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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs | ||||||
| 3 | play a critical role in preparing students for high-demand, | ||||||
| 4 | high-skill, and high-wage careers in Illinois; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, The ACT WorkKeys assessment and the resulting | ||||||
| 6 | National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) provide a | ||||||
| 7 | nationally recognized measure of workplace skills valued by | ||||||
| 8 | employers across industries; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Providing access to career readiness assessments | ||||||
| 10 | at no cost to students reduces barriers to credential | ||||||
| 11 | attainment and supports workforce development across the | ||||||
| 12 | State; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, Senior CTE concentrators are uniquely positioned | ||||||
| 14 | to benefit from career readiness assessments as they | ||||||
| 15 | transition from secondary education to postsecondary education | ||||||
| 16 | or employment; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Aligning secondary and postsecondary systems | ||||||
| 18 | through the awarding of academic credit for | ||||||
| 19 | industry-recognized credentials promotes efficiency, reduces | ||||||
| 20 | duplication, and accelerates student progress toward degrees; | ||||||
| 21 | and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Community College System is | ||||||
| 2 | well-positioned to award academic credit for validated | ||||||
| 3 | workforce credentials aligned with technical degree programs; | ||||||
| 4 | therefore, be it | ||||||
| 5 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 6 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we encourage the | ||||||
| 7 | Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to provide ACT | ||||||
| 8 | WorkKeys assessments or a comparable career readiness | ||||||
| 9 | assessment at no cost to students who: | ||||||
| 10 | (1) Are enrolled in grade 12 in a public school in | ||||||
| 11 | Illinois; and | ||||||
| 12 | (2) Are identified as Career and Technical Education | ||||||
| 13 | (CTE) concentrators, as defined by the ISBE; and be it | ||||||
| 14 | further | ||||||
| 15 | RESOLVED, That we encourage participation in such | ||||||
| 16 | assessments to be voluntary and for no student to be required | ||||||
| 17 | to participate; and be it further | ||||||
| 18 | RESOLVED, That we encourage the ISBE and local school | ||||||
| 19 | districts to annually publish information regarding: | ||||||
| 20 | (1) The availability, dates, and locations of career | ||||||
| 21 | readiness assessments; and | ||||||
| 22 | (2) Opportunities for students to earn a National | ||||||
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| 1 | Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) or similar credential; | ||||||
| 2 | and be it further | ||||||
| 3 | RESOLVED, That we encourage the Illinois Community College | ||||||
| 4 | Board to work with community colleges to develop and implement | ||||||
| 5 | policies to award academic credit toward associate degree | ||||||
| 6 | programs in workforce, applied science, or technical fields | ||||||
| 7 | for students who earn: | ||||||
| 8 | (1) A platinum, gold, or silver NCRC; or | ||||||
| 9 | (2) A substantially similar credential recognized by | ||||||
| 10 | the Illinois Community College Board; and be it further | ||||||
| 11 | RESOLVED, That we encourage such credit to, where | ||||||
| 12 | practicable: | ||||||
| 13 | (1) Align with credit recommendations published by the | ||||||
| 14 | American Council on Education (ACE) or other recognized | ||||||
| 15 | credit recommendation frameworks; or | ||||||
| 16 | (2) Apply to technical and workforce-aligned associate | ||||||
| 17 | degree programs; and be it further | ||||||
| 18 | RESOLVED, That we affirm that nothing in this Resolution | ||||||
| 19 | should be construed to require public universities or private | ||||||
| 20 | institutions of higher education to accept such credit; and be | ||||||
| 21 | it further | ||||||
| 22 | RESOLVED, That we encourage ISBE to collect and report to | ||||||
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| 1 | the General Assembly aggregate statewide data on: | ||||||
| 2 | (1) Student access to career readiness assessments; | ||||||
| 3 | (2) Participation rates; | ||||||
| 4 | (3) Credential attainment outcomes; and | ||||||
| 5 | (4) Postsecondary enrollment outcomes, to the extent | ||||||
| 6 | practicable; and be it further | ||||||
| 7 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 8 | delivered to Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois | ||||||
| 9 | Community College Board, and the State Superintendent of | ||||||
| 10 | Education; and be it further | ||||||