WHEREAS, Career and Technical Education (CTE) spans the high school to college years, providing a pathway for students interested in exploring career options prior to graduating from high school; and

WHEREAS, CTE programs build on public-private partnerships that provide students with academic and technical knowledge and work-related skills. Active involvement in apprenticeships and hands-on opportunities with business and industry partners are common within quality CTE programs; and

WHEREAS, At the secondary level, comprehensive high schools and career and technical centers in Rhode Island provide CTE courses and programs to more than 5,700 high school students in all five of the state’s regions; and

WHEREAS, CTE also provides rich, job-embedded experiences for adult learners who need to refresh their skills or wish to gain the skills necessary for entry into a new career. The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) and private institutions, including Johnson and Wales University, New England Institute of Technology, and Roger Williams University, partner with the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) on CTE initiatives; and

WHEREAS, CTE is funded through federal monies stemming from the Carl D. Perkins program, as well as through state investments; and

WHEREAS, In March of 2012, the Rhode Island Board of Regents approved new career and technical education regulations. The new CTE regulations were intended to transform existing programs into new career preparation pathways in critical and emerging industries; and

WHEREAS, Rhode Island’s continued workforce challenges call for even more forceful action by the new Board of Education, which has the authority to ensure collaboration across our public systems of education. In particular, the state needs its secondary teachers and postsecondary faculty to engage in exceptional professional development that focuses on a re-imagined CTE system and thoughtfully takes place over time; and

WHEREAS, RIDE and the three public institutions of higher education in Rhode Island can mobilize their human and material resources to create an exceptional program of professional development that can transform our CTE system and drive student learning to new heights; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations hereby respectfully requests that the Rhode Island Department of Education, in collaboration with the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and the University of Rhode Island, develop a three-year program of exceptional CTE professional development for all secondary CTE teachers and administrators in the state, for provisionally-certified CTE teachers, and for relevant faculty at the three public institutions of higher education. The professional development should reflect world-class CTE practices, programs, and instructional approaches that can lead to a transformed system of CTE in Rhode Island; and be it further

RESOLVED, That this Senate requests that the professional development series focus on creating challenging CTE programs of study, increasing academic excellence, building effective relationships with business, industry, and other partners, and connecting secondary and postsecondary education and training. RIDE should make participation in this professional development a requirement for schools and districts to apply for and receive CTE categorical funding; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is directed and authorized to transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Chair of the Board of Education, the Commissioner of Education, and the presidents of the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and the University of Rhode Island.