Hawaii-2017-SR85-Introduced

WHEREAS, despite a state-wide high school graduation rate of eighty-one percent, only fifty-six percent of Hawaii's public school graduates continued on to post-secondary education in 2015; and

WHEREAS, there is a disconnect between the needs and expectations of today's employers and the current skills of the State's local workforce; and

WHEREAS, industries in the State require employees with skills in coding, computer science, engineering, foreign language, and other technology-based jobs; and

WHEREAS, the current low unemployment rate has contributed to employers finding it more difficult than normal to fill vacant positions because too few individuals have the right skills for the right openings; and

WHEREAS, business leaders in Hawaii's expanding industries have reported that the reason it is often difficult to recruit local applicants who have the skills and experiences that the employer needs is that there are not enough skilled workers graduating; and

WHEREAS, a gap exists between the skills that students in the State have upon graduation and the skills that employers in the State are seeking; and

WHEREAS, a way to close this skills gap is to improve job training and more closely align education to employment; and

WHEREAS, closing the skills gap for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) jobs is extremely important, as STEM jobs are expected to grow 1.7 times faster than non-STEM jobs in the coming years; and

WHEREAS, Honolulu has not been able to keep up with the rising demand for STEM professionals; and

WHEREAS, according to a 2017 analysis of the best metropolitan areas for STEM professionals, Honolulu ranked ninety-five out of one hundred; and

WHEREAS, high school students in Hawaii would benefit from precisely aligning curriculum to workforce readiness which depends upon close collaboration between the public school system, a community college, and one or more industry employers near the school complex to ensure they receive the industry-based skills and certification required for employment post-graduation and to live, learn, work, and play in the community; and

WHEREAS, collaboration between educators and industry allows students to graduate from high school with a high school diploma and an industry-recognized associate's degree, as well as pre-apprenticeship certificates and other industry-recognized certificates; and

WHEREAS, similar models recently established in Connecticut, Illinois, and New York are showing promise in graduating more high school students with career-ready skills to meet an industry's workforce needs; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii has also experienced difficulties with "brain drain", the constant challenge encountered in the public and private sector of retaining Hawaii's highly-skilled or highly-intelligent workers or encouraging the return of those workers who left the State for school or work; and

WHEREAS, a recent United States Census report found that ten thousand more people moved out of Hawaii to other states than moved in from other states – the biggest loss since 2010; and

WHEREAS, many high school graduates in Hawaii go elsewhere to attend college or seek employment, resulting in the "brain drain" in the State; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Education has established several options to prepare students for either a college or career pathway:

(1) Academies or pathways for high school;

(2) Dual-credit programs enabling students to graduate high school with college credits; and

(3) Career and technical education programs; and

WHEREAS, no high school or complex has developed and established an industry specific pipeline to prepare high school graduates with the skills needed to enter the workforce upon graduating high school; and

WHEREAS, such programs may include certifications, licenses, foreign languages, and other credentials and skills that make the students career ready; and

WHEREAS, labor market experts estimate that as many as twenty-five million, or forty-seven percent, of all new job openings from 2010 to 2020 will fall into the middle-skills range; and

WHEREAS, shortages of workers for these types of jobs are already undermining competitiveness and causing firms to shift their operations abroad; and

WHEREAS, in January 2016, the Governor announced a state-wide initiative to help prepare students for careers in fast-growing segments of the State's economy; and

WHEREAS, the greater use of sector partnerships that develop and implement a clear pipeline toward careers for the State's kindergarten through twelfth grade students will allow Hawaii to lead the way in adding the "learn" to the concept of live, learn, work, and play; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, that the Department of Education is requested to develop and establish a live, learn, work, and play program in Department schools throughout the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the live, learn, work, and play program include a workforce readiness initiative coordinated with the University of Hawaii and industry employers near the school complex to:

(1) Enable students to graduate with a high school diploma and an industry-recognized associate's degree;

(2) Allow students to earn pre-apprenticeship certificates and other industry-recognized certificates; and

(3) Integrate high school courses, college courses, and certificate programs that are informed by current and projected industry standards and focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with mentoring, job shadowing, internships, pre-apprenticeship training, and other workplace education experiences; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department explore expanding high school education to grade fourteen to allow for further integration of high school courses, college courses, and certificate programs as part of the live, learn, work, and play program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the live, learn, work, and play program include a K-12 curriculum to career pipeline initiative to enable a student to pursue training and education throughout the student's time at a Department school complex, so that upon graduation, the student is prepared with the appropriate skills; certifications; licensing; or college credit, through a dual credit program, to enable the student to enter the State's workforce; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the live, learn, work, and play program include an academy school initiative through which participating schools offer special instruction and programs not available elsewhere, primarily focusing on learning and skill development in students through the practical application of academic and technical skills and knowledge, and that schools participating in the initiative:

(1) Enroll any student who resides within the school's geographic service area pursuant to section 302A-1143, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(2) Enroll all students from outside the school's geographic service area who submit an application, unless the number of students who submit an application exceeds the capacity of a program, class, grade level, or building;

(3) Determine whether capacity is sufficient to enroll all students, and if not, then use a lottery system to select students described in paragraph (2) who have submitted a timely application; and

(4) Give an enrollment preference to students enrolled in the school during the previous school year; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to submit a report on the progress of establishing and developing the live, learn, work, and play program, including any proposed legislation necessary to implement any part of the program, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2018; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Education, and Chairperson of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Department of Education; Workforce Readiness; Career Pipeline; Academy Schools; Live, Learn, Work, Play

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	85
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII