It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "Education" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

{ADD16-80-1. Short title. -- ADD} {ADD This chapter shall be known as the "Rhode Island School-To-Work Transition Act of 1996". ADD}

{ADD 16-80-2. Findings. -- ADD} {ADD The general assembly has found and hereby declares that:

(a) Three-fourths (3/4) of adults in the Rhode Island workforce lack a baccalaureate degree, and many do not possess the academic and entry-level occupational skills necessary to succeed in the changing workforce.

(b) Twenty-eight percent (28%) of youths, ages 16-24, in Rhode Island, especially disadvantaged students, students of diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and students with disabilities, do not complete high school.

(c) Unemployment among youths, ages 16-19, in Rhode Island averaged eighteen and six-tenths percent (18.6%) in 1994, an intolerably high percentage, and earnings of high school graduates have been declining in relationship to earnings of individuals with post-secondary degrees;

(d) The workplace in the United States and especially in Rhode Island is changing in response to heightened international competition and new technologies, and such forces, which are ultimately beneficial to the nation, are shrinking the demand for and undermining the earning power of unskilled labor.

(e) Rhode Island lacks a comprehensive and coherent system to help its youth acquire the knowledge, skills, abilities and information about and access to the labor market necessary to make an effective transition from school to career-oriented work or to further education and training;

(f) Students in Rhode Island can achieve higher academic and occupational standards, and many learn better and retain more when the students learn in context rather than in the abstract;

(g) While many students in Rhode Island have part-time jobs, there is infrequent linkage between:

(1) Such jobs, and

(2) The career planning or exploration or the school-based learning of students.

(h) The work-based learning approach, which is modeled after the time-honored apprenticeship concept, integrates theoretical instruction with structured on-the-job training, and this approach, combined with school-based learning, can be very effective in engaging student interest, enhancing skill acquisition, developing positive work attitudes, and preparing youths for high skill, high wage careers;

(i) Federal resources currently fund a series of categorical, work-related education and training programs, many of which serve disadvantaged youths, that are not administered as a coherent whole; and

(j) In 1990, approximately sixteen thousand seven hundred forty-one (16,741) individuals in Rhode Island, ages 16 through 24, had not completed high school and were not currently enrolled in school, a population representing approximately twenty-eight percent (28%) of all individuals in this age group which indicates that these young persons are particularly unprepared for the demands of the twenty-first century. ADD}

{ADD 16-80-3. Purpose and intent. -- ADD} {ADD The purpose and legislative intent of this chapter is:

(a) To establish a state framework within which state departments can create an interagency mechanism to develop, implement and maintain a statewide system of school-to-work transition, and

(b) To establish a state framework to promote the formation of local partnerships that link the worlds of school and work among schools and post-secondary educational institutions, private and public employers, labor organizations, government, community based organizations, parents, students, state educational, training, human service and economic development agencies and that will provide all students with opportunities to participate in education and training programs that will prepare them for high skill, high wage careers, further education and training and lifelong learning.

(c) To establish a system that ensures that females, minority students, limited-English proficient students and students with disabilities are provided with equitable opportunities to both participate in and benefit from apprenticeships and careers in skilled trades and advanced technology by providing them with necessary modifications and support to succeed.

(d) To utilize federal funds to develop, implement and maintain a statewide school-to-work system. ADD}

{ADD 16-80-4. Interagency partnerships. -- ADD} {ADD A mechanism will be developed as part of the statewide school-to-work system that brings the Rhode Island departments of education, employment and training, human services and the economic development corporation together to collaboratively support, implement, and maintain the statewide school-to-work system and to provide resources, technical assistance and support to regional and local partnerships. Regional and local partnerships must include employers, local school district representatives, teachers and their unions, post-secondary institutions, labor unions, and students. The roles and responsibilities of the partners will include the following:

(a) The economic development corporation and the department of employment and training will:

(1) Work in collaboration to define regions and major industry clusters in each region, and

(2) Identify skills needed for growing and emerging businesses and industries.

(b) The department of employment and training, the human resource investment council and department of elementary and secondary education will:

(1) Work in collaboration to develop employer incentives and guidelines for school-to-work local partnerships;

(2) Develop a statewide information and delivery system to encourage and facilitate business, labor and education partnerships;

(3) Develop testing and assessments to measure student knowledge and skills; and

(4) Provide a state plan for professional development for various constituencies in the regional and local partnerships, and conduct an aggressive and ongoing outreach and marketing campaign.

(c) The human resource investment council's school-to-work subcommittee shall serve as the governing board for the school-to-work system and management team. This subcommittee shall consist of fifteen (15) members comprised of a chairperson who shall be appointed by the Governor and be a member of the human resource investment council, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education of his/her designee; the director of the department of employment and training or his/her designee; the chairperson of the human resource investment council or his/her designee; the president of the Community College of Rhode Island or his/her designee; one (1) superintendent of schools and one (1) school principal to be appointed by the Governor; two (2) representatives of labor unions appointed by the president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO; four (4) members representing Rhode Island employers to be appointed by the Governor; the president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers or his/her designee; and the president of the National Education Association/Rhode Island or his/her designee.

(d) The private industry councils, regional employment and training boards, and collaborative will:

(1) Serve as the connectors between schools and the business community;

(2) Provide technical assistance to employers and educators;

(3) Provide training for workplace and school-site mentors; and

(4) Collect data on post-program outcomes.

(e) The interagency transition council, created by RIGL 16-24-18, will serve as the liaison on behalf of individuals with disabilities consistent with the mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). ADD}

{ADD 16-80-5. Local partnerships. -- ADD} {ADD (a) Local partnerships will be developed to provide a framework within which local districts or consortia can develop school-to-work strategies which will:

(1) Be integrated with education reform and school improvement efforts;

(2) Offer opportunities for all students to participate in education and training programs that will prepare students for high skill, high wage careers and result in certification of knowledge and skills through a process such as a certificate of initial mastery and a certificate of advanced mastery recognized by both the education and business committees;

(3) Increase opportunities for continuing education, two-year or four-year colleges as well as other technical education experiences;

(4) Engage families in multiple roles to support and enhance opportunities for children to transition from school-to-work and to develop in-depth partnerships with businesses, colleges, families and community organizations to offer technical and substantive student workplace experiences for schools;

(5) Be part of the state's comprehensive education reform;

(6) Be integrated with the state's school-to-work plan;

(7) Be integrated with the state's workforce development plan and economic reform initiative;

(8) Offer opportunities for all students to participate in performance-based education and training programs that will:

(A) Enable students to earn portable credentials;

(B) Prepare the students for first jobs in high skill, high wage careers; and

(C) Increase their opportunities for further education, including education in a four-year college or university.

(9) Utilize workplaces as active learning environments in the educational process by making employers and labor organizations joint partners with educators in providing opportunities for all students to participate in high quality, work-based learning experiences.

(10) Build on and advance existing promising practices.

(11) Be integrated with the local partnerships established through the local educational collaboratives and their transition centers.

(b) In developing the school-to-work system, the emphasis shall be on a structure that is flexible to meet local school needs and is available to students as needed and appropriate. Students and parents shall be involved in the students' choices of career paths. The human resource investment council's school-to-work subcommittee, for the purpose of successfully establishing and implementing the school-to-work system, shall endeavor to obtain the cooperation of employers, employees, unions, the commission on higher education, post-secondary institutions and school districts.

(c) Programs and opportunities developed under this act shall not impair existing collective bargaining relationships, displace current employees, prevent rehiring laid-off employees, or impair promotion or job training opportunities for current employees. ADD}

{ADD 16-80-6. Outreach and professional development. -- ADD} {ADD Through the interagency partnerships, the state school-to-work system shall provide a plan for ongoing outreach activities to inform and organize the school-to-work partnerships on regional and local levels. In establishing a school-to-work system, the state shall:

(a) Redefine what constitutes professional development and develop and implement a plan for professional development and training opportunities for all stakeholders to include pre-service and in-service opportunities for educators and training opportunities for the business community and parents;

(b) Provide professional development in applied techniques and integration of curriculum;

(c) Provide career guidance for teachers and guidance counselors; and

(d) Provide training for worksite mentors. ADD}

{ADD 16-80-7. Report of findings. -- ADD} {ADD The human resource investment council shall annually report to the legislature on the school-to-work transition program. ADD}

{ADD 16-80-8. Appropriation of funds. -- ADD} {ADD There shall be no appropriation of any state monies to carry out the purpose of this chapter without the approval of the general assembly. ADD}

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.