§8306-B. Approval of programs and courses; industry standards

1.  Rules.  The commissioner may adopt rules to establish requirements for career and technical education programs and courses in alignment with the system of learning results established in section 6209, to establish procedures for approving career and technical education programs and courses and to otherwise carry out the purposes of this chapter. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

[PL 2011, c. 679, §10 (NEW).]

2.  Approval required.  A career and technical education program must be approved by the commissioner, in accordance with this chapter, in order to:

A. Be offered by a career and technical education center, region or affiliated unit;   [PL 2011, c. 679, §10 (NEW).]

B. Receive state subsidy; or   [PL 2011, c. 679, §10 (NEW).]

C. Receive approval for federal funding, except that the commissioner may approve federal funding for new and emerging industry programs prior to granting approval for the career and technical education program.   [PL 2011, c. 679, §10 (NEW).]

[PL 2011, c. 679, §10 (NEW).]

3.  Industry standards.  An approved career and technical education program must be designed to enable a student to meet industry standards applicable to the program.

A. The commissioner shall establish an industry stakeholder group to recommend industry standards to be met in each program offered by a career and technical education region, center or affiliated unit.   [PL 2011, c. 679, §10 (NEW).]

B. The industry stakeholder group under paragraph A shall recommend national industry standards for each program, unless there are no relevant, applicable national industry standards or the group determines that the national industry standards do not meet the needs of students and employers in this State.   [PL 2011, c. 679, §10 (NEW).]

C. If the industry stakeholder group under paragraph A does not recommend a national industry standard for a program, the commissioner shall convene one or more stakeholder groups to adopt or create state industry standards for that program.   [PL 2011, c. 679, §10 (NEW).]

D. The commissioner shall accept or reject the industry stakeholder group's recommendations under this subsection. If the commissioner accepts the recommendations, those industry standards become the applicable industry standards for the program. If the commissioner rejects the recommendations, the commissioner shall either designate alternative standards or ask the stakeholder group to make other recommendations.   [PL 2011, c. 679, §10 (NEW).]

[PL 2011, c. 679, §10 (NEW).]

4.  Learning pathways and articulation agreements with postsecondary institutions; collaborative agreements.  To the greatest extent possible, a career and technical education program offered at a center or region must provide students the opportunity to take advantage of any applicable learning pathways, including learning pathways set forth in an articulation agreement with a postsecondary institution or in a collaborative agreement with publicly supported secondary and postsecondary educational institutions that form a dual enrollment career and technical education program pursuant to chapter 229.

[PL 2013, c. 318, §4 (AMD).]

5.  Application.  A statewide career and technical education program seeking approval from the commissioner after the effective date of this section must meet the requirements of this section. A program approved by the commissioner prior to the effective date of this section must certify to the commissioner not later than July 1, 2013 that the program meets industry standards.

[PL 2011, c. 679, §10 (NEW).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 2011, c. 679, §10 (NEW). PL 2013, c. 318, §4 (AMD).