The Tennessee Business Roundtable joined the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) and the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry in expressing support for the legislative component of Governor Bill Lee’s first education improvement effort—the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) Initiative. Legislation to enact the GIVE Act (SB 805/HB 949), sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson and House Majority Leader William Lamberth, began moving in Tennessee General Assembly’s education committees this week.
In a letter to the Tennessee Senate Education Committee on March 6, the leaders of TBR, SCORE and the Tennessee Chamber hailed the GIVE Act as “a significant and needed investment to increase the number of young adults earning an industry certification and entering a career within one year of high school graduation.” The legislation expands access to vocational and technical training for Tennessee students by providing funding for high school juniors and seniors to utilize four, fully-funded dual enrollment credits for trade and technical programs.
“The Tennessee Business Roundtable is pleased to join our partners at SCORE and the Tennessee Chamber in raising our voices, as business community leaders and education innovation advocates, in support of Governor Lee’s GIVE Act,” said TBR President Pat Sheehy. “We agree with Governor Lee that it’s critically important to position Tennessee’s future workforce for success now by expanding our state’s vocational and technical offerings, with a view to helping more of our high school students discover quality career paths and gain skills with high workforce value,” he added.