Guided Pathways
Lexi Anderson, ECS Researcher
June 5, 2014
The following summary describes state legislative polices related to guided pathways which align with two action
items in the Lumina State Policy Agenda:
• Adopt Guided Pathways to Credentials
• Align K-12 Assessments, College Readiness Standards and Placement Exams
Guided Pathways can include degree maps or plans and support services from high schools, postsecondary
institutions or both. Accountability for high school graduation rates and postsecondary degree completion has
increased over the past three years. Between 2011 and 2014, 18 states have enacted, or attempted to enact,
legislation to create or expand guided pathways. These laws fall into two main categories: High school pathways
and postsecondary pathways. The chart below shows how these laws encourage student success.
High School Pathways
State
California
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
North Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Total
Career and
Degree Plan
Career and
Tech Ed
Counseling
2
Degree
Pathways
Postsecondary Pathways
Placement and
Support Services
1
Workforce Prep and
Development
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
7
3
2
1
8
3
High School Pathways
Career and Degree Plans
To increase college and career readiness, many states have enacted legislation that require or strengthen
individual career and degree plans.
2
•
Colorado adopted CCR 301-81 in 2011, as required from 2009 S.B. 256, which requires the State Board of
Education to establish career and academic planning standards. These standards are for Individual Career
and Academic Plans (ICAPs) including career planning, guidance and tracking component and a portfolio.
In 2012, Colorado enacted H.B. 1345 which requires individual degree plans for students beginning in the
9th grade. Schools must assist students to use the plan to direct course selection and performance
expectations in at least grades 9 through 12.
•
In 2012, Tennessee enacted S.B. 259, which requires interest inventories be administered to high school
juniors to assist students in career decisions.
•
Similar to Colorado, Utah defined the Student Education/Occupation plan (SEOP) in H.B. 389. Enacted in
2012, the legislation defines SEOP as a plan to guide a student in course selection and prepare a student
for postsecondary options. Utah also established the Utah Futures program through S.B. 34 which enables
student users to access their full academic record, postsecondary information, financial aid applications
and job applications all on one website. The Governor passed an executive order in 2011 calling for this
comprehensive website, which is administered and managed by the Utah Futures Steering Committee,
with S.B. 34 finally being enacted in 2014.
•
The goal of moving students into postsecondary education provided the need for Vermont’s S.B. 130,
enacted in 2013. This law creates the Flexible Pathways Initiative meant to promote opportunities for
students to achieve postsecondary readiness through a personalized learning process and flexible course
options.
Career and Technical Education
Several states have enacted career and technical education policies intended to prepare high school students for
postsecondary education and careers.
•
Georgia enacted H.B. 713 in 2012 which encourages career exploration in K-12. The law directs the state
board of education to prescribe a minimum course of study in career education for grades K-12 to include
career awareness, career exploration and career-orientated learning experiences.
•
Indiana offers a Career and Technical diploma and created a committee in 2014 to revise and update the
current diploma. House Bill 1213 creates a subcommittee, which includes representatives of high school
career and technical education programs, the department of education, community colleges, the
Commission for Higher Education and industry leaders. This committee will review the Core 40 diploma
offerings, make recommendations for changes, and examine and recommend career and technical
offerings.
•
In an effort to combine career and technical education with postsecondary credit, Maine enacted S.P. 506
(2013) which enables career and technical education students to earn college credits while in high school.
Counseling
While most of the legislation for high school pathways focuses on pathway options for postsecondary education
and careers, two states enacted laws intended to increase effective career and education counseling at the high
school level.
•
Maryland passed S.B. 740 in 2013 which developed a college and career counseling plan. This plan will
identify best practices used in the state and nationally for college and career counseling. The legislation
also includes recommendations for a competitive grant program that would be used to implement these
best practices across the state as well as recommendations for implementing the College Readiness
Outreach Program established under § 18-303.1.
•
Texas focused on training high school counselors when it enacted H.B. 642 in 2013. The law requires
transition training for high school counselors. It states that up to 25 percent of the training required every
five years for counselors include: instruction on assisting students in developing high school graduation
plans; implementing dropout prevention strategies; and informing students about college admissions
including financial aid resources, application procedures and career opportunities.
Postsecondary Pathways
Degree Pathways
Within the postsecondary arena, enacted legislation relates to pathways for students attending higher education
institutions.
• Florida and Mississippi both introduced bills meant to create meta-majors (i.e., fields of study) for degree
pathways. Senate Bill 1720 from Florida required the state board of education to approve a series of
meta-majors and academic pathways that identify entry-level gateway courses associated with each
major field of study. The law uses placement test results to determine students’ readiness for their own
meta-major. Mississippi’s H.B. 441 would have created meta-majors and academic pathways. The bill was
very similar to Florida’s, however it died in committee in February, 2014.
•
Indiana enacted two pieces of legislation aimed at helping students complete their degrees more
efficiently. Senate Bill 182 requires the Commission for Higher Education to create a common course
numbering system to allow smoother transfers between institutions. House Bill 1348 created degree
maps that are in an academic term-by-term sequence of course options to allow full-time students to
complete a Bachelor’s degree in four years or an associate degree in two years.
•
Some enacted legislation dealt with transfer policies and how they can increase the chance of a student’s
degree completion. Maryland passed H.B. 1215 in 2014, which created the Higher Education 2 + 2
Transfer Scholarship awarding scholarship dollars to community college students who have earned 60+
credits and plan to transfer to a four-year institution.
•
Michigan passed H.B. 5372 (2014) that encourages community colleges to engage in reverse transfer
agreements with public four-year institutions. The law also requires institutions to report the number of
credits earned by Michigan transfer students which were accepted or rejected at the receiving institution.
•
Similarly, Virginia enacted S.B. 449 in 2014 which requires that development of education guidelines for
articulation and dual/guaranteed admissions for students transferring from two-year institutions to fouryear institutions.
Placement and Support Services
Three of the guided pathway laws address how students are placed into courses in higher education institutions
and what support services are available to them during their college careers.
•
Under A.B. 743 from California, the community colleges are required to adopt a common assessment
system for placement and advising purposes. It also requires the development of a common collegereadiness standard collaborating with the department of education and the California State University
system.
•
Illinois passed a resolution in 2013 which creates a group to examine best practices in academic advising
within higher education institutions. House Resolution 296 required the group to catalog existing advising
and support programs and survey existing literature on effectiveness of similar programs.
•
Massachusetts revised their 1998 Common Assessment Policy in 2013 adopting policies that include
requirements for campuses to design and implement academic pathways in credit- bearing programs and
revising the content, sequencing and timeframe of developmental math offerings. The policy provides a
quicker pathway to a degree by enhancing the placement into and movement through the developmental
math track.
Workforce Preparation and Development
Along with an increase in discussions around career readiness and jobs after college, many states have and
probably will continue to introduce legislation regarding workforce preparation and development.
•
Under S.B. 38, Kentucky created links between postsecondary education and job needs. The law calls for
the establishment of career pathways and academies to increase alignment between postsecondary
requirements and business and industry needs.
•
North Carolina passed H.B. 950 in 2012 which creates pathways for students without high school
diplomas to earn a degree. The Gateway to College Program, which is categorized as a Career and College
pathway pilot program, provides high school and college technical education courses for students who did
not complete high school.
State Policy Citations
State
California
Colorado
Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Indiana
Indiana
Kentucky
Bill Title & Brief Description
A.B. 743 (2011)
Creates common assessment system for community colleges
1 CCR 301-81 (2011)
Establishes career and academic planning standards
H.B. 1345 (2012)
Requires individual plans beginning in 9th grade
S.B. 1720, Section 19 (2013)
Creates meta-majors for degree pathways
H.B. 713 (2012)
Encourages career exploration in K-12
H.R. 296 (2013)
Creates a group to examine best practices in advising in higher education
H.B. 1213 (2014)
Appoints subcommittee for career and technical diploma revision
S.B. 182 (2012)
Creates a common course numbering system
H.B. 1348 (2013)
Creates degree maps for students to complete their degree
S.B. 38 (2012)
Creates links between postsecondary education and job needs
Maine
Maryland
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
North Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Utah
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
S.P. 506 (2013)
Creates dual enrollment pathways to college credentials
H.B. 1215 (2014)
Creates the 2 + 2 Higher Education Transfer Scholarship
S.B. 740 (2013)
Develops a college and career counseling plan
Chapter 15A, Sections 6, 9c, 9u and 32 (2013)
Revises the Common Assessment Policy for developmental math
H.B. 5372 (2014)
Requires longitudinal data, reverse transfer agreements
H.B. 441 (Died 2014)
Creates meta-majors and academic pathways
H.B. 950 (2012)
Creates pathway for students without a high school diploma
S.B. 2591 (2012)
Requires interest inventories for high school students
H.B. 642(2013)
Requires transitions training for high school counselors
Executive Order from the Governor (2011)
Calls for evaluation of Utah Futures career planning site
S.B. 34, Part III (2014)
Establishes Utah Futures program
H.B. 389 (2012)
Defines student education and occupation plans
S.B. 130 (2013)
Encourages flexible pathways to high school completion
S.B. 449 (2014)
Develops guidelines for articulation & dual/guaranteed admissions
The Education Commission of the States is a Lumina Foundation state policy partner contributing information and
resources to Strategy Labs on recently enacted and pending state legislation and executive action.
Strategy Labs are an open platform for leaders and influencers in all 50 states to come together to share research,
data and professional experiences to advance Goal 2025. That goal is to increase the number of Americans with
high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by the year 2025. The Strategy Labs enable
Lumina Foundation to connect and collaborate with state and system-level policymakers and higher education
leaders to advance the State Policy Agenda and to focus on increased educational attainment.
Sarah Pingel, ECS Researcher and Mary Fulton, ECS Policy Analyst contributed to this report.
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