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The detailed guide's purpose is to assist educators and community leaders in designing and implementing educational programs to serve student and community needs, and to identify the goals and elements of cooperative vocational education. One chapter describes the necessary characteristics of the teacher-coordinator in such programs, and the advantages of cooperative vocational education to the community and to the students. Two other chapters suggest methods for determining employers' and students' needs for cooperative vocational education and suggest plans for meeting these needs. Three chapters deal with implementing plans for: public relations (including a suggested eight point plan and the use of media); instruction in the school (including five teaching methods and the use of youth organizations); and community laboratories (including criteria for selecting, establishing, and evaluating training stations, and guidelines for complying with appropriate laws). Another chapter analyzes essential elements of the cooperative program including staffing; facilities, equipment, and materials; and program development. A final chapter suggests ways of improving cooperative vocational education in its administrative structure, professional development of teacher-coordinators, instructional materials, and program evaluation. A 70-page appendix displays forms appropriate to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs. (JR)

The document is an index to the Career Information Service (CIS), a cooperative program between the Greater Lowell Regional School District and the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Education. The program utilizes the microfilm aperture card technology for disseminating occupational information in a school setting; its objectives are to provide localized, up-to-date occupational information for secondary students across an entire State, to provide school counselors with current occupational information with which to work, and to provide educators with a teaching aid that will assist them in relating school programs and subject matter content to the world of work. The system consists of a set of 644 microfilm aperture cards which carry occupational briefs; one four-page brief is contained on each card. A microfilm reader is located in each participating school for users of the system. The index lists and describes, in one or two sentences written at a sixth-grade reading level, the 644 careers whose briefs are available in the system. The index is preceded by a listing of the CIS career titles without annotation. Both lists give Dictionary of Occupational Titles (D.O.T.) numbers and Office of Education (O.E.) numbers. (Author/AJ)

Over the year, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) tracked state activity, cataloged final state policy actions, and categorized trends based on the policy areas of focus. "State Policies Impacting CTE: 2023 Year in Review" provides an analysis that spans 47 states that enacted 115 policies, which marks the second-highest number of states in the past decade, surpassed only by the landmark year of 2017 when all 50 states implemented CTE-related policies. The policy areas that states focused on in 2023 were similar to previous years with industry partnerships and work-based learning as the top policy area for the second consecutive year.

Taking an inclusive and equitable approach to emergency management planning means considering the needs of all populations, and neurodivergent individuals are entitled to the same emergency services as neurotypical individuals. Core planning teams should team up with disability specialists, parents and guardians, and Individualized Education Program or Section 504 teams familiar with the student's needs to adjust the school emergency operations plan (EOP) so that it is ready to accommodate a range of neurodivergences in a variety of settings. This fact sheet contains suggested strategies for core planning teams as they engage in school EOP development.

While institutions of higher education (IHEs) encourage freedom of expression, critical thinking, and the dynamic exchange of ideas, they have also historically been the setting for social and political demonstrations. It is important for university leaders to collaborate closely with safety, security, and emergency management partners. This fact sheet provides information on the types of protests and demonstrations at IHEs, the importance of protecting student voices and their right to protest while maintaining safety, considerations for campus safety leaders and partners, and emergency management planning and developing a Protest/Civil Unrest Annex.

Cybersecurity remains a critical concern for school systems nationwide, showing a consistent increase in publicly disclosed K-12 cyber incidents over the past 5 years. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's 2024 Homeland Threat Assessment underscores this trend, predicting ongoing targeting of K-12 school networks by cyber actors who will continue to seek access to school networks, noting that "K-12 school districts have been a near constant ransomware target due to school systems' IT budget constraints and lack of dedicated resources." This fact sheet guides administrators, educators, support staff, and IT staff through the prevention, response, and recovery stages of a ransomware incident at the district level. It also highlights tested strategies and the importance of collaboration with key stakeholders.

Climate change, social inequality and demographic shifts are disrupting societies around the globe. The ripple effects of these multi-layered crises are felt across the education sector and the labour market. The most vulnerable, who were already marginalized, have been hit the hardest. The United Nations (UN) Transforming Education Summit was organized in September 2022 as a response to a global crisis in education, with a focus on equity and inclusion, quality, and relevance. The Summit succeeded in putting education at the top of the global political agenda and laying the groundwork for educational transformation in a rapidly changing world. Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is well placed to advance this transformation. UNESCO-UNEVOC's medium-term strategy for the 2024 to 2026 period puts forward an agenda to support countries in equipping youth and adults with the skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship, while providing flexible pathways to lifelong learning opportunities for all. The strategy considers the accelerated digital revolution, the emerging demands of the green economy and the increasing needs for reskilling and upskilling of the workforce. Innovation and excellence, equity and inclusion, and the dual green and digital transformation are the key drivers of UNESCO-UNEVOC's medium-term strategy. It is set to directly contribute to the UNESCO Strategy for TVET for 2022 to 2029 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It serves as a launch pad to elevate the quality, image of, and accessibility to TVET, and to support TVET institutions' just and sustainable transformation. At the centre of these activities is the UNEVOC Network, UNESCO's global network of more than 230 TVET institutions spanning 150 countries. This medium-term strategy includes a series of flagships, such as the UNEVOC TVET Leadership Programme, the Bridging Innovation and Learning in TVET (BILT) project, partnership with the Global Skills Academy, and UNEVOC Connect, a global clearing house for up-to-date resources on TVET. It comprises actions aimed at training of TVET leaders and teachers, cooperation with the UNEVOC Network and other networks of UNESCO, engagement with the private sector, and dissemination of TVET data and research. TVET is an important catalyst for building the inclusive, peaceful, and sustainable societies of the future. Now is the time to empower youth and adults with the skills and mindsets to become global citizens who can solve the interconnected challenges affecting the world.

The National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: the Collaborative (NTACT:C) Collaborative Assessment Guide for Transition Planning (CAG) is intended to help students, family members, educators, vocational rehabilitation counselors, human services and health agency staff, and other partners develop a coordinated assessment approach for transition planning and service delivery. The set of resources which make up the CAG includes sections designed for students and families. It also includes a supplement to highlight the assessment requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Rehab Act), as amended by title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) as well as a supplement of Definitions referenced throughout. Finally, it includes a supplement of sample assessment tools. The assessment process for identifying post-school goals and relevant transition services for students and youth consists of six separate but interconnected processes: (1) Determining What to Assess; (2) Determining Stakeholders; (3) Selecting Appropriate Assessments; (4) Conducting Assessments; (5) Reviewing Assessment Results; and (6) Using Assessment Data.

Career Technical Education (CTE) policies and programs have increasingly focused on supporting the needs of historically marginalized learners and closing access and performance gaps among learner groups. Perkins V, the latest iteration of federal CTE legislation known as the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, is part of this trend. The law defines nine learner groups as special populations and includes a number of provisions that address expanding access to and supporting success within CTE programs for special populations. This brief provides an overview of definitions, strategies, reflection questions and resources to support foster youth in CTE.

Career Technical Education (CTE) policies and programs have increasingly focused on supporting the needs of historically marginalized learners and closing access and performance gaps among learner groups. Perkins V, the latest iteration of federal CTE legislation known as the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, is part of this trend. The law defines nine learner groups as special populations and includes a number of provisions that address expanding access to and supporting success within CTE programs for special populations. This brief will describe strategies for supporting one of these special populations: non-traditional learners.

Basic needs insecurity -- including housing and food insecurity, as well as lack of access to healthcare, childcare, transportation, and other basic needs -- is a critical barrier that can undermine persistence and completion rates for postsecondary students. The gaps in covering critical costs such as housing and food are pervasive among students in both two-year and four-year institutions, and they disproportionately impact certain groups of students. The Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness (SSEH) pilot program was launched in fiscal year 2019-20 to address basic needs insecurity among postsecondary students experiencing homelessness and those who were former foster youth. This first legislative report for the program was developed collaboratively. It provides state-level, cross-sector information about the students supported by SSEH, strategies employed by the institutions to serve them, institutional infrastructure changes made to strengthen access to the program, and participating institutions' collective reflections and recommendations. The aim is to provide important state-level insights across all institutions while highlighting some distinctions that may be unique between community and technical colleges and public baccalaureate institutions.

The presence of volunteers, both affiliated and unaffiliated, and the influx of donations during and after an emergency can be addressed through a comprehensive emergency operations plan (EOP). Education agencies and their planning teams must consider developing a system that addresses the different types of donations and volunteers, how they will be distributed and managed, who will be involved in that process internally and externally, and how to communicate with organizations and individuals playing key roles. Furthermore, an EOP should consider how to ensure the safety of students, staff members, and visitors while volunteers are on campus, as well as the tools needed to maintain and manage volunteers, donations, and the various operational functions that come with their influx.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bullying among youths includes any unwanted aggressive behavior involving an imbalance of power that is repeated multiple times or is likely to be repeated. Hate speech, also called bias-based speech, is a type of discriminatory harassment that can occur as verbal or written slurs, stereotypes, or images involving any protected characteristic. Bullying and harassment can have significant negative physical, psychological, and academic consequences on those who are bullied, those who bully others, and those who witness bullying. All federally funded educational institutions are legally obligated to address discriminatory harassment. This fact sheet explains how core and ad hoc planning team members at K-12 schools and school districts can prepare for bullying, harassment, and hate speech through the development of a Bullying Annex.