Bill > SF442

This bill establishes a Skills Path Program designed to create clear pathways for high school students to pursue careers in skilled trades and technical fields. The program allows secondary schools (including public, tribal, and nonpublic schools) to partner with postsecondary institutions to develop two-year programs that combine secondary and postsecondary credits with employment-based training, leading to associate degrees in skilled occupations. The program covers various industries such as manufacturing, construction, healthcare, information technology, agriculture, transportation, child care, law enforcement, and energy. The bill creates a grant program that will provide up to $50,000 to ten secondary schools annually to support program implementation, with funds that can be used for marketing, coordinating academic and work-based learning, reimbursing student expenses for tuition and tools, and other program coordination activities. Schools must apply with detailed information about their proposed program, including participating schools, apprenticeship programs, employers, and educational components. Students participating in these programs will be counted in the school district's average daily membership, and schools may grant academic credit for program participation. The state will appropriate $500,000 in fiscal years 2026 and 2027 to support the program, with the same base funding continuing in subsequent years.

Education

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF0442&ssn=0&y=2025