Sec. 10-95i. Long-range plan of priorities and goals for the regional vocational-technical school system. Trade programs. Capital equipment plan.
Sec. 10-95i. Long-range plan of priorities and goals for the regional vocational-technical school system. Trade programs. Capital equipment plan. (a) Not
later than January 1, 1990, and every five years thereafter, the State Board of Education
shall adopt a long-range plan of priorities and goals for the regional vocational-technical
school system. The plan shall address coordination with other providers of vocational,
technical or technological education or training and shall include (1) an analysis of the
activities described in subsections (b) and (c) of this section and how such activities
relate to the long-range plan of priorities and goals, and (2) a summary of activities
related to capital improvements and equipment pursuant to subsection (d) of this section.
Upon adoption of the plan, the state board shall file the plan with the joint standing
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education,
finance, revenue and bonding and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies. The
state board shall use the plan in preparing its five-year comprehensive plan pursuant to
subsection (c) of section 10-4.
(b) During the five-year period beginning January 1, 1990, and during each five-year period thereafter, the State Board of Education shall evaluate each existing regional
vocational-technical school trade program in accordance with a schedule which the state
board shall establish. A trade program may be reauthorized for a period of not more
than five years following each evaluation on the basis of: The projected employment
demand for students enrolled in the trade program, including consideration of the employment of graduates of the program during the preceding five years; anticipated technological changes; the availability of qualified instructors; the existence of similar programs at other educational institutions; and student interest in the trade program. As
part of the evaluation, the state board shall consider geographic differences that may
make a trade program feasible at one school and not another and whether certain combinations of program offerings shall be required. Prior to any final decision on the reauthorization of a trade program, the state board shall consult with the craft committees for
the trade program being evaluated.
(c) The state board shall consider the addition of new trade programs. Decisions by
the state board to add such programs shall at a minimum be based on the projected
employment demand for graduates of the program, the cost of establishing the program,
the availability of qualified instructors, the existence of similar programs at other educational institutions and the interest of students in the trade. The state board shall authorize
new trade programs for a maximum of five years. The state board shall provide a process
for the public, including, but not limited to, employers, parents, students or teachers, to
request consideration of the establishment of a new trade program.
(d) The State Board of Education shall maintain a rolling five-year capital improvement and capital equipment plan that identifies: (1) Alterations, renovations and repairs
that each vocational-technical school is expected to need, including, but not limited to,
grounds and athletic fields, heating and ventilation systems, wiring, roofs, and windows,
and the cost of such projects, (2) recommendations for energy efficiency improvements
to each school and the cost of such improvements, and (3) the specific equipment each
regional vocational-technical school is expected to need, based on the useful life of
existing equipment and projections of changing technology and the estimated cost of
the equipment. The State Board of Education shall submit such plan, annually, to the joint
standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to
education, finance, revenue and bonding and appropriations and the budgets of state
agencies.
(P.A. 88-330, S. 2, 5; P.A. 93-376, S. 9, 13; P.A. 00-204, S. 1, 2, 13; P.A. 03-76, S. 34.)
History: P.A. 93-376 amended Subsec. (a) to include coordination with other providers of "technological" education,
amended Subsec. (b) to delete a requirement to hold a public hearing on the reauthorization of a trade program and a
requirement that the plan be updated and submitted annually to the general assembly and made technical changes, effective
July 1, 1993; P.A. 00-204 amended Subsec. (a) to add Subdiv. indicators, to include in Subdiv. (1) a summary of activities
related to capital improvements, to add Subdiv. (2) re equipment and to make a technical change, and amended Subsec.
(d) to make existing provision Subdiv. (3), to add Subdivs. (1) re alterations, renovations and repairs and (2) re recommendations for energy efficiency improvements, and to add the requirement that report be submitted to the committees of the
General Assembly, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 03-76 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective June 3, 2003.