October 8, 2015
Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Executive Director LeAnn Wilson today expressed her support for the reintroduction of the Creating Quality Technical Educators Act, sponsored by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Rob Portman (R-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) on October 8, 2015. The bill would fund partnerships between local educational agencies (LEAs) and postsecondary teacher preparation programs to prepare future CTE teachers with vital pedagogical and technical training, as well as to provide mentorship and ongoing professional development for these new professionals.
“The Association for Career and Technical Education applauds Senators Kaine, Portman, Baldwin and Capito for the reintroduction of the Creating Quality Technical Educators Act,” Wilson said. “Their efforts will pave the way for the development of a new generation of educators, while helping to address our nation’s critical shortage of CTE professionals. In leveraging existing federal funding for postsecondary education, this bill would bring much needed support for CTE educator preparation programs. We urge Congress to adopt this legislation as part of a comprehensive reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.”
The legislation allows eligible partnerships to access Teacher Quality Partnership grants for individuals pursuing CTE teaching opportunities, and ensures that grant recipients will meet the needs of local educational institutions by requiring a needs assessment of available positions. These steps ensure that the funds will make meaningful progress in addressing the needs of LEAs to develop and retain CTE professionals, while providing students with robust CTE curriculum.
