Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. KAINE. Mr. President. Maintaining a talented workforce is essential to cultivating a strong economy and positioning our Nation for success in today's increasingly competitive global marketplace. Opportunities for education, professional development, and the acquisition of skills immediately translatable in the workplace will help to ensure that our students and workers are equipped with the skills required to succeed in the 21st century. Career and technical education (CTE) programs play a vital role in increasing student engagement, continuing our nation's economic competitiveness, and building the skills of our country's workforce.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of student interest in career and technical education, but shortages in high-quality CTE teachers have made it difficult for school districts to meet this demand. While the Higher Education and Opportunity Act of 2008 provides grants for teacher residency partnership programs to colleges and universities who work with high-needs school districts to train prospective teachers, no CTE-focused partnerships exist.

That is why I am introducing with my colleagues, Senator Baldwin, Senator Portman and Senator Capito the Creating Quality Technical Educators Act, which would amend the Higher Education and Opportunity Act to create a CTE teacher-training grant partnership to equip aspiring CTE teachers with real-world experience and credible skills to apply in the classroom. This legislation would foster teacher training partnerships between high-needs secondary schools and post-secondary institutions to create a one-year residency initiative for teachers and includes teacher mentorship for a minimum of two years. This period of hands-on training and mentorship will only increase the ability of CTE teachers to benefit their students through classroom instruction and serve as a career model.

In addition to establishing CTE specific teacher-training grant partnerships, this bill takes a proactive approach to recruiting and training more high-quality CTE teachers. CTE teacher residencies would target teacher candidates from a variety of backgrounds including recent college graduates, veterans, mid-career professionals, and currently licensed teachers with a need for technical skills training who seek to transition into CTE fields.

As co-chair of the Senate CTE Caucus, I am proud to introduce this commonsense, bipartisan legislation to recruit and train talented teachers to meet the rising need for CTE. The Creating Quality Technical Educators Act is an important step towards ensuring access to high-quality CTE instruction, preparing teachers for success, and maintaining the skill set of our Nation's workforce.

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