The association has been amplifying the recommendations of career technical educators, adult educators and others since Newsom announced plans to create a Master Plan for Career Education in 2023. The plan called for better alignment of skills training and other aspects of career and technical education (CTE) with “the real-life needs of students, workers and businesses.” ACSA responded to the plan with an initial letter asking that the state streamline efforts and programs affecting CTE, adult education, internships and apprenticeships.

Newsom requested engagement from educators, which led to a series of regional meetings this past year that many ACSA school leaders attended. The state published a formal report on the community input it received at the end of the summer.

ACSA made four recommendations in this latest letter:

Local educational agencies currently operate CTE programs within a bifurcated system, which requires unique eligibility and reporting requirements, the letter said.

“LEAs are burdened by fragmented systems with varying eligibility and reporting requirements, leading to unnecessary work and complications in coordinating with multiple state agencies,” said Lisa Rodriguez, president of ACSA’s Career Technical Education Council. “A streamlined system would eliminate the competition between programs that often fails to benefit students.”

Greg Wohlman, president of ACSA’s Educational Options Council, said at-promise youth are often credit-deficient and must focus on core academics. These youth may experience incarceration, unstable housing and other challenges.

“This Master Plan can provide additional ways for youth to access these CTE pathways that can make content more relevant and increase that relevancy lost in traditional schooling for all students,” he said. “In simple terms, when the head comes off the pillow, our youth need to know that their day is relevant to their tomorrow, not just a day of high school that does not connect to all the tomorrows that follow.”

ACSA Adult Education Council President Thoibi Rublaitus said adult education and workforce development collaborations could open new opportunities for adult education students. “Recent adult education collaborations with workforce and employment development initiatives also allow adult schools to offer career training education to English language learners who gain career training in livable wage pathways such as nursing, construction trades and more, thus helping transform many low-income into middle-income households,” she said.

To address CTE and adult education staffing challenges, ACSA suggested a few low-cost changes to the credentialing system that would help candidates pursuing those credentials while upholding the high-quality standards of those professions.

“Resolving staffing and credentialing challenges for CTE teachers is crucial for the new Master Plan,” Rodriguez stated. “We must create incentives for industry experts to obtain their credentials, as their real-world knowledge brings these courses to life for our students.”

The state is expected to release its full Master Plan by the end of 2024.