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A MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THAT A STUDY BE PERFORMED ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
A PRE-APPRENTICESHIP CURRICULUM IN HIGH SCHOOL
CAREER-TECHNICAL PROGRAMS.
WHEREAS, New Mexico has one of the highest dropout rates
in the United States; and
WHEREAS, only twenty-three and nine-tenths percent of
New Mexico high school graduates go on to attend college; and
WHEREAS, students who are not college-bound currently
have inadequate options to keep them engaged in school and on
track for graduation; and
WHEREAS, limited educational resources are currently
dedicated to career-technical and vocational training; and
WHEREAS, an untrained and uninterested student has a
higher likelihood of becoming involved in gangs and other
counterproductive behavior; and
WHEREAS, there is an ongoing demand for well-trained
employees in many technical fields in this state, and those
jobs have high pay scales and provide benefits; and
WHEREAS, students should have an opportunity to start a
trades-based career path during their junior and senior years
of high school through pre-apprenticeship programs; and
WHEREAS, students enrolled in a pre-apprenticeship
curriculum will be better prepared to enter registered
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apprenticeship programs with some required coursework
completed after high school graduation; and
WHEREAS, industry experts are often the most qualified
teachers for pre-apprenticeship programs and
pre-apprenticeship curriculum development; and
WHEREAS, it is in the public interest of the state to
encourage and facilitate the formation of cooperative
relationships among business, labor and educational
institutions to develop industry-taught pre-apprenticeship
programs in order to give students the skills to meet
workforce needs; and
WHEREAS, any program or curriculum development that
results from the cooperative relationship among business,
labor and educational institutions should be called "Running
Start for Careers";
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE
STATE OF NEW MEXICO that representatives from the public
education department, the higher education department, the
workforce solutions department, the economic development
department, the association of commerce and industry,
industry advocacy groups and registered apprenticeship
programs in the state be requested to study the feasibility
of implementing an industry-taught pre-apprenticeship
curriculum in high school career-technical programs; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the findings and
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recommendations be presented to the legislative education
study committee and any other appropriate legislative
committee during the 2008 interim; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the secretary of public education, the
secretary of higher education, the secretary of workforce
solutions, the secretary of economic development, the speaker
of the house of representatives, the president pro tempore of
the senate and the governor.