INDIANA —  A bill authored by State Sens. Doug Eckerty (R-Yorktown) and Ryan Mishler (R-Bremen) to improve Career and Technical Education passed the Senate Committee on Appropriations by a vote of 10-3.

Senate Bill 198 makes various changes to CTE funding, including increasing funding for courses in high-wage, high-demand job fields. Other major changes include:

• Transferring the administration of state CTE grants and federal Perkins CTE dollars from the Indiana Department of Education to the Department of Workforce Development;
• Transferring state CTE grants outside of the school funding formula so the grants go directly to the institutions providing CTE instruction – whether they are schools, co-ops, or apprenticeship programs; and
• Streamlining the categories for funding CTE courses.

Additionally, SB 198 would require schools to offer the Indiana Career Explorer Program to all eighth graders starting in 2018. The bill would also allow 15 school districts to offer Career Explorer as a pilot program overseen by the IDOE from 2017-2018.

“Career and technical education is very important to our entire state,” Eckerty said. “If passed, this legislation would expand and improve Indiana’s career and technical fields and help provide the proper education to more Hoosiers who want to work in those fields.”

Mishler echoed Eckerty’s comments, stressing the importance of this education.

“It’s time to help expand CTE opportunities in Indiana.” Mishler said. “Helping more Hoosiers receive education in these fields is an important step toward improving our workforce development efforts across the state.”

SB 198 will now be heard by the full Senate.

More information on this bill can be found by clicking here.