Background: Career and Technical Education Courses (CTE) . Washington law defines a CTE course as a planned program of courses and learning experiences that include exploration of career options, support of basic academic and life skills, and the enabling of high academic standards and options for high-skill, high-wage employment preparation.

Career Connect Washington Initiative. In May 2017, the Governor launched the Career Connect Washington initiative. According to the Office of the Governor, Career Connect Washington aims to help more students pursue well-paying jobs through career-ready education such as registered apprenticeships and technical training programs. In December 2017, Career Connect Washington provided $6.4 million in grants through the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, with recommendations on grant criteria provided by various state agencies and industry groups.

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). WIOA is federal legislation that was signed into law in 2014. According to the United States Department of Labor, WIOA is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy. WIOA provides state grants to fund programs to achieve these purposes.

The Workforce Board. The Workforce Board is a state agency created by statute in 1991 for the purpose of providing planning, coordination, evaluation, monitoring, and policy analysis for the state's workforce training and education system. The Workforce Board is comprised of governor-appointed representatives of business, labor, and government. At the state level, the Workforce Board coordinates 16 programs administered by seven agencies, spending roughly $1.5 billion per year in federal and state dollars.

Summary of Bill: The Work-Integrated Learning Initiative (Initiative). The Initiative is established. The purpose of the Initiative is to promote work-integrated learning experiences for students by providing:

an opportunity for students to engage in work-based academic programs with employers, such as internships, externships, and registered apprenticeships; and
a framework for the development and replication of successful work-integrated learning programs throughout the state.

Local applicant schools receiving funding through participation in the initiative must:

provide certain curricula;
include an external mentor for each student in the program;
demonstrate collaboration and receive input from students, parents, and a variety of community and industry representatives;
reflect local circumstances;
align the program with graduation plans and requirements; and
submit an interim and end-of-project report with data summarizing the effects of their programs on academic markers and community partnerships.

For the purposes of the Initiative, work-integrated learning is defined as including, but not limited to, early, frequent, and systemic learning experiences that are essential for preparing Washington youth for high-demand, family-wage jobs in Washington State, and that engage students in grades 5-12 or through high school dropout reengagement plans.

Matching Grant Program for Schools Participating in the Initiative. OSPI may contract with a statewide nonprofit organization with expertise in work-integrated learning to establish a matching grant program to fund projects implemented by local applicant schools participating in the Initiative.

Local applicant schools must meet minimum qualifications established by the grant program, including:

measurable and accountable focus on low-income youth, homeless youth, and youth of color;
accountability for increasing registered youth apprenticeships, internships, mentors, career planning, and other work-integrated learning experiences;
regional coordinators or liaisons to facilitate links between various organizations and institutions; and
system-wide support for work-integrated learning experiences.

Grant funds may only be expended to the extent that they are equally matched by private sector cash contributions for the program. Grantees must provide reports to the Work-Integrated Learning Advisory Committee (Committee).

The Committee. OSPI, in consultation with the Employment Security Department and the Workforce Board, must convene the Committee. The Committee shall provide advice to the Legislature and the education and workforce sectors on creating opportunities for students to explore career-related opportunities through applied learning, engaging with industry mentors, and planning for career and college success.

The Committee shall assist OSPI in the development of an application process and selecting participants in the Initiative, and advise OSPI on the development and implementation of work-integrated learning instructional programs.

In addition, the Committee must review the instructional programs of projects funded through WIOA in order to determine impacts on in-school progress, best practices, barriers to statewide adoption of learning opportunities and instructional programs, recommend policies, consult with industry representatives, and work collaboratively with the Expanded Learning Opportunities Advisory Council (ELOAC). The ELOAC is reconstituted in ESHB 2802.

The Committee must be comprised of, at a minimum:

two members from both the Senate and House of Representatives;
the superintendent of OSPI or a designee;
one educator representing the K-12 career and technical education sector;
one school counselor;
one educator representing the community and technical colleges;
one member of the Office of the Governor specializing in career and technical education and workforce needs; and
one member of the Workforce Board.

The Committee must also convene a subcommittee that includes members representing manufacturing, industry, labor, apprenticeships, and other members with specialized expertise.

The Committee shall be staffed by OSPI, and report its findings and recommendations to the State Board for Community and Technical colleges, the State Board of Education, the Washington Student Achievement Council, and the education committees of the Legislature by July 1, 2022.