Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim February 2026 as Career and Technical Education Month in the State of New York

Assembly Resolution No. 1222

BY: M. of A. Tague

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        February 2026, as  Career  and  Technical  Education
        Month in the State of New York

  WHEREAS,  New  York State's commitment to education is unparalleled;
and

  WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize  and
pay  tribute to those organizations which are committed to enhancing the
quality of education in the State of New  York,  and  which  enable  our
schools  to  offer  excellent educational programs in the most efficient
manner; and

  WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and  in  full  accord  with  its
long-standing  traditions,  this  Legislative  Body  is  justly proud to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim February 2026,  as  Career
and Technical Education Month in the State of New York; and

  WHEREAS,  Career  and  Technical  Education (CTE) Month, is a public
awareness campaign that takes place each February to celebrate the value
of CTE and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE  programs  across
the country; and

  WHEREAS,  CTE  is  highly-specific,  highly-versatile  and  is truly
unique  from  traditional  educational  curriculum;  practice,  hands-on
experience,  and  application  tests  make  up the bulk of CTE, which is
important since CTE careers require workers to have experience in  their
field before starting a career; and

  WHEREAS,  CTE  is the practice of teaching specific career skills to
students in middle school, high school, and post-secondary institutions;
CTE  is  split  into  16  career  clusters  which  apply  to   different
high-demand   careers:   health   science;   business;  sales;  finance;
information technology;  science,  technology,  engineering,  and  math;
manufacturing;  logistics;  hospitality;  government;  law; agriculture;
human  services;  construction;   training;   and   arts,   audio/visual
technology, and communications; and

  WHEREAS,  Board  of  Cooperative  Educational  Services  (BOCES) are
public organizations that were created by the New York State Legislature
in 1948, to provide shared educational programs and services  to  school
districts; and

  WHEREAS,  Today,  BOCES offers its students hundreds of programs and
services designed to support the entire educational process; once a path
for those who were only seeking vocational skills, career and  technical
education  is now a pathway for students looking to build career skills,
get a start on their college education or  simply  learn  a  life  skill
which will allow them to pay for college; and

  WHEREAS,  More  than  70  percent of high school students who attend
BOCES' Career and Technical School  programs  pursue  higher  education,

while  many  others directly enter the workforce with a highly technical
skill set; and

  WHEREAS,   Our  Nation's  economy  is  booming,  and  Americans  are
thriving; to ensure our country's workforce  remains  the  best  in  the
world,  it  is  imperative we equip students and workers with the skills
necessary to fill the jobs our economy is creating at an incredible pace
and to enable them to reap the benefits of successful careers; and

  WHEREAS, CTE Month is a great time to recognize  and  celebrate  CTE
achievements  and  accomplishments  nationwide, and to draw attention to
the importance of career and technical education in building a  stronger
American workforce; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED,  That  this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim February 2026,  as  Career
and  Technical  Education  Month  in  the  State  of New York; and be it
further

  RESOLVED, That a copy of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted  to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.