Good morning,

Senate Education Committee meets today. I have attached the short summary of the bills to be considered. The one of most interest to us is SB 196 (Senator Hutson), and the PDF of the analysis. HB 141(Rep. Arrington) is identical to SB 196. Of the bills I am following SB 196 is the only one that has an identical companion bill, which generally insures both will move through the process rapidly.  Below you will find an excerpt from the analysis of SB 196:

Effect of Proposed Changes:
SB 196 adds requirements to notify parents and students of career and academic planning options and work-based learning opportunities and pathways.

Middle Grades Career Planning
The bill requires a middle grade student’s personalized academic and career plan to include information on the career and technical education graduation pathway option13 and work-based learning opportunities, including internships and preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs.
Additionally, the bill requires the student’s plan to be developed in consultation with a certified school counselor.

Notification of Student Acceleration Options
The bill expands the required annual school district parental notification on high school acceleration options to include notification to students and requires such notification to be in a language that is understandable to students and parents. The bill adds to the information required to be included in the notification to include:
· Career and professional academies.
· Career-themed courses.
· The career and technical education pathway option to earn a standard high school diploma
school counselor.