Career Technical Education Certificate

CTE Certificate Requirements:

Students may earn a career and technical education (CTE) certificate in addition to his or her high school graduation diploma. Beginning July 1, 2017, students entering high school in school year 2017-2018 and thereafter shall be eligible to earn a career and technical education (CTE) certificate.

1. Meet all requirements set forth in State and local Board of Education policies related to earning a high school diploma.

2. Qualify as a Career and Technical Education (CTE) concentrator. A CTE concentrator is defined as a student who has earned three or more credits in a sequence in any Department-approved career education program area as defined on the student’s personal plan of study.

3. Maintain a minimum Grade Point Average of 3.0 on a 4.0 point scale (9.0 on a 11.0 scale) in the CTE area of concentration as defined on the student’s personal plan of study.

4. Pass an approved Technical Skill Assessment (TSA) and/or earn an approved Industry Recognized Credential or Certificate (IRC) aligned with the student’s CTE area of concentration.

5. Complete a minimum of 50 hours of appropriate work-based learning experiences aligned with their CTE area of concentration. Work-based learning experiences may include Internships, Registered Apprenticeships, Cooperative Career Education programs, clinical settings, job shadowing, entrepreneurial experiences, school-based enterprises, structured business/industry field trips, service learning, or other opportunities that provide students with real-time, authentic work experiences. This 50 hour requirement would be consistent with the 50 hour unpaid tutoring or mentoring requirement of A+ schools.

6. Maintain at least a 95% attendance record overall for grades 9-12.

7. Demonstrate attainment of soft-skills/business skills. The requirement can be met in one of three ways:

• Active participation in a Career and Technical Student Organization such as FFA, FBLA, SkillsUSA, etc. during the junior or senior year;

• Score at proficient or advanced level on a district-developed or adopted soft-skill/ethics assessment during the junior and/or senior year; or

• Three or more letters of recommendation, from at least three different business or industry employers or other individuals who have knowledge of the student and can assure that the student has a high level of soft-skill efficacy and is career ready. Letters may not be from a relative or student.

8. Achieve a score at or above the state standard on any department-approved measure(s) of college and career readiness, for example, the ACT, SAT, ACT-Work Keys, or the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery as determined in the most current MSIP performance standards.