ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5327

BySenate Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Wellman, Zeiger, Keiser, Palumbo, Hunt, Rivers, Hawkins, Warnick, Carlyle, Conway, Dhingra, Frockt, Kuderer, Saldaña, and Wagoner; by request of Office of the Governor)

AN ACT Relating to expanding career connected learning opportunities; amending RCW 28C.18.060; adding a new section to chapter 28B.10 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28A.700 RCW; and adding a new chapter to Title 28C RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

(2) The legislature intends to scale up high-quality career connected learning opportunities that address persistent educational opportunity gaps and meet the talent needs of employers. Through career connected learning opportunities that are available across communities and regions, individuals can advance their academic learning and build awareness of, exposure to, and preparation for, career opportunities.

(3) In order to create a statewide, sustainable career connected learning system, three areas must be addressed:

(a) Statewide system development through cross-sector coordination;

(b) Directing resources to K-12 and higher education partners to support enrollment in career launch and registered apprenticeship programs and other career connected learning opportunities; and

(c) Support for regional leadership and coordination to facilitate connections between industry and education, implement career connected learning programs, and help young adults and employers to navigate these opportunities.

(2) The purpose of the work group is to coordinate agency functions and external partnerships and carry out the duties and responsibilities set forth in section 3 of this act.

(3) The governor shall select the chair of the work group.

(4) The governor's office may consult or contract with entities with expertise in industry and education partnerships to provide staffing support and guidance on industry talent needs. The governor's office may convene additional ad hoc committees that include industry sector advisory groups and leaders including, but not limited to, high-level representatives from education, industry, philanthropy, as well as students, parents, and community partners.

(5) The work group must consist of, but is not limited to, representatives from the following offices and agencies:

(a) The department of labor and industries in consultation with the regulatory apprenticeship council under RCW 49.04.010;

(b) The department of social and health services, including the division of vocational rehabilitation;

(c) The education research and data center at the office of financial management;

(d) The employment security department;

(e) The office of the superintendent of public instruction;

(f) The state board of education;

(g) The state board for community and technical colleges;

(h) The student achievement council;

(i) The workforce training and education coordinating board;

(j) One representative of the public baccalaureate institutions;

(k) One representative of the independent four-year institutions of higher education;

(l) The office of the lieutenant governor;

(m) One representative from an organization representing the trades involved in the construction industry;

(n) One representative from a business involved in the construction industry; and

(o) The office of the governor.

(6) The office of the governor may establish subcommittees of the work group to plan and execute the duties and responsibilities under section 3 of this act.

(7) The work group shall:

(a) Meet at least six times during the calendar year; and

(b) Report progress to the governor and appropriate committees of the legislature by September 1st annually.

(1) Advance and promote the career connect Washington vision to create a statewide system for career connected learning and the need for joint action as follows:

(a) Create, and periodically update, clear guidance for endorsing career launch programs to guide quality assurance for the purpose of expanding enrollments by August 1, 2019. Registered apprenticeships as approved by the Washington apprenticeship and training council at the department of labor and industries are considered endorsed career launch programs;

(b) Prioritize activities including coordinating cross-agency and industry sector leadership to advance strategic priorities;

(c) Implement a marketing and communications agenda;

(d) Mobilize private sector and philanthropic leadership and resources to support system building;

(e) Build systemic functions in key agencies and existing systems;

(f) Create a statewide inventory that identifies existing support programs to promote equitable participation in career connected learning, including resources for populations to reengage with educational opportunities;

(g) Develop web sites and other resources, and coordinate current resources managed by the workforce training and education coordinating board, the student achievement council, and the employment security department, to inform students, employers, and the public about career connected learning opportunities;

(h) Develop financial and other support services to increase access and success in career connected learning for students facing barriers or living in underserved communities;

(i) Address transfer and articulation issues to ensure career launch program participants receive high school and college credit in programs initiated in K-12 or dropout reengagement programs, or college credit in postsecondary programs and registered apprenticeships, and work to expand the portability of credits to the maximum extent possible;

(j) With respect to the portability of credit for the purposes of postsecondary degree attainment, coordinate when appropriate with the complete Washington program;

(k) Establish clear targets for equity to guide state data development and action by regional partners related to program design and expansion, including specific equity-focused criteria within grant funding processes and strategies; and

(l) Develop data systems and protocols for career connected learning planning and evaluation purposes;

(2) By September 1, 2019, and by each September 1st thereafter, make budget recommendations to the office of financial management, to direct resources to education programs for career connected learning as follows:

(a) Support the K-12 system and the office of the superintendent of public instruction to increase student participation in career connected learning programs that include career awareness and exploration, career preparation, and career launch;

(b) Support expansion of innovative program design in registered apprenticeships, year-round and summer programs, and equitable access to dual credit;

(c) Support two-year and four-year institutions of higher education to expand career connected learning enrollments, and specifically:

(i) Build capacity at community and technical colleges to support innovative design in career launch and registered apprenticeship programs, as well as program participation by high school graduates or out-of-school youth;

(ii) Align the use of work-study to support career launch and registered apprenticeship programs; and

(iii) Clarify financial aid eligibility and exclusions from financial aid caps for career launch and registered apprenticeship programs;

(d) Promote innovation in equivalency and credentialing within endorsed career launch and registered apprenticeship programs including, but not limited to, offering guidance and technical assistance to school districts and local education agencies to ensure students take advantage of flexibility in the twenty-four-credit diploma and earn high school credit for career launch and registered apprenticeship programs;

(e) Expand the number of portable credits and credit for prior learning to ensure that career launch programs transfer for high school or college credit to the maximum extent possible; and

(f) Support the registered apprenticeship system and the department of labor and industries to build capacity to expand registered apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs;

(3) Support regional leadership, program intermediaries, and career connected learning navigation and coordination to expand participation in career connected learning opportunities and the implementation of the career connected learning grant program established in section 5 of this act;

(4) Support the formation and operation of regional networks in both rural and urban areas to guide career connected learning opportunities that are both tailored to the local needs of students and employers, and designed for portable credentials across education settings and across an industry;

(5) Develop a data enclave for career connected learning to measure progress and ensure equity of opportunity for career connected learning, led by the education research and data center at the office of financial management, as follows:

(a) Develop program codes for career connected learning opportunities in K-12 and postsecondary education in order to track those programs that are designated as career connected learning programs for each of the three categories set forth in the definition of "career connected learning" in section 6 of this act; and

(b) Collect and disaggregate program participation and outcomes data by race, gender, income, rurality, ability, foster youth, homeless youth, English language learner, and other relevant categories.

(2) The purpose of the career connected learning grant program is to create career connected learning opportunities, including career awareness and exploration, career preparation, and career launch programs, that are both tailored to the local needs of students and employers and designed so that students may receive high school or college credit across industries and regions of the state to the maximum extent possible. The program funds shall be used for two overarching purposes:

(a) Support regional career connected learning networks in both rural and urban areas under subsection (3) of this section; and

(b) Support career connected learning program intermediaries working within and across regions who partner with multiple employers, labor partners, and educational institutions, work with K-12 and postsecondary career representatives to develop curricula for new and innovative programs, and scale existing career awareness and exploration, career preparation, and endorsed career launch programs.

(3) The program administrator shall consult with the governor's office to develop a formal request for proposal for both the regional career connected learning networks and the program intermediaries.

(4)(a) Proposals for regional career connected learning networks and intermediaries may be sought from applicants within the geographic areas of the nine educational service districts. Successful applicants shall convene and manage regional, cross-industry networks that will lead to the expansion of career connected learning opportunities.

(b) Regional career connected learning network applicants must demonstrate regional knowledge and status as a trusted partner of industry and education stakeholders, a track record of success with career connected learning and aligned initiatives, and a commitment to equity. Regional networks may include, but are not limited to, regional education networks, school districts, educational service districts, higher education institutions, workforce development councils, chambers of commerce, industry associations, joint labor management councils, multiemployer training partnerships, economic development councils, and nonprofit organizations.

(5)(a) Funds provided to program intermediaries are for the purpose of creating career connected learning programs through a competitive grant process.

(b) Program intermediaries shall work with regional networks, career connected learning coordinators, and industry and education partners to expand the use of current curricula or further develop or build new curricula for career connected learning programs. Curricula built with public funds for career connected learning programs is open source curricula.

(c) Eligible program intermediary applicants may include, but are not limited to, new or existing industry associations, joint labor management councils, regional networks, postsecondary education and training institutions working with multiple employer partners, state agencies, and other community-based organizations and expanded learning partners.

(6) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the employment security department, as the administrator of the program, has the authority to utilize funds deposited in the career connected learning account for the purposes of the program.

(1) "Career awareness and exploration" means programs, activities, and events that provide early exposure to jobs and industries. "Career awareness and exploration" are structured programs that include job fairs, guest speakers, job shadows, job site tours, and other similar activities.

(2) "Career connected learning" means a learning experience that is integrated with work-related content and skills in the following three categories: (a) Career awareness and exploration; (b) career preparation; and (c) career launch.

(3)(a) "Career launch programs" means registered apprenticeships and programs that combine the following three elements:

(i) Supervised paid work experience;

(ii) Aligned classroom learning to academic and employer standards; and

(iii) Culmination in a valuable credential beyond a high school diploma or forty-five college credits towards a two-year or four-year postsecondary credential.

(b) "Career launch programs" include the elements in (a) of this subsection andmay be achieved through, but are not limited to one or more of the following:

(i) A state approved career and technical education sequence of courses or program of study that include requirements in alignment with RCW 28A.700.030;

(ii) A qualifying degree or credential earned through a community or technical college or university.

(c) "Career launch programs" may be initiated in a secondary education system and completed in a postsecondary education system, or first year of paid employment, as long as all parties jointly plan the program.

(d) "Career launch programs" must be endorsed through the process under section 3(1)(a) of this act.

(e) "Career launch programs" must include programs that would prepare a person for a career in the trades involved in the construction industry.

(4) "Career preparation programs" means programs that give students hands-on skills and knowledge experience within a particular business, career track, or industry, and help prepare students to work in a professional setting. "Career preparation programs" include career and technical education courses, on-site internships, preapprenticeship programs, and other similar opportunities.

(5) "Complete Washington program" means the program established in the 2018 omnibus appropriations act, section 117, chapter 299, Laws of 2018, for the purpose of connecting prior learning with postsecondary degree completion.

(6) "Work group" means the career connected learning cross-agency work group established in section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 28B.10 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the state board for community and technical colleges, the state universities, the regional universities, and the state college shall employ career connected learning coordinators. Career connected learning coordinators shall coordinate with the regional career connected learning networks and program intermediaries under section 5 of this act to expand career connected learning preparation and career launch programs offered at community and technical colleges, and to facilitate transfer of career launch program credits.

(2) Career connected learning coordinators shall:

(a) Engage faculty and other relevant institution leadership and staff for the purpose of working with regional networks and program intermediaries to create new career preparation and career launch program curricula and opportunities, scaling current programs, and facilitating the endorsement of career launch programs; and

(b) Work with appropriate faculty and staff at the state universities, the regional universities, and the state college, and K-12 education representatives, to expand the number of career launch program credits that may be articulated and transferred to postsecondary degree programs.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 28A.700 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Beginning in the 2019-20 school year, to allow students to engage in learning outside of the school day or in a summer program, school districts shall be funded up to one and two-tenths full-time equivalents for career launch programs, as defined in section 6 of this act. The requirement to provide funding up to one and two-tenths full-time equivalents for career launch programs is subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose.

(2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall develop procedures to ensure that school districts do not report any student for more than one and two-tenths full-time equivalent students, combining both the student's high school enrollment and career launch enrollment.

Sec. 11. RCW 28C.18.060 and 2017 c 39 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

The board, in cooperation with the operating agencies of the state training system and private career schools and colleges, shall:

(1) Concentrate its major efforts on planning, coordination evaluation, policy analysis, and recommending improvements to the state's training system;

(2) Advocate for the state training system and for meeting the needs of employers and the workforce for workforce education and training;

(3) Establish and maintain an inventory of the programs of the state training system, and related state programs, and perform a biennial assessment of the vocational education, training, and adult basic education and literacy needs of the state; identify ongoing and strategic education needs; and assess the extent to which employment, training, vocational and basic education, rehabilitation services, and public assistance services represent a consistent, integrated approach to meet such needs;

(4) Develop and maintain a state comprehensive plan for workforce training and education, including but not limited to, goals, objectives, and priorities for the state training system, and review the state training system for consistency with the state comprehensive plan. In developing the state comprehensive plan for workforce training and education, the board shall use, but shall not be limited to: Economic, labor market, and populations trends reports in office of financial management forecasts; joint office of financial management and employment security department labor force, industry employment, and occupational forecasts; the results of scientifically based outcome, net-impact and cost-benefit evaluations; the needs of employers as evidenced in formal employer surveys and other employer input; and the needs of program participants and workers as evidenced in formal surveys and other input from program participants and the labor community;

(5) In consultation with the student achievement council, review and make recommendations to the office of financial management and the legislature on operating and capital facilities budget requests for operating agencies of the state training system for purposes of consistency with the state comprehensive plan for workforce training and education;

(6) Provide for coordination among the different operating agencies and components of the state training system at the state level and at the regional level;

(7) Develop a consistent and reliable database on vocational education enrollments, costs, program activities, and job placements from publicly funded vocational education programs in this state;

(8)(a) Establish standards for data collection and maintenance for the operating agencies of the state training system in a format that is accessible to use by the board. The board shall require a minimum of common core data to be collected by each operating agency of the state training system;

(b) Develop requirements for minimum common core data in consultation with the office of financial management and the operating agencies of the training system;

(9) Establish minimum standards for program evaluation for the operating agencies of the state training system, including, but not limited to, the use of common survey instruments and procedures for measuring perceptions of program participants and employers of program participants, and monitor such program evaluation;

(10) Every two years administer scientifically based outcome evaluations of the state training system, including, but not limited to, surveys of program participants, surveys of employers of program participants, and matches with employment security department payroll and wage files. Every five years administer scientifically based net-impact and cost-benefit evaluations of the state training system;

(11) In cooperation with the employment security department, provide for the improvement and maintenance of quality and utility in occupational information and forecasts for use in training system planning and evaluation. Improvements shall include, but not be limited to, development of state-based occupational change factors involving input by employers and employees, and delineation of skill and training requirements by education level associated with current and forecasted occupations;

(12) Provide for the development of common course description formats, common reporting requirements, and common definitions for operating agencies of the training system;

(13) Provide for effectiveness and efficiency reviews of the state training system;

(14) In cooperation with the student achievement council, facilitate transfer of credit policies and agreements between institutions of the state training system, and encourage articulation agreements for programs encompassing two years of secondary workforce education and two years of postsecondary workforce education;

(15) In cooperation with the student achievement council, facilitate transfer of credit policies and agreements between private training institutions and institutions of the state training system;

(16) Develop policy objectives for the workforce innovation and opportunity act, P.L. 113-128, or its successor; develop coordination criteria for activities under the act with related programs and services provided by state and local education and training agencies; and ensure that entrepreneurial training opportunities are available through programs of each local workforce development board in the state;

(17) Ensure that the expansion of K-12 and postsecondary opportunities for career connected learning, as defined in section 6 of this act, is incorporated into the state plan adopted for the purposes of the Carl D. Perkins career and technical education improvement act, P.L. 109-270;

(18) Make recommendations to the commission of student assessment, the state board of education, and the superintendent of public instruction, concerning basic skill competencies and essential core competencies for K-12 education. Basic skills for this purpose shall be reading, writing, computation, speaking, and critical thinking, essential core competencies for this purpose shall be English, math, science/technology, history, geography, and critical thinking. The board shall monitor the development of and provide advice concerning secondary curriculum which integrates vocational and academic education;

(((18)))(19) Establish and administer programs for marketing and outreach to businesses and potential program participants;

(((19)))(20) Facilitate the location of support services, including but not limited to, child care, financial aid, career counseling, and job placement services, for students and trainees at institutions in the state training system, and advocate for support services for trainees and students in the state training system;

(((20)))(21) Facilitate private sector assistance for the state training system, including but not limited to: Financial assistance, rotation of private and public personnel, and vocational counseling;

(((21)))(22) Facilitate the development of programs for school-to-work transition that combine classroom education and on-the-job training, including entrepreneurial education and training, in industries and occupations without a significant number of apprenticeship programs;

(((22)))(23) Include in the planning requirements for local workforce development boards a requirement that the local workforce development boards specify how entrepreneurial training is to be offered through the one-stop system required under the workforce innovation and opportunity act, P.L. 113-128, or its successor;

(((23)))(24) Encourage and assess progress for the equitable representation of racial and ethnic minorities, women, and people with disabilities among the students, teachers, and administrators of the state training system. Equitable, for this purpose, shall mean substantially proportional to their percentage of the state population in the geographic area served. This function of the board shall in no way lessen more stringent state or federal requirements for representation of racial and ethnic minorities, women, and people with disabilities;

(((24)))(25) Participate in the planning and policy development of governor set-aside grants under P.L. 97-300, as amended;

(((25)))(26) Administer veterans' programs, licensure of private vocational schools, the job skills program, and the Washington award for vocational excellence;

(((26)))(27) Allocate funding from the state job training trust fund;

(((27)))(28) Work with the director of commerce to ensure coordination among workforce training priorities and economic development and entrepreneurial development efforts, including but not limited to assistance to industry clusters;

(((28)))(29) Conduct research into workforce development programs designed to reduce the high unemployment rate among young people between approximately eighteen and twenty-four years of age. In consultation with the operating agencies, the board shall advise the governor and legislature on policies and programs to alleviate the high unemployment rate among young people. The research shall include disaggregated demographic information and, to the extent possible, income data for adult youth. The research shall also include a comparison of the effectiveness of programs examined as a part of the research conducted in this subsection in relation to the public investment made in these programs in reducing unemployment of young adults. The board shall report to the appropriate committees of the legislature by November 15, 2008, and every two years thereafter. Where possible, the data reported to the legislative committees should be reported in numbers and in percentages;

(((29)))(30) Adopt rules as necessary to implement this chapter.

The board may delegate to the director any of the functions of this section.

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