BILL REQ. #:  H-0547.2 

Read first time 01/26/11.   Referred to Committee on Labor & Workforce Development.

     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.
     (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.
     (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)) a state or federally approved apprenticeship, 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 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 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 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.