Purpose

• Establish a student career pathways framework to improve access to high-quality, employer-connected career experiences.
• Reduce barriers and strengthen coordination among education, workforce, and postsecondary systems.
• Allow local districts and charter schools to innovate with personalized learning plans and career exploration, without creating a mandate.

Key terms and definitions

• Experiential learning: career-connected experiences such as work-based learning, internships, job shadowing, industry projects, and other employer-engaged activities linked to a student’s personalized learning plan or academic program.
• Participating school: a school district or charter school that chooses to participate in the voluntary framework.
• Personalized learning plan: a student-centered plan used to guide career exploration, counseling, and postsecondary planning within the framework.
• Career pathways framework: a statewide structure to align secondary, postsecondary, and workforce systems around career exploration, employer engagement, and credentialed training.

What the framework does

• The commissioner of education, with the commissioners of employment and economic development and higher education, and in partnership with the P20 Education Partnership, must establish a statewide framework to align:
  • personalized learning plans
  • career and technical education (CTE)
  • work-based learning
  • postsecondary exploration
• Emphasizes cross-system alignment and coordination rather than creating new mandatory requirements for schools.
• Aims to:
  • coordinate employer engagement to expand access to high-quality experiences
  • align tools, practices, and data systems to support transitions from high school to postsecondary education and careers
  • promote pathways to postsecondary credentials with labor market value
  • use aligned indicators to measure participation, persistence, completion, and transitions across education and workforce systems

How it will be implemented

• Participation is optional for school districts and charter schools; no mandate is created.
• Focus on interoperability across secondary, postsecondary, and workforce systems and on consistently applying a student-centered approach to career exploration and experiential learning.
• Encourage local adaptation to community needs while promoting standard elements to reduce duplication and improve access to experiences.

Roles and responsibilities of agencies

• The commissioners of education, employment and economic development, and higher education must review state statutes, rules, and guidance related to federal programs (WIOA and Perkins CTE Act) to identify constraints that limit local flexibility.
• They must propose changes to remove unnecessary constraints and to establish clear, coherent career pathway exploration, including strong alignment of CTE with postsecondary certificates, diplomas, and degrees.
• They must expand access to work-based learning and other employer-connected opportunities, and improve alignment between secondary and postsecondary programs for smooth transitions.
• They must issue updated joint guidance on permissible uses of existing federal funds to support the student career pathways framework, using existing resources.

Resources and tools to support implementation

• The three agencies must jointly develop centralized resources (planning tools, guidance, and optional templates) to help schools implement the framework.
• Provide model practices to expand career exploration and career-connected learning, including integrating rigorous coursework, dual enrollment, and employer-connected experiences.
• Include strategies to ensure equitable access for historically underserved students (e.g., low-income students, students of color, rural students).
• Offer optional tools to track, evaluate, and continuously improve student career experiences, including transitions to postsecondary education and training.

Reporting requirements

• By January 15, 2028, the commissioners must submit a joint report to the legislative committees overseeing K-12 education and workforce development.
• The report should cover actions taken to remove state-level barriers to the framework, the use of the framework by participating schools, and recommendations for further alignment using existing resources.

Significant changes to existing law (summary)

• Creates a voluntary, statewide Student Career Pathways Framework designed to coordinate and align secondary, postsecondary, and workforce efforts around career exploration and experiential learning.
• Introduces formal agency review of federal program constraints (WIOA and Perkins) to remove barriers and enhance local flexibility.
• Establishes a centralized set of resources, tools, and guidance to support districts in implementing personalized learning plans and work-based learning aligned with career pathways.
• Introduces a formal reporting requirement to assess progress and propose further alignment, all without mandating district participation.

Relevant Terms - student career pathways framework - experiential learning - work-based learning - personalized learning plan - career and technical education (CTE) - employer engagement - postsecondary exploration - postsecondary credentials with labor market value - concurrent enrollment - dual enrollment - youth skills training - registered or preapprenticeship - P20 Education Partnership - Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) - Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act - data systems alignment - equitable access - transitions from high school to postsecondary education and training