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Written Testimony - House Bill 386, Ohio Association of Community Colleges (February 12, 2020)

Summary

Written testimony of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC) to the House Economic & Workforce Development Committee on House Bill 386, the Commercial Truck Driver Student Aid Program, dated February 12, 2020. OACC states that it supports the bill, sponsored by Representatives Hoops and Sobecki. The testimony says CDL training programs can usually be completed in 10 weeks or less and lead to a job with a starting average salary of at least $40,000. It states that students in short-term training programs are not eligible for federal Pell Grants or the Ohio College Opportunity Grant program.

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“Written Testimony - House Bill 386, Ohio Association of Community Colleges (February 12, 2020).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2020-02-12-econ-workforce-dev-testimony-oacchb386testimony-a41579760f/, SHA-256 29b96eec113b14b5277634a7d2fc18dca6fa749f4351ae706be5d465493ef661.

Full text

  Written Testimony to the House Economic & Workforce Development Committee
                                  on House Bill 386
                     The Commercial Truck Driver Student Aid Program
                                        February 12, 2020

       Chairman Zeltwanger, Vice Chair Powell, Ranking Member Sobecki and members of the
House Economic and Workforce Development Committee, the Ohio Association of Community
Colleges (OACC) is pleased to support House Bill 386, the Commercial Truck Driver Student Aid
Program, sponsored by Representatives Hoops and Sobecki.

        With truck driving academies and CDL short-term training programs throughout the
state, Ohio’s community colleges are on the front line of helping the trucking industry meet the
growing demand for trained drivers and we are pleased to join the Ohio Trucking Association in
advancing this commonsense proposal to meet the growing demand for trained drivers. HB
386 would create the Commercial Truck Driver Student Aid Program that provides a
combination of grant and loan opportunities for students enrolled in a certified commercial
truck driver’s license school. CDL training programs can usually be completed in 10 weeks or
less and lead directly to a job with a starting average salary of at least $40,000. Despite this,
our colleges know first-hand that prospective students often walk away from this promising
opportunity because they simply cannot afford it.

        Ohio’s community colleges and our business partners have long advocated that the
government should fully embrace the value that short-term certificates have in providing a
postsecondary pathway to a good paying job. Currently, students in short-term training
programs are not eligible to receive any assistance through the federal Pell Grants or the Ohio
College Opportunity Grant program. This is counterintuitive to sound workforce policy aimed
at addressing the skills gap and creates unnecessary barriers from pursing short-term training
programs that lead directly to good paying careers for many low or moderate-income
individuals and families.

        Many community college students are either working adults or are recently unemployed
or displaced workers, so their limited ability to pay for these courses is often a primary barrier
to pursing a CDL certificate. OACC believes that HB 386 is a smart and targeted approach to
helping individuals pursuing the career path by providing scholarship opportunities to them.

        The Commercial Truck Driver Student Aid Program is a smart investment that will help
deliver a critical need for one of Ohio’s most critical industries and assist more individuals take
the leap into this in-demand field. This bill will provide more opportunities for Ohioans to help
quickly move them into a self-sustaining career without the burden of taking on significant
student debt.

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