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Yes. Perkins programs often have that broader characteristic (industry sector alignment), and may lend themselves to ICP designation. Note – to report a student as ICP, the program must have achieved final designation.
No. A student cannot complete more than one ICP program. Students may take courses in other available ICP pathways in their school, if they desire, but they can only complete one Innovation Career Pathway. Note – to report a student as ICP in SIMS, you must select the appropriate industry sector code for each student enrolled, as reflected in the LEA designation.
Yes.
Students should be coded for IRCs only when they have completed them, not while they are working on earning them.
A goal of Innovation Career Pathways is closing opportunity gaps for underrepresented students, including students of color, across the Commonwealth. Equitable Access is a guiding principle for ICP and there is an expectation that youth from historically underrepresented and underserved populations will be prioritized and supported in these pathways.
There is an annual reporting limit of three credentials per student. In practice, students should be encouraged to complete as many as appropriate for their program of study.
While there is no enrollment minimum/maximum from each school, partners should consider cohort size with respect to cost-effectiveness and sustainability.
Equity must be considered from three dimensions – access (recruitment, outreach, communications), engagement (removal of barriers to full participation, inclusive structures and culture) and retention (support, relationships, and college/career linkages). CCE’s Building for Equity School Self-Assessment tool can help schools determine where they have strengths and where they need to grow to support all students and those in Innovation Career Pathways specifically. More equity-focused resources are available within the library of resources.
Enrollment must be open to all students, irrespective of prior academic performance; and if the program is overenrolled, participation must be determined by lottery. Enrollment must be of “significant scale” relative to the school/district size. Moreover, in order to ensure equitable access, schools must ensure that students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds are proactively and strategically recruited to apply.
Programs should be designed to reach populations that are in need, including students with disabilities. Programs should take care in coordinating students’ IEPs and transition plans within program services. Students with cognitive or intellectual disabilities who may not be on track to a high school diploma should still be able to participate in program services.
Innovation Career Pathways programs prioritize students underrepresented in higher education and high skill/high demand industries – low-income students, students of color, English language learners, students with disabilities and potential first-generation college-goers. The program should be designed and structured to recruit these students and eliminate barriers to their participation. An analysis of the demographics of the school’s pathway(s) should reveal that enrollment in the designated Innovation Career Pathway(s) “mirrors” the demographics of the overall school population.
Should student applications exceed program capacity, participation in an Innovation Career Pathway should be determined by a lottery. DESE recommends holding a single lottery for each grade for which applications were accepted. Seats can be either manually drawn or electronically determined. Drawing by numbers which have been assigned to each application, rather than drawing by individual student names, is recommended to ensure the privacy of student information.
Yes, students with disabilities are included. Applicants are asked to describe how they will be recruiting and supporting under-represented students, such as SWD. For programs seeking to effectively support students with disabilities in the context of ICP and postsecondary pathways more broadly, consider reaching out to the MA Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment initiative.
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