108A LB610 LPS Testimony

March 15, 2023

Senator Robert Clements, Chairperson
Senator Christy Armendariz
Senator Myron Dorn
Senator Robert Dover
Senator Steve Erdman
Senator Loren Lippincott
Senator Mike McDonnell
Senator Tony Vargas

Good afternoon distinguished members of the Appropriations Committee:

My name is Jason Thomsen, J-A-S-O-N T-H-O-M-S-E-N. I am the Curriculum Specialist for Career and Technical Education for Lincoln Public Schools.

I am here today to speak as a proponent for LB610.

LB610 appropriates funds to the Department of Education for Program 158 for the purpose of funding career and technical education programs in secondary and post-secondary schools in Nebraska. Nebraska is the only state that does not provide some type of additional funding for Career and Technical Education.

This is an incredibly important bill because we have seen great benefits to our students and local businesses and industries as a result of our career education programs and courses within LPS. LPS provides many career preparation opportunities in our middle and high schools. All students take career courses in middle school, and students must meet a career education credit requirement in order to graduate high school. Many students take a three-course cluster of career courses within our school to reach post-secondary career experiences while still in high school.

In addition, LPS, like most other districts, offers programs in direct partnerships with local area businesses and industry. LPS offers The Career Academy, a partnership between LPS and SCC that provides 16 different college-level career education programs for high school students designed in partnership with local industry. Other students attend similar advanced career programs at our high schools, including partnerships with UNL in agricultural sciences and business, Bryan College of Health Sciences, and Duncan Aviation.

All of these programs are put in place to provide students the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to follow their dreams into the career of their choice in their local community and beyond. That career may require advanced training after high school, after obtaining an associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree, or an advanced degree, but it begins in high school.

Even with all of those efforts, we still have a gap from where our students are to where they want to be – engaged in a meaningful career as productive citizens of their community and state. LB610 provides the additional funding that will help fill the gaps in our existing program that cannot be covered by Perkins funding. These gaps are expensive for the local district to fill, yet essential for an effective partnership between our school career education and community workforce development.

Let me share a couple of examples of areas where the additional funding could dramatically increase the career work that students could experience and make schools better post-secondary workforce partners:

We can use Perkins to purchase pieces of equipment like 3D printers, heat presses, industry printers, ovens/stoves, etc; however, we cannot use Perkins to purchase the expensive consumables we need to utilize that equipment, such as:

  • Filament necessary for the 3-D printers so students can design and print their work,
  • Food items that are utilized in culinary courses so students can learn culinary skills,
  • Raw materials such as lumber, sheet metal, and pipe for skilled and technical sciences courses, and
  • Bulk thread and fabric for our Clothing, Textiles, and Design Course.

The cost of consumables can limit the number of “touches” students have with equipment and limit the number of courses that we can offer. This funding makes it possible for schools to become better partners with our local businesses and industry, help students realize their career goals, and build a stronger community.

Finally, many students in LPS participate in Career & Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) such as FBLA, DECA, HOSA, SkillsUSA, FFA, Educators Risings, and FCCLA. Currently, NDE heavily restricts the use of Perkins funds for CTSOs, so the funds to facilitate these programs come from our instruction budget, which limits our programming, or it comes from families. Additional funding removes the burden on the instructional budget and removes the financial barriers that limit access to programs for some families.

For these reasons, we support LB610, and I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.