
82by Regional Workforce Boards.”
83 SECTION 4. Subsection (q) of section 16 of chapter 71 of the General Laws, as so
84appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the word “five” and inserting in place thereof the
85number “25”.
86 SECTION 5. The department of elementary and secondary education shall establish and
87administer a pilot program to incentivize collaboration between high school faculty and guidance
88counselors of schools offering chapter 74 programs and those that do not to utilize resources
89developed by career technical education to provide access to skill-training and career options for
90all students. The pilot program shall be administered for 2 years from the date the program is
91initiated. At the end of said 2-year period, the department shall submit a report on the effects of
92the program and the feasibility of continuing such program to the clerks of the house of
93representatives and the senate, and to the house and senate co-chairs of the joint committee on
94education.