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Bill to connect at-risk college students to career technical resources passes committee
Summary
HB 1601 passed as amended. Sponsor said the bill creates a central link maintained by the Division of Higher Education to help postsecondary students at academic risk find career technical and workforce resources; universities expressed general support during committee Q&A.
Representative Lee Johnson presented HB 1601, a bill intended to improve links between higher education institutions and career-technical resources for students at risk of dropping out of a degree program. The measure directs the Division of Higher Education to maintain an accessible web location that links career counseling, workforce services and similar resources.
Johnson said most institutions already have programs but the bill’s purpose is to make connections more visible and easier for students who are at a “fork in the road” about whether to continue toward a four-year degree. Questions from committee members focused on how students would be identified and how the bill would interact with campus advising; the sponsor said the bill is a starting point to make resource discovery easier for students and institutions.
Representative Duke, Representative Brown and others praised the bill as a first step; Representative Byron noted he would rather encourage universities to adopt this practice without statute but supported the effort. The committee passed HB 1601 as amended by voice vote.
