Curriculum instruction concerning career awareness; career planning and coaching standards; criteria for career awareness course; online learning modules

Sec. 24. (a) Beginning July 1, 2024, each school corporation, charter school, and state accredited nonpublic school shall include in its curriculum instruction for all students concerning career awareness. (b) Not later than December 31, 2023, the state board, in cooperation with the commission for higher education, must create career planning and coaching standards for the course described in subsection (a). The state board, in cooperation with the commission for higher education, shall create criteria for a career awareness course that includes instruction on: (1) career awareness regarding a broad range of occupations with an emphasis on high wage, high demand industry sectors; (2) career pathways concerning current and emerging sectors including relevant education and training; (3) career scholarship accounts and the availability of state financial aid and funding; and (4) individualized career planning for each student. (c) The department, in cooperation with the commission for higher education, shall develop a series of on-demand, online learning modules that may be integrated into the course described in subsection (a). The modules must include content on: (1) Indiana's priority job sectors and their career pathways, funding options, and career planning; and (2) the availability of career navigation resources from intermediaries and in-school sources. (d) Beginning in 2030, for each school described in subsection (a), instruction on career awareness must be completed by the end of grade 9.