Senate Education hears that existing law allows out‑of‑region CTE enrollment but transportation, tuition differences and funding gaps block access

For the record, I'm Zoe Saunders, secretary of education, and I'm with Jerky. I'm the state director of career technical education," said Zoe Saunders, Secretary of Education, as she opened an agency presentation to the Senate Education Committee on a proposed amendment to H.480 aimed at expanding access to career and technical education (CTE). "We understand that the goal of this amendment is to expand access to career and technical education, and we don't think that the amendment is necessary given the existing statute," Saunders told senators.

The agency and CTE directors told the committee why students who are wait‑listed at one center can already apply to programs at other centers but often face practical barriers — notably transportation and substantial differences in per‑student tuition. The discussion gave senators technical staff, CTE superintendents and local directors an opportunity to surface short‑term fixes the Agency of Education (AOE) can pursue and the longer‑term funding and governance reforms the agency has recommended.

Why it matters: CTE programs prepare students for immediate jobs and local workforce needs. Committee members framed the amendment as an attempt to remove immediate barriers for students who are eligible for CTE but cannot access seats in their home region when programs are full. Agency staff and multiple CTE directors warned that a narrowly drawn change could produce unintended budget or equity impacts unless short‑term language is paired with broader funding and governance reform.

Key points and supporting details

- What statute and rules say now: Ruth, Agency of Education staff, told the committee that the statute and State Board rules already permit students in grades 11 and 12 to enroll at a CTE center outside their designated service region if the sending district pays the receiving center's published tuition. Ruth cited "16…