Narrative: c. 1. C.

Local and state level planning are designed around the seven guiding principles that are instrumental in moving CTE forward in Minnesota under Perkins IV and these principles apply to all students, including those in special population groups. The local application addresses Service to Special Populations explicitly as a separate goal. The strategies addressed include:

Diversity Planning: Aligning of the state Perkins plan with other departmental strategic planning, e.g., Office of Equity and Inclusion strategic planning and OCC strategic planning related to access and opportunity. Beginning collaborative strategies between Perkins stakeholders and other community providers allows for a more streamlined and effective transition of learning for the students (e.g. Project C - Connecting Youth to Communities and Careers at www.c3online.org). Counseling services at both the secondary and postsecondary settings should be aligned to assist students in special populations with access, accommodations and appropriate support services that will allow the student to have smoother transitions and a better chance for academic and career success.

Proactive Advising: Utilizing early and proactive advisory techniques, through which secondary and postsecondary students will be provided the opportunity to develop a career development plan that will be reviewed each year. The plan will include the five transition areas addressed at each individual educational program (IEP) team meeting. Excluding recreation, the other four areas are addressed below:

• Employment - A specific sequential series of courses and experiences provide the high school learner the opportunity to enhance their knowledge about the world of work and develop baseline assessment of skills and abilities. The creation of Programs of Study and Career Pathways allows the student to obtain some of these skills in a pathway that includes postsecondary and/or job preparation training. Exposing all special population learners earlier to careers establishes the opportunity for students to obtain knowledge about nontraditional careers.
• Postsecondary Education and Training - The alignment of Programs of Study with secondary and postsecondary institutions allows students a more systematic approach to identifying appropriate career pathways. Earlier recognition of insufficient skill levels necessary for postsecondary education gives the student learner time to enhance these skills at the secondary level rather than take remedial course work in the postsecondary setting.
• Counseling Services: Services that create an alignment for secondary to postsecondary transitions include:

1. Minnesota statewide Programs of Study electronic tool.
2. GPS Lifeplan, an electronic tool which is being replicated among colleges and utilized by some secondary school districts.
3. Six-Year Plan electronic portfolio developed by St. Paul Public Schools, which connects secondary education plans to postsecondary education planning.
4. C3 - Connecting Youth to Community and Careers Project allows a vehicle for student learners, parents, and school counselors to assist with the identification of appropriate services and agencies that provide transition services to special needs student learners.
5. Campus to Careers, a vehicle to allow students with disabilities to enhance their career development through career exploration and hands-on activities in STEM and health science technology fields.

• Implementation of career and technical education programs specifically designed for students with disabilities only where such intervention is required under the individual educational program (IEP). Support is provided for these specially-designed career and technical education programs using state transition-disabled funds.

Both the Office of the Chancellor and Minnesota Department of Education are using Perkins leadership funds to target special population groups in several ways and these include:

• Using Electronic Career Guidance Tools for Raising Interest in nontraditional Careers: The purpose of the project is to encourage young students to explore electronic resources by using the internet resources to research more useful information about career options available in nontraditional careers. The end result will be the creation of a white paper report based on student feedback of existing electronic tools that can be utilized as guidelines for focusing interest in nontraditional careers throughout hte Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.
• MindQuest Academy: Specifically targets adults identified as academically disadvantaged and/or having limited English proficiency. A new educational service delivery model that helps these adults successfully make the transition to college has been developed and implemented at a community college. The aim of the project is to provide college preparatory services through a mix of online and classroom approaches with open access to assessment, educational planning, counseling, and instruction. The college provides on-campus classroom space and computer technology with teachers from Adult Basic Education (ABE) instructing the adult learners using the interactive MindQuest Academy online college prep curriculum. This delivery model gives MnSCU and ABE programs a new opportunity to work together collaboratively to create a seamless path into postsecondary education for adult at-risk learners.
• Customizing the American Career Parent Resource Guide for Minnesota: Producing easy-to-understand information for parents and their high school students about nontraditional career options. Additionally, the magazine, through a special four-page insert, has been customized for Minnesota to highlight key industries and occupations, specifically those that are in high demand.

Equity training for improving recruitment and retention of special population students. In collaboration with various partners including the MnSCU Office of Diversity and Multiculturalism and college partners, Minnesota will develop and deliver equity-focused training that addresses targeted needs in Minnesota. The training will continue to target special populations through professional development with teachers, faculty and administrators through:

1. training on equity issues that will provide for more inclusive teaching approaches; and
2. provide training workshops to address student achievement through gender equity.

Minnesota has made substantial efforts in meeting the needs of special populations using some of the strategies outlined above. Both at the secondary level, but particularly at the postsecondary level, it has to be underscored that collecting data on special population groups is challenging given that information gathered from students is based on self-identification. Nevertheless, both the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system have developed methods to identify the special population groups within their normal data collection process.