An Act to Expand Access to Good Jobs with Better Career and Technical Education
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1820
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: JACKSON, BRENNAN, DAUGHTRY, RAFFERTY
Amends: 20-A MRSA §8309, 20-A MRSA §10911, 26 MRSA §1451, 26 MRSA §1455

Legislative Document
No. 1820
S.P. 735
In Senate, April 27, 2023
An Act to Expand Access to Good Jobs with Better Career and 
Technical Education
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by President JACKSON of Aroostook.
Cosponsored by Representative BRENNAN of Portland and
Senators: DAUGHTRY of Cumberland, RAFFERTY of York.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §8309 is enacted to read:
§8309.  Report on career and technical education needs
Using the information in the report provided by the Department of Labor under Title 
26, section 1455, each year the department shall compare available career and technical 
education courses to the mapping of in-demand job titles and credentials and produce a 
report containing recommended modifications and expansions of career and technical 
education courses throughout the State, recommendations for budgetary and statutory 
changes necessary to accomplish those modifications and expansions and an account of 
nonstate money available for accomplishing those modifications and expansions.  The 
department shall make the report publicly available and provide the report to the Governor 
and the Legislature.
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §10911 is enacted to read:
§10911.  Credit for career and technical education courses
1. Plan required. The trustees shall create a plan to award a standard amount of credit 
for certified career and technical education courses completed by students during secondary 
education.  The courses appropriate for certification must include trade and industry, 
technology, agriculture, business and marketing, family and consumer science, health 
occupational training or other vocational and technical fields.  In creating the plan, the 
trustees shall consult with university faculty governing bodies, Maine Community College 
System faculty, the commissioner, a representative of an organization of career and 
technical education professionals and other stakeholders the trustees consider necessary.  
2. Plan requirements. The plan created under subsection 1 must include:
A. For each course, standardized credit offerings and general curriculum requirements; 
and
B. The documentation that a student must submit in order to receive course credit.  
3. Credit awarding required. Following adoption of the plan, the university shall 
award course credit to a student who completes the course requirements and submits the 
required documentation.
Sec. 3.  26 MRSA c. 20, headnote is amended to read:
CHAPTER 20
COMPREHENSIVE CAREER AND OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION 
SYSTEM
Sec. 4.  26 MRSA §1451, as amended by PL 1987, c. 534, Pt. B, §§15 and 23, is 
further amended by amending the section headnote to read:
§1451.  Purpose Comprehensive career and occupational information system
Sec. 5.  26 MRSA §1455 is enacted to read:
§1455.  Comprehensive career and occupational information report
1. Report required.  The department shall produce a career and occupational 
information report twice each year that must include:
A. Workforce needs categorized by industry, job type, geographic location and 
required credentials;
B. A comparison of existing and projected workforce needs and credential availability; 
and
C. Mapping of in-demand job titles and credentials projected 4 years and 8 years into 
the future.
The department shall make the report and the data used to create the report available to the 
Department of Education, career and technical education providers and workforce 
placement offices.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Board of Trustees of the University of Maine System to create a 
plan to provide course credit for career and technical education courses.  It requires the 
Department of Labor to produce a report twice each year concerning existing and projected 
workforce needs and requires the Department of Education to use that report to recommend 
modifications and expansions to career and technical education courses.