Two briefs published by Bellwether provide state policymakers with strategies to expand career-connected learning opportunities in their schools, such as CTE and early college high schools (ECHS).  

The first brief contains an overview of different career-connected learning models and policy recommendations for state policymakers to consider when supporting local programs. Additionally, a table summarizes the benefits students reap across models based on the research. For instance, CTE programs and CTE dual credit courses are associated with strong high school, postsecondary and workforce outcomes. Policy recommendations the authors outline include the following: 

• Developing and sustaining a credential of value framework so that students, families, teachers and employers are aware of high-value, industry-aligned credentials 

• Expanding alternative certification pathways, easing licensure requirements and other actions that encourage industry professionals to become CTE teachers 

• Implementing a specific funding mechanism and agreement on how dual enrollment costs are allocated between K-12 school districts and postsecondary institutions, avoiding potential confusion 

• Creating or adopting frameworks that define specific roles, definitions, functions and goals of various career-connected learning models 

The second brief draws from the career-connected learning ecosystems of four states to provide lawmakers with a series of recommendations on building and supporting new ecosystems in their own state. The states profiled—Colorado, Delaware, Tennessee and Texas—have each taken considerable steps in advancing state policy to support career-connected learning and can serve as a basis for other states interested in implementing similar work: 

• Colorado’s S.B. 315 consolidated the state’s postsecondary and workforce readiness programs into three funding streams, better aligning the state’s education and workforce priorities 

• Delaware Pathways connects students and employers to develop career pathways that begin in middle school 

• The Innovative School Models (ISMs) initiative in Tennessee, a $500 million grant program, encourages school districts to reimagine how they deliver career-connected learning 

• Texas’s College, Career and Military Readiness (CCMR) indicator captures various student postsecondary outcomes and provides high-performing districts with financial incentives.