Employability Skills

  • Diversified Occupations Standards, as approved by MACTE on 01/15/2016 (PDF, 116KB). All programs are required to teach the core standards, A through F. Then each program may select the specialty area(s) they would like their curriculum to focus on.
  • Maine State Standards of Service for Students who are Members of Special Populations, April 2007 (PDF, 22KB) A full range of quality career and technical education programs has been defined by the State Board of Education in the Criteria of Program Quality, adopted on December 8, 1993 and revised on April 14, 1999. Included are comprehensive, competency-based, and outcome-oriented specific occupational preparation and technical education programs, apprenticeship preparation and apprenticeship training programs, technical and professional preparation programs, youth apprenticeship/career internship programs, cooperative education, and career preparation programs.

 

Special Populations Guidance (01/06/2016)

CTE School applications

It is not allowable to ask if a student has a disability or an IEP as part of the application process. If you decide to accept the student you can request student records at that time. You can put language in your recruitment materials and on the application that the student placement requires that the students placed in the program be physically able and behaviorally able to meet the requirements of the program with reasonable accommodations. This would apply to all students.

Assessments

If the assessment is not required to pass the course then you can set some parameters for ALL students on who is eligible to take the CTE program statewide assessment. Course completion can be determined by the standards met and the instructors' school assessment. The statewide assessment is similar to the SAT or the SBAC. It is expected that all students will take the assessment but it is not mandatory. You may set a cut score for passing the class before you opt to have the student take the test. You need to have the rule for all students then it would be considered equitable to all. Some schools may decide to test all students or they can set a minimum program completion score to determine who would be eligible to take the statewide assessment.

If a school decided to have a minimum score rule for taking the assessment and the instructor wanted an "opt in" option for a student not attaining the minimum score, it could be a questionable practice. Waiving the minimum score criteria for some students could be considered inequitable in some cases. A school could also decide to offer a different, possibly cheaper, assessment to all students that scored under the minimum program score. This would also be allowable as long as it was offered to all students under the minimum score, regardless of any identification.

Approved definition for an IEP

What is an Individualized Educational Program (IEP)?

An IEP is an educational program developed for a student with a disability in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The IEP is developed by a team that includes school staff, the student, the student's family or guardians and, if the student is accepted into a career and technical education (CTE) program, a representative from the CTE provider. the IEP includes an assessment of the student's academic achievement and functional performance, measurable annual goals, updates on the student's progress, and it identifies specifically-designed instruction and accommodations needed to provide the student with a free and appropriate education. The IEP should be shared with a CTE instructor before the beginning of the school year to ensure effective CTE instruction.