House Bill 1388 is now headed to Governor Tate Reeves’ desk.
On Tuesday, the Mississippi House of Representatives unanimously concurred on the Comprehensive Career and Technical Education Reform Act (HB 1388). Authored by House Speaker Philip Gunn, the legislation takes a sweeping approach to improving career pathways in the K-12 education system.
The legislation strives to improve and align career pathways by expanding a successful career coach model, aligning career and and technical education (CTE) courses across different levels of education, and through the development of a single prioritized list of industry certifications.
The legislation would also require Accelerate Mississippi, the state’s newly created office for workforce strategy and deployment, to lead a comprehensive return on investment analysis of all CTE programs across the state to ensure improvement of high-demand, high-skill and high-wage career pathways.
“House Bill 1388 has the potential to align and promote quality career pathways in our K-12 schools as well as our post-secondary institutions better than any legislation in Mississippi’s history,” said Ryan Miller, Executive Director of Accelerate Mississippi. “I’m thankful to leadership in both the House and the Senate for their collaborative work to craft and pass a bill with the maximum possible impact for the future of our children.”
“By ensuring that our career and technical education system is aligned and focused, we have a chance to get better organized and strategic to prepare students for real-world good jobs right here in Mississippi,” said Nathan Oakley, Deputy Director for K-12 and Innovation for Accelerate Mississippi. “This bill will allow us to ensure we are focusing resources towards the right areas and, most importantly, that our students know how to pursue and find meaningful careers without leaving home.”
HB 1388 now heads to Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves’ desk for his signature. When enacted, the bill will take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2022.
You can read the full text of HB 1388 below.
House Bill 1388 by yallpolitics on Scribd
Anne Summerhays
