PRINTER'S NO. 3356
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
481
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY ABNEY, HILL-EVANS, SCHWEYER, PROBST, SCHLOSSBERG,
HANBIDGE, SANCHEZ, CURRY, KHAN AND GIRAL, JUNE 21, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JUNE 21, 2024
A RESOLUTION
Directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to
conduct a study and make recommendations on non-academic
barriers students face getting accepted into career and
technical education programs and identifying the barriers.
WHEREAS, Career and technical education is any form of
secondary education, given in school or elsewhere, the purpose
of which is to fit an individual to pursue effectively a
recognized profitable employment, whether pursued for wages or
otherwise; and
WHEREAS, Career and technical education is placed into
categories which may include industrial, agricultural, family
and consumer science, technical marketing and distributive
occupational, business and computer and information technology;
and
WHEREAS, It is the duty of the Secretary of Education to
report the number of approved programs, students enrolled,
secondary students enrolled in participating school districts,
scheduling patterns, including grades in which programs are
offered, and number of hours of instruction per year for each
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program; and
WHEREAS, Any school district may establish a career and
technical school or department and two or more districts may
establish a joint career and technical school or department; and
WHEREAS, There are more than 80 career and technical centers,
plus high school-based programs teaching career and technical
education to students; and
WHEREAS, While there is not a one-size-fits-all pathway for
high school graduates, this Commonwealth has seen a 39% increase
in career and technical education students since 2015; and
WHEREAS, There are more than 68,000 students enrolled in
career and technical education programs, 28% of whom are special
education students; and
WHEREAS, Career and technical education in this Commonwealth
develops critical skills necessary to meet the needs of the
economy, and workforce development depends on career and
technical education, pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships and
schools-to-work programs; and
WHEREAS, This Commonwealth is contributing just 9% of career
and technical education funding and local school districts are
providing 88%; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Association of Career and Technical
Administrators recently advised the Basic Education Funding
Commission that the current State funding model does not provide
schools with the resources needed to expand or update their
programs, which has resulted in thousands of students each
school year being turned away due to capacity, poor facilities
or staffing shortages; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the
Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a study,
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issue a report and make recommendations on the current barriers
to students being accepted into career and technical education
programs and schools; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the report include:
(1) the number of students placed on wait lists or
turned away due to capacity or condition of facilities or
staffing, per area of study;
(2) the number of students without access to career and
technical education programming due to a lack of program
availability in their home district;
(3) the number of students placed on wait lists or
turned away due to capacity or condition of facilities or
staffing, per career and technical center and high school-
based program;
(4) the career and technical areas of study offered at
each career and technical center and high school-based
programs with wait lists or that have turned away students
due to capacity or condition of facilities or staffing;
(5) an analysis of the career and technical subsidy
formula and the impact of that formula on districts; and
(6) an evaluation of how other states handle career and
technical instructor credentialing to address the current
educator workforce shortages;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee
provide a report of its findings and recommendations in the
study to the House of Representatives no later than 120 days
after the adoption of this resolution.
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