State Senate passes bill to provide fourth-year funding for career and technical education

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

State Senate passes bill to provide fourth-year funding for career and technical education

(Phoenix, State Capitol) --- A bill that provides fourth-year funding for career and technical education (CTE) is headed to the House of Representatives, after the Senate passed the bill on Tuesday. SB 1179 is sponsored by Chandler Republican J.D. Mesnard.

Currently, a career and technical education district (CTED) must only include students in grades 10 through 12 in the calculation of student count. SB 1179 includes students in grade 9 and the school year immediately following graduation in the student count of a CTED.

“I'm a strong believer in career and technical education because it provides students an opportunity to learn a specific skill set that can be the basis for a career or a way to complement any higher education they pursue after graduating,” Senator Mesnard said. “I'm thrilled with the unanimous support for restoring funding for all four years of this worthy program, which increases access and expands opportunity for students to learn a trade and complete industry recognized CTE programs in fields that have strong demand.”

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