Bill Text: NJ S3553 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes Skilled Trades Career Exploration Pilot Program; appropriates $5 million.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced) 2024-09-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [S3553 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S3553-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator MICHAEL L. TESTA, JR.
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes Skilled Trades Career Exploration Pilot Program; appropriates $5 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing a three-year Skilled Trades Career Exploration Pilot Program, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Education shall establish a three-year Skilled Trades Career Exploration Pilot Program to develop and expand career and technical education programs for high school students in the State.
b. A grant awarded through the Skilled Trades Career Exploration Pilot Program shall be used to support school districts in:
(1) developing or expanding career and technical education programs for high school students;
(2) acquiring or enhancing program equipment, technologies, or facilities for career and technical education programs; and
(3) providing professional development for instructors of career and technical education programs.
c. A school district which wants to participate in the program shall submit an application to the commissioner which outlines the district's proposal to develop or enhance its career and technical education programs.
d. The commissioner shall establish selection criteria for the awarding of grants under the program. The commissioner shall select five districts in each of the southern, central, and northern regions of the State to participate in the program and shall seek a cross section of school districts from urban, suburban, and rural areas of the State. Grants shall be awarded based upon review of the applications and subject to the availability of funds.
2. Each school district that receives a grant pursuant to section 1 of this act shall prepare and submit to the Commissioner of Education annually a report on its experience with and the effects of the program. The report shall include, to the greatest extent feasible, quantifiable measures of the program's impact.
3. The Commissioner of Education shall submit annually a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature containing information on the implementation of the Skilled Trades Career Exploration Pilot Program. The report shall include relevant information from the reports submitted to the Commissioner of Education by the grant recipients pursuant to section 2 of this act.
4. There is appropriated from
the General Fund to the Department of Education $5,000,000 to effectuate the
purposes of this act.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Commissioner of Education to establish a three-year Skilled Trades Career Exploration Pilot Program to develop and expand career and technical education programs for high school students in the State.
Under the bill, a grant awarded through the pilot program is to be used to support school districts in:
(1) developing or expanding career and technical education programs for high school students;
(2) acquiring or enhancing program equipment, technologies, or facilities for career and technical education programs; and
(3) providing professional development for instructors of career and technical education programs.
The bill directs the commissioner to establish selection criteria for the awarding of grants under the program and to select five districts in each of the southern, central, and northern regions of the State to participate in the program. Grants are to be awarded based upon review of the applications and subject to the availability of funds. Grantees are required to submit an annual report to the commissioner on the program's effect. The commissioner is required to annually report to the Governor and the Legislature on the program's effect.
The bill appropriates $5,000,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Education for the bill's purposes.
