Proponent Testimony - Senate Bill 166 (Greg Edinger, Vanguard-Sentinel Career & Technology Center)

Summary

Greg Edinger, Superintendent of Vanguard-Sentinel Career & Technology Center, gives proponent testimony on Senate Bill 166 dated October 27, 2021, to the Ohio House Economic and Workforce Development Committee. The testimony is submitted on behalf of the district, the Ohio Association of Career Technical Superintendents (OACTS) and the Ohio Association for Career Technical Education (Ohio ACTE). It describes benefits including business incentives for work-based learning, access to driver education during the school day, and other career-technical provisions such as remote or online technical training and a community reinvestment act alignment for joint vocational school districts.

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                                         October 27, 2021

               Ohio House Economic and Workforce Development Committee
                            Senate Bill 166 Proponent Testimony
        Greg Edinger, Superintendent, Vanguard-Sentinel Career & Technology Center


         Chair Edwards, Vice Chair Powell, Ranking Member Upchurch, and Members of the Ohio
House Economic and Workforce Development Committee, thank you for the opportunity to
testify today in support of Senate Bill 166. My name is Greg Edinger, Superintendent of
Vanguard Sentinel Career and Technology Centers, and I submit this testimony on behalf of my
district, as well as the Ohio Association of Career Technical Superintendents (OACTS) and the
Ohio Association for Career Technical Education (Ohio ACTE).
        SB 166 will enhance career-technical education (CTE) and workforce development in the
State of Ohio. Vanguard Sentinel Career and Technology Centers have developed a blue print
for success where we have committed to a high standard of excellence, providing a
personalized, flexible and positive learning environment, creating a culture of innovation and
providing and facilitating community partnerships. Senate Bill 166 aligns with these goals and
will expand our ability to provide a learning environment that responds to individual student
success.
       I can describe certain specific benefits of the proposed legislation:

•   Business Incentives for Work-Based Learning: The importance of work-based learning
    experiences and the exposure these opportunities provide high school students cannot be
    overstated. Although a student’s ability to link his or her academic, technical and
    professional skills to a work site is enormously beneficial, we are currently finding that
    employers are sometimes hesitant to provide these opportunities for a variety of reasons.
    The incentives proposed in SB 166 should encourage more employers to develop WBL
    programs for students that are training for in-demand jobs. In addition to the financial
    incentives (tax credits; insurance protections, etc.), companies will quickly realize they are
    able to screen a targeted group of potential employees, which could possibly reduce their
    recruiting efforts and result in new long-term employees for them. This benefit to Ohio’s
    students—allowing them to embark on their career path as part of their underlying k-12
    education—is a core reason our Associations strongly support this bill.

•   Incentivize and Enhance Access to Driver’s Education: Unfortunately, an increasingly
    significant barrier to workforce development and technical training—whether at the high
    school or adult level—is a lack of access to transportation. Too often Ohio’s students
    literally cannot make it to the job or training site because they do not have a driver’s license
    and lack access to public transportation. As a joint vocational school district, we have
    encountered a growing number of students who do not have the financial means or
    opportunity to take the course and therefore don’t get their license. This alone can be a
    barrier to employment, so providing this opportunity during the school day will assist us in
    training students as the future workforce. SB 166 allows schools to utilize a portion of their
    career-technical education (weighted) funding to make a driver education course available
    to high school students—either independently or via a partnership with a separate entity.
    In addition, SB 166 allows students to receive credit and/or an industry credential for
    successful completion of a driver’s education course. These provisions will advance
    opportunities for so many of our students by increasing access to driver’s ed. and
    incentivizing students to get their license.

•   Additional CTE-related Provisions: Last, SB 166 contains other changes to state law that
    appear intended to advance career-tech, including provisions granting flexibility for our
    schools to continue offering remote / online technical training options to students; and
    provisions aligning the Community Reinvestment Act with other tax incentive programs to
    ensure JVSDs are included in the applicable PILOT. SB 166 will be a benefit to the state’s
    career centers and businesses alike.
       Thank you for the opportunity to share our perspective.


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