Another 15 governors have issued their budgets or State of the State addresses since January 19. You can catch up on our analysis of the first 15 speeches here.
Here are a few CTE highlights from the most recent round:
Following his first State of the Commonwealth address, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker called for an $83.5 million investment in the career technical education, including the state’s technical high school system, which has long enrollment waiting lists. The investments are proposed to come from the governor’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget, a capital grant funding bill and a portion of the state’s federal Perkins allocation.
The proposed funding boost includes:

• $75 million in grants over five years for equipment to expand and improve CTE programs
• $7.5 million in grants to support work-based learning, including nearly doubling current funding for the state’s school-to-career Connecting Activities and STEM-focused dual enrollment initiatives
• $1 million in Perkins-funded grants to strengthen relationships among vocational high schools, comprehensive high schools and employers

Additionally, a group of Massachusetts employers, community organizations and educators announced the formation of the Alliance of Vocational and Technical Education, which aims to increase access to high-quality CTE in Massachusetts. The group commissioned Northeastern University to conduct a comprehensive study about public perceptions of CTE in the state. You can read the full report here.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell praised the state’s new Pathways to Prosperity initiative, which he announced during his 2015 State of the State address and now involves 29 high schools and 5,000 students across 10 pathways including manufacturing, computer science and health care. He also announced the state’s newest pathway to support the agriculture and food production industries.
Along with joining the call to raise teachers’ salaries, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez asked the legislature to support a “Students Work” internship portal. This online portal would allow New Mexico employers to post internships through a shared website to connect them with college and university students.
Coordinated with his State of the State address, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker announced a legislative package aimed at college affordability. The package includes:

• A $1 million increase in need-based grants over two years for students attending technical colleges
• $320,000 in emergency grants to students at technical colleges
• Bolstering internships by funding positions within the Department of Workforce Development and the state’s university system to build relationships between employers and the institutions
• Requiring all institutions offering at least an associate’s degree to mail cost, loan and other financial information to students

2015 Year in Review: State Policies Impacting CTE
Did you miss our newest publication, “Year in Review: State Policies Impacting CTE”? Not to worry – you can catch the full report here, as well as the companion webinar that unpacked this year’s findings and put the spotlight on Colorado’s Ready to Work legislative package. The paper and webinar were released in partnership with our partners, the Association for Career and Technical Education.
As a special benefit to NASDCTEc members, you can access our state policy trackers from 2014 and 2015 to create your own analysis.
Andrea Zimmermann, State Policy Associate