Career Ready Act of 2015

Career Ready Act of 2015

Amends the school improvement program under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow states to include certain career readiness indicators in their determination as to whether students are making adequate yearly progress toward state academic performance standards.

Allows states to include on their annual report cards on student progress toward those standards:

• the number and percentage of their public secondary school students who attain state and local adjusted levels of career and technical education performance, as defined by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006;
• the number and percentage of their public secondary school students that attain a recognized postsecondary credential, as defined by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; and
• high school graduation, enrollment, remediation, persistence, and completion rates.

Requires local educational agencies awarded a grant for elementary and secondary school counseling programs under part D of title V of the ESEA to use the funds for additional activities that include:

• developing and implementing comprehensive school counseling programs that are aligned with their grant applications;
• identifying regional workforce trends, in collaboration with entities experienced in identifying such trends, and enabling school counselor programs at the secondary school level to access that data;
• training counselors to effectively provide labor market information to secondary school students;
• developing and implementing integrated, job-embedded, and ongoing professional development programs for educators who prepare students for postsecondary opportunities and careers; and
• developing personalized learning plans for each student that map a defined program of study based on the student's academic and career goals.