5992-S

AN ACT Relating to the work force training and education coordinating board; amending RCW 28C.18.050; adding new sections to chapter 28C.18 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature continues to recognize the vital role that work force development efforts play in equipping the state's workers with the skills they need to succeed in an economy that requires higher levels of skill and knowledge. The legislature also recognizes that businesses are increasingly relying on the state's work force development programs and expect them to be responsive to their changing skill requirements. The state benefits from a work force development system that allows firms and workers to be highly competitive in global markets.

(2) The establishment of the work force training and education coordinating board was an integral step in developing a strategic approach to work force development. For the coordinating board to carry out its intended role, the board must be able to give unambiguous guidance to operating agencies, the governor, and the legislature. It is the intent of this act to clarify the preeminent role intended for the work force training and education coordinating board in coordination and policy development of the state's work force development efforts.

For purposes of sections 2 and 4 through 6 of this act, the term "program" shall not refer to the activities of individual institutions such as individual community or technical colleges, common schools, service delivery areas, or job service centers; nor shall it refer to individual fields of study or courses.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The state comprehensive plan for work force training and education shall be updated every two years and presented to the governor and the appropriate legislative policy committees. Following public hearings, the legislature shall, by concurrent resolution, approve or recommend changes to the initial plan and the updates. The plan shall then become the state's work force training policy unless legislation is enacted to alter the policies set forth in the plan.

(2) The comprehensive plan shall include work force training role and mission statements for the work force development programs of operating agencies represented on the board and sufficient specificity regarding expected actions by the operating agencies to allow them to carry out actions consistent with the comprehensive plan.

(3) Operating agencies represented on the board shall have operating plans for their work force development efforts that are consistent with the comprehensive plan and that provide detail on implementation steps they will take to carry out their responsibilities under the plan. Each operating agency represented on the board shall provide an annual progress report to the board.

(4) The comprehensive plan shall include recommendations to the legislature and the governor on the modification, consolidation, initiation, or elimination of work force training and education programs in the state.

(5) The board shall report to the appropriate legislative policy committees by December 1 of each year on its progress in implementing the comprehensive plan and on the progress of the operating agencies in meeting their obligations under the plan.

Sec. 3. RCW 28C.18.050 and 1991 c 238 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The board shall be designated as the state board of vocational education as provided for in P.L. 98‑524, as amended, and shall perform such functions as is necessary to comply with federal directives pertaining to the provisions of such law.

(2) The board shall perform the functions of the human resource investment council as provided for in the federal job training partnership act, P.L. 97-300, as amended.

(3) The board shall provide policy advice for any federal act pertaining to work force development that is not required by state or federal law to be provided by another state body.

(4) Upon enactment of new federal initiatives relating to work force development, the board shall advise the governor and the legislature on mechanisms for integrating the federal initiatives into the state's work force development system and make recommendations on the legislative or administrative measures necessary to streamline and coordinate state efforts to meet federal guidelines.

(5) The board shall monitor for consistency with the state comprehensive plan for work force training and education the policies and plans established by the state job training coordinating council, the advisory council on adult education, and the Washington state plan for adult basic education, and provide guidance for making such policies and plans consistent with the state comprehensive plan for work force training and education.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The board shall specify, by July 1, 1995, the common core data to be collected by the operating agencies of the state training system and the standards for data collection and maintenance required in RCW 28C.18.060(8).

(2) The minimum standards for program evaluation by operating agencies required in RCW 28C.18.060(9) shall include biennial program evaluations; the first of such evaluations shall be completed by the operating agencies July 1, 1996. The program evaluation of adult basic skills education shall be provided by the advisory council on adult education.

(3) The board shall complete, by January 1, 1996, its first outcome-based evaluation and, by September 1, 1996, its nonexperimental net-impact and cost-benefit evaluations of the training system. The outcome, net-impact, and cost-benefit evaluations shall for the first evaluations, include evaluations of each of the following programs: Secondary vocational-technical education, work-related adult basic skills education, postsecondary work force training, job training partnership act titles II and III, as well as of the system as a whole.

(4) The board shall use the results of its outcome, net-impact, and cost-benefit evaluations to develop and make recommendations to the legislature and the governor for the modification, consolidation, initiation, or elimination of work force training and education programs in the state.

The board shall perform the requirements of this section in cooperation with the operating agencies.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The board shall, by January 1, 1996, and biennially thereafter: (1) Assess the total demand for training from the perspective of workers, and from the perspective of employers; (2) assess the available supply of publicly and privately provided training which workers and employers are demanding; (3) assess the costs to the state of meeting the demand; and (4) present the legislature and the governor with a strategy for bridging the gap between the supply and the demand for training services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The board shall, in cooperation with the operating agencies, by January 1, 1996:

(1) Identify policies to reduce administrative and other barriers to efficient operation of the state's work force development system and barriers to improved coordination of work force development in the state. These policies shall include waivers of statutory requirements and administrative rules, as well as implementation of one-stop access to work force development services and school-to-work transition;

(2) Identify ways for operating agencies to share resources, instructors, and curricula through collaboration with other public and private entities to increase training opportunities and reduce costs; and

(3) Report to the governor and the appropriate legislative committees its recommendations for any statutory changes necessary to enhance operational efficiencies or improve coordination. The board shall work with the operating agencies of the state's work force development system to reduce administrative barriers that do not require statutory changes.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Sections 2 and 4 through 6 of this act are each added to chapter 28C.18 RCW.