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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Career and Technical Education (CTE) links
3academic learning directly to workplace competencies through
4hands-on learning, career exploration, on-site instruction,
5and credentialing to give students a jump start on their
6postsecondary education or meaningful career; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Students who take more than two CTE courses in a
8sequence have a 90% graduation rate and are as likely as
9non-CTE students to enroll in college; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The federal Strengthening Career and Technical
11Education for the 21st Century Act, which amended the Carl D.
12Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, was signed into law
13on July 31, 2018; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The Perkins re-authorization provides renewed
15opportunities to improve CTE and enables more flexibility for
16states to meet the unique needs of their learners, educators,
17and employers; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and
19the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) convened a broad
20group of stakeholders to provide input as the agency drafts its
21plan and have continued this feedback loop with stakeholders

 

 

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1through committees (Equity and Access, Transitions and
2Alignment, Data and Accountability, Employer Engagement,
3Teacher Pipeline and Professional Development, and
4Innovation); and
 
5    WHEREAS, CTE funding in Illinois has been largely stagnant
6since 2004 while surrounding states continue to invest heavily
7in workforce development programs that encourage
8industry-partnerships and emphasize credentialing; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The Department of Commerce and Economic
10Opportunity's (DCEO) related Workforce Investment Opportunity
11Act (WIOA) plan is due to the federal government on the same
12timeline as the Perkins Plan, allowing an unprecedented
13opportunity for alignment between the two plans; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly has established a
15set of strategies for a robust and coordinated postsecondary
16education and career readiness system through the enactment of
17the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act; and
 
18    WHEREAS, This year presents a unique chance for Illinois to
19consider its CTE funding methodology, alignment with priority
20occupational areas, modernization of course catalog codes,
21development of pathways sequences, alignment to the
22Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act, and state supports

 

 

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1needed to effectively enable high-quality local CTE programs;
2therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
4HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
5we encourage ISBE and ICCB to include within the State's
6Perkins plan:
7        (1) A funding methodology that incentivizes completion
8    of aligned course sequences, early college credit, and
9    work-based learning as part of college and career pathway
10    systems extending from high school into postsecondary
11    education;
12        (2) A plan to expand equitable access to high quality
13    college and career pathway systems to students across
14    Illinois;
15        (3)Program quality indicators for secondary education
16    that address both dual credit and work-based learning;
17        (4) Incentivization for innovative regional career
18    pathway models that incorporate the Postsecondary and
19    Workforce Readiness Act's College and Career Pathways
20    Endorsements through Perkins Reserve funding; and
21        (5)Definitions and systems aligned with the
22    Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness Act and the State's
23    career pathways definitions; and be it further
 
24    RESOLVED, That ISBE, ICCB, and DCEO are encouraged to work

 

 

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1collaboratively with each other and with school districts,
2community colleges, business and industry, and other
3organizations to ensure alignment among the Perkins and WIOA
4plans and priority occupational areas; and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That as the applicable agencies step back to
6rethink and improve allocation of Perkins and WIOA funding, the
7agencies are encouraged to assess their administrative
8capacity to effectively support local programs, maintain
9accurate and accessible data, and modernize course coding
10frameworks and other administrative structures to better
11enable local innovation and to propose, within their Perkins
12and WIOA Plans, funding or structural mechanisms necessary to
13provide that support; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That ISBE, ICCB, and DCEO shall report to the
15General Assembly and the P-20 Council on or before October 1,
162019 on how the State's draft versions of Perkins and WIOA
17plans address the foregoing recommendations, and the P-20
18Council shall subsequently review the draft Perkins and WIOA
19plans and make recommendations to ISBE, ICCB, DCEO, and the
20General Assembly on or before December 31, 2019 on how to
21strengthen the plans and any other aspect of law or policy to
22better address the foregoing recommendations.