BILL REQ. #:  S-1924.1 

READ FIRST TIME 03/01/13.   

     AN ACT Relating to integrated career learning opportunities and employment training for at-risk youth; adding a new section to chapter 28C.18 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   Data provided by the office of the superintendent of public instruction for the 2010-11 school year indicated twenty-five percent of the state's high school students did not graduate on time. The Washington state institute for public policy estimates, based on 2010 data and dollars, that a high school dropout will lose two hundred twenty-eight thousand dollars in lifetime earnings. The federal bureau of labor statistics reported that in 2012, Washington residents between the ages of sixteen and nineteen had an unemployment rate of twenty-eight percent, and that during the same period, males of that age experienced an unemployment rate of thirty-three percent.
     Research on effective dropout prevention and reengagement practices highlight linking educational programs to career readiness and improving the transition between school and careers. The legislature intends to improve outcomes for youth and young adults, specifically those at risk of not completing high school or those who have already dropped out of high school, through additional strategies integrating education with skills training and work experience.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28C.18 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section.
     (a) "ASSET program" means the alliance for student success in education and training program.
     (b) "Institutions of higher education" or "postsecondary institutions" has the definition in RCW 28B.10.016.
     (c) "Public schools" has the definition in RCW 28A.150.010.
     (d) "State education and workforce agencies" means the office of the superintendent of public instruction, the state board of education, the state board for community and technical colleges, the student achievement council, the Washington state school directors' association, the workforce training and education coordinating board, and the employment security department.
     (e) "STEM" means science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
     (f) "Youth" means a person age twenty-four or younger.
     (2) Subject to funds appropriated for this purpose, the ASSET program is established to increase connections and access to work-integrated learning opportunities, particularly in STEM fields. The program is also intended to encourage the development of forums in local communities through increased public-private partnerships for the exchange of ideas, innovations, and expertise among local businesses, local business organizations, labor organizations, public schools, apprenticeship councils, and institutions of higher education. The board shall administer the program.
     (3) In administering the ASSET program, the board may receive and expend federal funds and private gifts or grants, which funds must be expended in accordance with any conditions upon which the funds are contingent. The board, in collaboration with business and labor organizations as well as state education and workforce agencies, shall:
     (a) Develop technical assistance materials to guide employers in the design and implementation of work-integrated learning opportunities and programs;
     (b) Develop technical assistance materials to guide schools in the design and implementation of work-integrated learning opportunities and programs that assist schools in encouraging students to explore and select work-integrated opportunities that maximize their educational experience;
     (c) Develop a web-based matching and communications system, accessible to schools, service providers, and individual students, for employers to post work-integrated learning opportunities. The system must also provide access to the technical assistance materials for employers, schools, and students developed under this section; and
     (d) Designate up to eight workforce development councils as pilot regional coordinators for the ASSET program through a competitive matching grant application process. The purpose of the designation is to establish a single point of contact for voluntary local coordination, reduce duplication of effort, achieve economies of scale, and create opportunities for successful grant seeking and leveraging of private and public resources.
     (4) Pilot regional program coordinators must, in collaboration with state education and workforce agencies:
     (a) Serve as a clearinghouse for summer and year-round youth employment and other work-integrated learning opportunities for students in the region;
     (b) In collaboration with business and labor organizations, actively recruit employers to provide work-integrated learning opportunities, particularly in STEM fields, for youth and participating schools;
     (c) In collaboration with business and labor organizations, leverage resources to implement and sustain the ASSET program in the targeted community;
     (d) Disseminate technical assistance materials developed under subsection (3)(a) of this section to interested employers;
     (e) Work with public schools, institutions of higher education, apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs, and workforce training programs to develop internship, mentoring, and advising opportunities for public school students by individuals in the local business and labor communities;
     (f) Encourage the use of the web-based matching and communications system for work-integrated learning opportunities developed under subsection (3)(c) of this section; and
     (g) Report annually to the board data required to complete subsection (5) of this section.
     (5) The board, in consultation with the office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall design and implement a performance monitoring system to track the outcomes of the ASSET program. As of December 2015, the board shall submit an annual performance report on the program to the appropriate committees of the legislature and the governor.
     (6) For the purposes of this section, "work-integrated learning opportunities" include but are not limited to:
     (a) Paid and unpaid internships that provide sustained work and learning experiences;
     (b) Paid and unpaid work experience;
     (c) Youth apprenticeships and preapprenticeships;
     (d) Advising from employers and workers related to student projects or programs of study;
     (e) Simulated or virtual workplace experiences and enterprises;
     (f) Visits to worksites to learn about employers, occupations, job skills, or other work-related issues;
     (g) Mentoring that provides professional input to a student's career pathway; and
     (h) Job shadowing related to a student's career pathway.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2013, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.