Rule 47 Career Academy Internships
In 2012, the Nebraska Unicameral passed legislation requiring the Nebraska Department of Education to establish quality standards and operational guidelines for career academy programs in Nebraska secondary schools. The intent is to ensure quality career academy programs across the state and to establish an evaluative process to measure effectiveness of career academies.
These regulations, often referred to as Rule 47, define a career academy program as:
A sequence of credit-bearing academic and career technical courses which reflect a Career Cluster selected in response to local, regional or state employment needs and demand for expertise.
In developing Rule 47, the Nebraska Department of Education researched best practices from across the nation. In addition, the requirements addressed in Rule 47 are based on the work of the National Career Academy Coalition and their National Standards of Practice. Rule 47 does require the Career Academy to conduct work-based learning that includes but is not limited to:
- Internships or workplace experiences
- Apprenticeships
- Job Shadow
- Interactions with business and industry
Purpose/Objective: Career Exploration/Development
Career academies are designed to prepare students for both college and careers. They are schools within schools that link students with peers, teachers, and community partners in a structured environment that fosters academic success. Integrating workplace experiences into the career academy provides the needed real-world application of the academic and technical knowledge and skill gained through the academy program.
Nebraska Career Academy Resources
This guide explains the many different types of workplace experiences that can be implemented in a Rule 47 Approved Career Academy program.
