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A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT A STUDY BE PERFORMED ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF

A PRE-APPRENTICESHIP CURRICULUM IN HIGH SCHOOL

CAREER-TECHNICAL PROGRAMS.

WHEREAS, New Mexico has one of the highest dropout rates

in the United States; and

WHEREAS, only twenty-three and nine-tenths percent of

New Mexico high school graduates go on to attend college; and

WHEREAS, students who are not college-bound currently

have inadequate options to keep them engaged in school and on

track for graduation; and

WHEREAS, limited educational resources are currently

dedicated to career-technical and vocational training; and

WHEREAS, an untrained and uninterested student has a

higher likelihood of becoming involved in gangs and other

counterproductive behavior; and

WHEREAS, there is an ongoing demand for well-trained

employees in many technical fields in this state, and those

jobs have high pay scales and provide benefits; and

WHEREAS, students should have an opportunity to start a

trades-based career path during their junior and senior years

of high school through pre-apprenticeship programs; and

WHEREAS, students enrolled in a pre-apprenticeship

curriculum will be better prepared to enter registered

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apprenticeship programs with some required coursework

completed after high school graduation; and

WHEREAS, industry experts are often the most qualified

teachers for pre-apprenticeship programs and

pre-apprenticeship curriculum development; and

WHEREAS, it is in the public interest of the state to

encourage and facilitate the formation of cooperative

relationships among business, labor and educational

institutions to develop industry-taught pre-apprenticeship

programs in order to give students the skills to meet

workforce needs; and

WHEREAS, any program or curriculum development that

results from the cooperative relationship among business,

labor and educational institutions should be called "Running

Start for Careers";

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE

STATE OF NEW MEXICO that representatives from the public

education department, the higher education department, the

workforce solutions department, the economic development

department, the association of commerce and industry,

industry advocacy groups and registered apprenticeship

programs in the state be requested to study the feasibility

of implementing an industry-taught pre-apprenticeship

curriculum in high school career-technical programs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the findings and

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recommendations be presented to the legislative education

study committee and any other appropriate legislative

committee during the 2008 interim; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

transmitted to the secretary of public education, the

secretary of higher education, the secretary of workforce

solutions, the secretary of economic development, the speaker

of the house of representatives, the president pro tempore of

the senate and the governor.