FIRST REGULAR SESSION
House Concurrent Resolution No. 29
94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Whereas, Missouri's career and technical education delivery system consists of 536 local education agencies, including 451 comprehensive high schools (53 with area career centers), one technical college (also a career center), 12 community college districts (4 with area career centers), 8 four-year institutions, and two state agencies; and
Whereas, over 56% of Missouri high school students, grades 9 to 12, participated in career and technical education programs, services, and activities in fiscal year 2005; and
Whereas, more than 33,375 high school students from 428 school districts received occupational skill training in area career centers or districts offering approved career and technical education programs in fiscal year 2005; and
Whereas, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reported that female high school students comprise over 80% of students in courses that are traditional for their gender, such as cosmetology, childcare and development, and the health professions, whereas they make up less than 10% of enrolled students in high school courses that are nontraditional for their gender, such as automotive, construction and repair, and precision production classes; and
Whereas, the percentage of female students enrolled in historically male career and technical education fields has not changed dramatically in almost 35 years, despite the fact that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Missouri Human Rights Act prohibit sex discrimination in education; and
Whereas, although traditionally female career and technical education courses provide important educational paths for many students and prepare those students to provide necessary and valuable services to the citizens of Missouri, the enrollment disparities outlined above have significant economic consequences both for students and for the State of Missouri; and
Whereas, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, male-dominated fields in Missouri pay a median hourly wage of $18.95, while traditionally female fields pay a median hourly wage of just $12.65, and some traditionally female occupations, such as childcare, pay a median hourly wage of less than $8 per hour; and
Whereas, career and technical education courses and programs that are nontraditional for males or females provide important career pathways for advancement in math, engineering, science, and technology fields; and
Whereas, high technology jobs, as well as many jobs that are nontraditional for either females or males, are in high demand and thus promise stable employment; and
Whereas, as a result of these workplace realities, artificial or discriminatory limits on access to training for traditionally male or traditionally female fields can compromise students' future earning potential, economic self-sufficiency, and ability to provide for themselves and their families; and
Whereas, for these and other reasons, Missouri has an interest in developing the potential of all of its citizens and ensuring that all students have equal opportunities to excel in training for high-way, high-skill, high-demand fields, regardless of their gender; and
Whereas, reaching these goals will benefit Missouri as well as individual students by enabling the State of Missouri to compete in the knowledge-based economy, by preparing its workforce with world-class skills, and by fully utilizing the talents of all of its citizens; and
Whereas, effective policies that open opportunities for all students to pursue nontraditional career and technical education courses comports with the Missouri Math, Engineering, Technology and Science (METS) Alliance goal to expand the pool of students motivated to pursue METS careers; and
Whereas, effective policies that provide opportunities in Missouri for training in nontraditional careers support Missouri's compliance with the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, which requires states to meet accountability measures of student participation in and completion of career and technical education programs:
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-fourth General Assembly, First Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby establish a Joint Interim Committee on Access to Nontraditional Career and Technical Education; and
Be it further resolved that the committee be comprised of the following ten members to be appointed prior to the end of the First Regular Session of the Ninety-fourth General Assembly:
(1) Six members, three members from the House of Representatives with two members appointed by the Speaker of the House and one member appointed by the Minority Floor Leader of the House, and three members from the Senate, with two members appointed by the President Pro Tem of the Senate and one member appointed by the Minority Floor Leader of the Senate;
(2) The following members to be appointed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education:
(a) One career and technical education administrator;
(b) One career and technical education teacher;
(c) One career and technical education counselor; and
(d) One career and technical education student enrolled in a course that is nontraditional for his or her gender; and
Be it further resolved that the committee shall conduct a comprehensive investigation of the recruitment, enrollment, educational, and retention practices of the career and technical education programs in 20 school districts. Such school districts shall be selected by the committee in consultation with the Department. The investigation shall include a majority representation of school districts that house career centers and shall examine the barriers, policies, and practices that limit students' access and completion of career and technical education programs that are nontraditional for their gender and the practices that can effectively reduce those barriers and promote equal access to and completion of such career and technical education programs; and
Be it further resolved that the committee's investigation shall include, among other issues:
(1) Patterns revealed by enrollment and graduation data, disaggregated by gender and by race, ethnicity, disability, and socio-economic status within gender;
(2) The reasons students enroll in career and technical education programs generally and in specific fields in particular;
(3) The level of student awareness of career and technical education programs that are nontraditional for their gender;
(4) The affirmative steps taken by each district to recruit and retain students in career and technical education programs that are nontraditional for their gender and the efficiency of those steps;
(5) The existence of any artificial barriers in guidance counselor practices, classroom environment, internship and career placement services, or the like, that discourage students from pursuing or persisting in career and technical education programs that are nontraditional for their gender; and
(6) The number of complaints of inequities or discrimination filed, if any, involving students enrolled in career and technical education classes; and
Be it further resolved that the committee may create subcommittees, hold hearings as it deems advisable, and obtain any input or information necessary to fulfill its obligations from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Missouri Center for Career Education, and any school district; and
Be it further resolved that the staffs of House Research, Senate Research, and the Joint Committee on Legislative Research shall provide such legal, research, clerical, technical, and bill drafting services as the committee may require in the performance of its duties; and
Be it further resolved that the committee will prepare a report to be submitted to the General assembly prior to the conclusion of the Ninety-fourth General Assembly that contains factual finding on each of the topics investigated by the committee and any recommendations for improving the recruitment and retention of students in career and technical education programs that are nontraditional for their gender; and
Be it further resolved that the committee will prepare a statewide comprehensive plan for implementation and public promotion of the report, including facilitating the coordination among state and local agencies and organizations regarding achieving the recommendations outlined in the report; and
Be it further resolved that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare properly inscribed copies of this resolution for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Division of Career Education, the Missouri Center for Career Education, the Missouri Women's Council, the eight MCCE Career Education Centers, and the Math, Engineering and Science Alliance.
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