North Dakota lawmakers considering Career and Technical Education bills

MINOT, N.D. – There are a few Career and Technical Education bills state lawmakers are discussing that could mean more scholarship opportunities for students in the Minot Public School district.

Currently, high school students who take dual credit courses pay a fee.

Under House Bill 1375 which was heard by the State Senate this week, those students could get reimbursed after their first completed semester in post-secondary school.

They also heard House Bill 1430 which would allow students to receive both a CTE and academic scholarships if requirements for both are met.

“If there’s a scholarship incentive for students to continue with that Career and Technical Education program into the post-secondary, yes, I think those scholarships and the dual credits could encourage them to stay on the career path that they are already in,” said Wayde Sick, North Dakota’s State CTE Director and Executive Officer.

Administrators in the district also spoke about Senate Bill 2019 which appropriates $45 million for CTE programming.

“We are going to be preparing info to go to help them understand what this type of granting program be used for and what could it support,” said MPS Superintendent Dr. Mark Vollmer.

SB 2019 was heard by the House Appropriations Committee recently.