This section creates a Workforce Pathways diploma pathway and directs state education agencies to set it up, develop its curriculum, and create a diploma seal.
(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the Alabama Workforce Pathways Act. (b)(1) The purpose of this section is to provide enhanced academic and skilled trades opportunities for Alabama students, and to facilitate the development of a career pathways diploma at the K-12 level that would enhance career and technical education opportunities for high school students who plan to enter the workforce immediately after graduation. (2) The Legislature finds and declares that high school students need more than one pathway to earn a high school diploma in this state. (c)(1) The State Board of Education shall establish a new Workforce Pathways diploma pathway at the K-12 level. (2) Following the establishment of the Workforce Pathways diploma pathway, the State Department of Education shall develop the curriculum for this program within 120 days after its approval by the State Board of Education. The curriculum may include a listing of required credits, courses, competencies, and experiences necessary to earn a diploma though the workforce pathway. (3) All K-12 students in this state shall earn the same high school diploma, regardless of which diploma pathway they follow; however, students enrolled in the Workforce Pathways diploma pathway shall only be required to complete two math credits and two science credits to earn their high school diploma instead of the four math credits and four science credits required of other students. The State Department of Education shall develop an identifying seal that is to be placed on any high school diploma earned by a student following the workforce pathway. (4) In lieu of the math and science credits, students enrolled in the Workforce Pathways diploma pathway may earn credits that apply toward graduation by completing career and technical education courses, which help prepare those students to go directly into employment in their chosen field following high school graduation. (d) The State Department of Education shall work with local boards of education throughout the state to implement the Workforce Pathways diploma pathway at the local level. (e) Students who earn a diploma through the Workforce Pathway shall be eligible for admission to any postsecondary institution or public university in the state; provided, however, each institution and university shall maintain the ability to set its own admission requirements. (f) When an alternative assessment is developed for students in the Workforce Pathways diploma pathway, that assessment may be considered in assigning an academic achievement grade to a school or school system. (g) The State Board of Education may seek additional funding from the Legislature to construct, retrofit, or upgrade career and technical education centers throughout the state so that a career and technical education center is located within a reasonable distance from every high school in the state. While school systems with a larger population of students may need their own career and technical education center, school systems with smaller populations of students may share career and technical education centers. (h) The Legislature may provide additional funding for the Alabama Short-Term Credential Program that provides scholarships to facilitate the participation of individuals in for-credit and non-credit courses provided through the Alabama Community College System offering training for in-demand careers in the region where the course is taught.