Bill Text: HI SB509 | 2021 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Education.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-03-19 - Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on EDN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Todd excused (1). [SB509 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2021-SB509-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
509 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
S.D. 2 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
H.D. 1 |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO EDUCATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 3,700,000 students were expected to graduate high school during the 2019-2020 school year. According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, whether high school students enter the workforce immediately or pursue a postsecondary education, they will all eventually face a job market where an estimated sixty-five per cent of positions demand postsecondary credentials. States striving to increase the career readiness of their students can ensure that career and technical education offerings will lead to credentials most valued in each unique workforce. An industry-recognized certification conveys a student's career readiness because the credential validates the competencies and skills required for success in a given occupation or industry. According to the National Skills Coalition, full-time employees having an industry certification earn more than their counterparts having only a high school diploma and, in some cases, the salaries of non-degree credential employees were found to be similar to workers having college degrees.
The legislature further finds that the State has critical shortages of qualified local workers in sectors such as health care, education, air travel, and technology. Due to the needs of the State's economy, Hawaii's public high schools should strategically prepare students for the workforce by encouraging industry certification in "high value" occupations, including jobs that have a high demand for competent and skilled employees, high potential for growth, and high wages.
The purpose of this Act is to incentivize public high schools to encourage students to obtain industry certification in high value occupations, by requiring the department of education to establish high value employment criteria for industry certification awards for public high schools.
SECTION 2. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§302A- Industry
certification; awards. (a)
The department shall coordinate with the University of Hawaii system and
other relevant cross-sector partners, whose mission is to strengthen the education
pipeline from early childhood through post-secondary education to achieve greater
alignment and integration of programs, to develop high value employment
criteria for industry certification awards for public high schools. High value employment criteria shall include
occupations with high need of additional competent and skilled employees, high
growth potential, and high wages. High
value employment criteria may also include pre-existing cross-sector
initiatives to achieve employment in certain fields. In addition, the department shall consult with
employers in the State to obtain critical input about competencies and skills
that students need to attain in order to succeed in high value employment
occupations.
(b)
The department shall request, and the relevant cross-sector partners shall provide, an annual list of occupations that
meet the high value employment criteria developed pursuant to subsection (a)
and in which an industry-recognized certification is required or will
materially enhance a job applicant's opportunities for employment or
compensation in that occupation.
(c)
The department shall make the current annual list of occupations
received from the department of labor and industrial relations available to all
public high schools and on the department's website.
(d) For
a public high school to be eligible to receive payment of industry
certification awards:
(1) The high school
shall have a recognized career and technical education program with an advisory
council;
(2) Each student's
industry certification selection shall:
(A) Meet
the high value employment criteria; or
(B) Reflect
regional labor market data on high growth industry sectors and be broad enough
to allow entry into those industry sectors,
as
appropriate;
(3) Each industry
certification selection shall be nationally recognized or be recognized in the
State as representing high quality and rigorous standards in that industry; and
(4) The advisory
council shall review and sign the industry certification proposal and selection
to ensure that the students at the public high school receiving an award are aware
that the certification holds value to employers based in the State.
(e) A
public high school receiving payment of an industry certification award shall
allocate one hundred per cent of that award to support or maintain the school's
career and technical education program, including the payment of stipends for
instructors and subsidization of fees for low-income students to obtain the industry
certification.
(f) The department shall prepare an annual report
on the progress made under this section, including:
(1) The number of
public high school students who are seeking industry certifications for high
value employment;
(2) The industry certifications
earned by students, including the number of each type of certification earned; and
(3) The number of
public high school students who are seeking or earning industry certifications
and are economically disadvantaged, English language learners, or receiving
special education services.
The department shall submit its annual progress
report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of
each regular session, beginning with the regular session of 2022."
SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2021.
Report Title:
DOE; Public High Schools; Industry Certification Awards
Description:
Requires the department of education to establish criteria for industry certification awards for public high schools to incentivize public high schools to encourage students to obtain industry-recognized certifications in high value occupations. Requires the department to submit an annual report containing specific information about the industry certification award progress. (HD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
