BILL REQ. #: H-1693.1
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/17/11.
AN ACT Relating to modifying the opportunity internship program; amending RCW 28C.18.162, 28C.18.164, 28C.18.166, and 28B.92.084; amending 2009 c 238 s 11 (uncodified); and reenacting and amending RCW 28B.92.030.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 28C.18.162 and 2009 c 238 s 3 are each amended to read
as follows:
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in
this section apply throughout this section and RCW 28C.18.160 and
28C.18.164 through 28C.18.168.
(1) "High-demand occupation" means an occupation with a substantial
number of current or projected employment opportunities. High-demand
occupation also means the teaching of mathematics, science, bilingual
education, special education, or English as a second language.
(2) "Low-income high school student" means a student who is
enrolled in ((grades)) grade ten, eleven, or twelve in a public high
school and who ((qualifies for federal free or reduced-price meals)):
(a) Would qualify for a state need grant under chapter 28B.92 RCW on
the basis of financial need; or (b) qualifies to participate in the
title I-B youth program under the federal workforce investment act of
1988. If a student qualifies at the time the student begins
participating in the opportunity internship program, the student
remains eligible even if the student ((does not receive free or
reduced-price meals)) would not qualify thereafter. To participate in
the program, the student must remain enrolled in high school until the
student receives a high school diploma or receives a GED.
(3) "Opportunity internship consortium" means a local consortium
formed for the purpose of participating in the opportunity internship
program and which may be composed of a local workforce development
council, economic development council, area high schools, community or
technical colleges, apprenticeship councils, preapprenticeship programs
such as running start for the trades, private vocational schools
licensed under chapter 28C.10 RCW, public and private four-year
institutions of higher education, employers in targeted industries, and
labor organizations. Partnerships of high schools, teacher preparation
programs, and community-based organizations offering the recruiting
Washington teachers program under RCW 28A.415.370 may be considered
opportunity internship consortia.
(4) "Opportunity internship graduate" means a low-income high
school student who successfully completes an opportunity internship
program and either graduates from high school or receives a GED.
(5) "Postsecondary program of study" means an undergraduate or
graduate certificate, apprenticeship, or degree program.
(6) "Preapprenticeship" means a program of at least ninety hours
and not more than one hundred eighty hours in length that provides
practical experience, education, preparation, and the development of
skills that would be beneficial for entry into state-approved
apprenticeship programs, including but not limited to construction
industry structure and the construction process; orientation to state-approved apprenticeship; tools of the various trades and safe handling
of power tools; and industry standards of safety, responsibility, and
craft excellence.
(7) "Targeted industry" means a business or industry identified by
a local workforce development council as having high-demand occupations
that require candidates to have completed a postsecondary program of
study.
Sec. 2 RCW 28C.18.164 and 2010 1st sp.s. c 24 s 4 are each
amended to read as follows:
(1) Opportunity internship consortia may apply to the board to
offer an opportunity internship program.
(a) The board, in consultation with the Washington state
apprenticeship and training council, may select those consortia that
demonstrate the strongest commitment and readiness to implement a high
quality opportunity internship program for low-income high school
students. The board shall place a priority on consortia with
demonstrated experience working with similar populations of students
and demonstrated capacity to assist a large number of students through
the progression of internship or preapprenticeship, high school
graduation or receipt of a GED, postsecondary education, and retention
in a high-demand occupation. The board shall place a priority on
programs that emphasize secondary career and technical education and
nonbaccalaureate postsecondary education; however, programs that target
four-year postsecondary degrees are eligible to participate.
(b)(i) Except as provided in (b)(ii) of this subsection (1), the
board shall enter into a contract with each consortium selected to
participate in the program. No more than ten consortia per year shall
be selected to participate in the program, and to the extent possible,
the board shall assure a geographic distribution of consortia in
regions across the state emphasizing a variety of targeted industries.
Each consortium may select no more than one hundred low-income high
school students per year to participate in the program.
(ii) For fiscal years 2011 through 2013, the board shall enter into
a contract with each consortium selected to participate in the program.
No more than twelve consortia per year shall be selected to participate
in the program, and to the extent possible, the board shall assure a
geographic distribution of consortia in regions across the state
emphasizing a variety of targeted industries. No more than five
thousand low-income high school students per year may be selected to
participate in the program.
(2) Under the terms of an opportunity internship program contract,
an opportunity internship consortium shall commit to the following
activities which shall be conducted using existing federal, state,
local, or private funds available to the consortium:
(a) Identify high-demand occupations in targeted industries for
which opportunity internships or preapprenticeships shall be developed
and provided;
(b) Develop and implement the components of opportunity
internships, including paid or unpaid internships or preapprenticeships
of at least ninety hours in length in high-demand occupations with
employers in the consortium, mentoring and guidance for students who
participate in the program, assistance with applications for
postsecondary programs and financial aid, and a guarantee of a job
interview with a participating employer for all opportunity internship
graduates who successfully complete a postsecondary program of study;
(c) Once the internship or preapprenticeship components have been
developed, conduct outreach efforts to inform low-income high school
students about high-demand occupations, the opportunity internship
program, options for postsecondary programs of study, and the
incentives and opportunities provided to students who participate in
the program;
(d) Obtain appropriate documentation of the low-income status of
students who participate in the program;
(e) Award each opportunity internship graduate with the certificate
produced by the higher education coordinating board under RCW
28B.92.084 that notifies graduates of their eligibility for a state
need grant;
(f) Maintain communication with opportunity internship graduates of
the consortium who enroll in postsecondary programs of study; and
(((f))) (g) Submit an annual report to the board on the progress of
and participation in the opportunity internship program of the
consortium.
(3) Opportunity internship consortia are encouraged to:
(a) Provide paid opportunity internships or preapprenticeships,
including during the summer months to encourage students to stay
enrolled in high school;
(b) Work with high schools to offer opportunity internships as
approved worksite learning experiences where students can earn high
school credit;
(c) Designate the local workforce development council as fiscal
agent for the opportunity internship program contract;
(d) Work with area high schools to incorporate the opportunity
internship program into comprehensive guidance and counseling programs
such as the navigation 101 program; ((and))
(e) Coordinate the opportunity internship program with other
workforce development and postsecondary education programs, including
opportunity grants, the college bound scholarship program, federal
workforce investment act initiatives, and college access challenge
grants; and
(f) Provide stipends or financial incentives for internship and
preapprenticeship completion.
(4) The board shall seek federal funds that may be used to support
the opportunity internship program, including providing the incentive
payments under RCW 28C.18.168.
Sec. 3 RCW 28C.18.166 and 2009 c 238 s 5 are each amended to read
as follows:
On an annual basis, each opportunity internship consortium shall
provide the board with a list of the opportunity internship graduates
from the consortium. The board shall compile the lists from all
consortia and shall notify the higher education coordinating board of
the eligibility of each graduate on the lists to receive a state need
grant under chapter 28B.92 RCW if the graduate enrolls in a
postsecondary program of study within one year of high school
graduation or completion of a GED.
Sec. 4 RCW 28B.92.030 and 2009 c 238 s 7 and 2009 c 215 s 5 are
each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the higher education coordinating board.
(2) "Disadvantaged student" means a post high school student who by
reason of adverse cultural, educational, environmental, experiential,
familial or other circumstances is unable to qualify for enrollment as
a full-time student in an institution of higher education, who would
otherwise qualify as a needy student, and who is attending an
institution of higher education under an established program designed
to qualify the student for enrollment as a full-time student.
(3) "Financial aid" means loans and/or grants to needy students
enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a student at institutions of
higher education.
(4) "Institution" or "institutions of higher education" means:
(a) Any public university, college, community college, or technical
college operated by the state of Washington or any political
subdivision thereof; or
(b) Any other university, college, school, or institute in the
state of Washington offering instruction beyond the high school level
which is a member institution of an accrediting association recognized
by rule of the board for the purposes of this section: PROVIDED, That
any institution, branch, extension or facility operating within the
state of Washington which is affiliated with an institution operating
in another state must be a separately accredited member institution of
any such accrediting association, or a branch of a member institution
of an accrediting association recognized by rule of the board for
purposes of this section, that is eligible for federal student
financial aid assistance and has operated as a nonprofit college or
university delivering on-site classroom instruction for a minimum of
twenty consecutive years within the state of Washington, and has an
annual enrollment of at least seven hundred full-time equivalent
students: PROVIDED FURTHER, That no institution of higher education
shall be eligible to participate in a student financial aid program
unless it agrees to and complies with program rules and regulations
adopted pursuant to RCW 28B.92.150.
(5) "Needy student" means a post high school student of an
institution of higher education who demonstrates to the board the
financial inability, either through the student's parents, family
and/or personally, to meet the total cost of board, room, books, and
tuition and incidental fees for any semester or quarter. "Needy
student" also means an opportunity internship or preapprenticeship
graduate as defined by RCW 28C.18.162 who enrolls in a postsecondary
program of study as defined in RCW 28C.18.162 within one year of high
school graduation or receipt of a GED.
(6) "Placebound student" means a student who (a) is unable to
complete a college program because of family or employment commitments,
health concerns, monetary inability, or other similar factors; and (b)
may be influenced by the receipt of an enhanced student financial aid
award to complete a baccalaureate degree at an eligible institution.
Sec. 5 RCW 28B.92.084 and 2009 c 238 s 8 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) The board shall work with institutions of higher education to
assure that the institutions are aware of the eligibility of
opportunity internship graduates for an award under this chapter. The
board shall also create certificates that notify opportunity internship
and preapprenticeship graduates of their eligibility for an award under
this chapter and the importance of early filing of the free application
for federal student aid to secure their eligibility. The board shall
provide the certificates to opportunity internship consortia for
distribution.
(2) If an opportunity internship graduate enrolls within one year
of high school graduation or receipt of a GED in a postsecondary
program of study in an institution of higher education, including in an
apprenticeship program with related and supplemental instruction
provided through an institution of higher education, the graduate is
eligible to receive a state need grant for up to one year. The
graduate shall not be required to be enrolled on at least a half-time
basis. The related and supplemental instruction provided to a graduate
through an apprenticeship program shall not be required to lead to a
degree or certificate.
(3) Except for the eligibility criteria for an opportunity
internship graduate that are provided under this section, other rules
pertaining to award of a state need grant apply.
(4) Nothing in this section precludes an opportunity internship
graduate from being eligible to receive additional state need grants
after the one-year grant provided in this section if the graduate meets
other criteria as a needy or disadvantaged student.
Sec. 6 2009 c 238 s 11 (uncodified) is amended to read as
follows:
(1) The workforce training and education coordinating board shall
conduct an outcome evaluation of opportunity internship programs. At
a minimum, the analysis shall examine the financial benefits of on-time
graduation, youth employment while in high school, postsecondary
education enrollment and completion, and adult employment in high-demand occupations compared to the local and state costs of the
programs.
(2) The board shall submit a preliminary analysis to the governor
and the education and higher education committees of the legislature by
December 1, 2012, and a final analysis by December 1, 2014. The board
shall include in its final analysis whether the performance of the
opportunity internship program warrants expanding participation to
include students from middle-income families who do not qualify under
the income criteria for the program.