S.B. No. 367
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the establishment of a workforce development initiative
1-2 to improve the transition of the youth of this state from school to
1-3 employment and the creation of certain pilot programs to implement
1-4 that initiative.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Chapter 481, Government Code, is amended by
1-7 adding Subchapter AA to read as follows:
1-8 SUBCHAPTER AA. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE FOR YOUTH
1-9 Sec. 481.371. PURPOSE. The goal of this subchapter is to
1-10 improve the connection between school and work, to increase student
1-11 incentives to learn, and to improve the transition from school to
1-12 employment for high school students, especially students who do not
1-13 enter a baccalaureate degree program at an institution of higher
1-14 education directly after graduation from high school. The scope of
1-15 this subchapter is limited to skill development programs and
1-16 projects that begin in high school or are tied explicitly to
1-17 serving high school students through formal preapprenticeship
1-18 arrangements.
1-19 Sec. 481.372. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-20 (1) "Apprenticeship program" means a training program
1-21 combining work and study that:
1-22 (A) meets recognized standards of
1-23 apprenticeship; and
1-24 (B) is registered with the Bureau of
2-1 Apprenticeship and Training, United States Department of Labor.
2-2 (2) "Apprentice" means an individual who is formally
2-3 enrolled in an apprenticeship program.
2-4 (3) "Career pathways program" means a school-industry
2-5 partnership, including a:
2-6 (A) preapprenticeship program;
2-7 (B) career academy;
2-8 (C) mentoring program;
2-9 (D) internship and practicum program;
2-10 (E) technical preparatory program;
2-11 (F) cooperative education program; and
2-12 (G) any other program that meets the
2-13 qualifications set by the design committee.
2-14 (4) "Design committee" means the Committee on the
2-15 Design of Apprenticeship and Career Pathways Programs for Youth.
2-16 (5) "Employee" means an individual who performs
2-17 services for another under a contract of hire, whether express or
2-18 implied or oral or written.
2-19 (6) "Employer" means a person that employs one or more
2-20 employees.
2-21 (7) "Executive director" means the executive director
2-22 of the department.
2-23 (8) "Initiative" means the workforce development
2-24 initiative.
2-25 (9) "Minority group members" includes:
2-26 (A) African-Americans;
2-27 (B) American Indians;
3-1 (C) Asian-Americans; and
3-2 (D) Mexican-Americans and other Americans of
3-3 Hispanic origin.
3-4 (10) "Pilot program" means the youth apprenticeship
3-5 grant pilot program or the career pathways pilot program for youth.
3-6 (11) "Project" means a specific project developed and
3-7 implemented under a pilot program created under this subchapter.
3-8 (12) "Small business" has the meaning assigned by
3-9 Section 481.231.
3-10 (13) "Workforce development initiative" means an
3-11 organized system for the effective transition of the youth of this
3-12 state from school to employment.
3-13 Sec. 481.373. YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP GRANT PILOT PROGRAM. The
3-14 youth apprenticeship grant pilot program is created in the
3-15 department to provide high-quality supervised learning
3-16 opportunities for students at the workplace of a participating
3-17 employer. The program is based on employer involvement and
3-18 commitment.
3-19 Sec. 481.374. CAREER PATHWAYS PILOT PROGRAM FOR YOUTH. The
3-20 career pathways pilot program for youth is created in the
3-21 department to assist secondary school students in the transition
3-22 from school to employment. The program shall take a student who
3-23 has successfully completed the 10th grade through a learning
3-24 process that integrates school and work and high school with the
3-25 first few years of postsecondary learning.
3-26 Sec. 481.375. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO PILOT PROGRAMS.
3-27 (a) The department shall administer the pilot programs created
4-1 under this subchapter.
4-2 (b) Each pilot program shall:
4-3 (1) foster interactive, team-based learning in the
4-4 classroom and at the workplace;
4-5 (2) include curricula on all aspects of the industry
4-6 in which the student is training;
4-7 (3) use competency-based measures for evaluating
4-8 student progress;
4-9 (4) place strong emphasis on occupational safety;
4-10 (5) provide both academic and occupational
4-11 credentials;
4-12 (6) provide access and support to groups, including
4-13 women, minority group members, and persons with disabilities, and
4-14 explicitly address issues presented by diversity in society and the
4-15 workplace; and
4-16 (7) involve industries and occupations that offer
4-17 entry-level jobs with good opportunities for career advancement
4-18 into high-skill, high-wage jobs.
4-19 (c) The pilot programs are funded through the general
4-20 revenue of this state, local matching funds, and any other funds
4-21 received by the department for use in the programs, from any
4-22 source.
4-23 (d) State funds may not be used to provide wage subsidies to
4-24 employers who hire individuals participating in the programs.
4-25 (e) An age limitation imposed under state or federal law
4-26 regarding employment in hazardous occupations may not be violated
4-27 by a person participating in the pilot program in any capacity.
5-1 Sec. 481.376. GRANTS; GRANT APPLICATIONS. (a) The
5-2 executive director may award a grant for a project that meets the
5-3 requirements established by the department for the applicable pilot
5-4 program. A grant may not be awarded for a project relating to an
5-5 occupation in which there is low demand for workers or an
5-6 oversupply of workers.
5-7 (b) A grant made under this section shall be monitored by
5-8 the department.
5-9 (c) The department shall withdraw a grant for a project if
5-10 the executive director determines that the project is not meeting
5-11 the requirements of the pilot program.
5-12 (d) A grant application must be filed with the department in
5-13 the form prescribed by the executive director. The executive
5-14 director shall act on a completed application not later than the
5-15 30th day after the date on which the application is filed with the
5-16 department.
5-17 (e) The department shall provide organizations that conduct
5-18 training in an occupation for which a grant application is filed or
5-19 in a substantially similar occupation an opportunity to review and
5-20 comment on the project for which the grant is requested prior to
5-21 final approval of the project and the awarding of a grant.
5-22 (f) There shall be no general revenue of the State of Texas
5-23 used for this section. Should federal or private funds, grants, or
5-24 donations become available, then such funds shall be used for this
5-25 section.
5-26 Sec. 481.377. RULES. The policy board may adopt rules as
5-27 necessary to implement this subchapter and programs adopted under
6-1 this subchapter.
6-2 Sec. 481.378. ANNUAL REPORT. (a) The department shall
6-3 report before January 31 of each year to the governor, the
6-4 lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
6-5 representatives regarding the progress of the initiative.
6-6 (b) The report must list information showing the percentages
6-7 and actual numbers of members of the following groups who have
6-8 received training and education through the pilot programs during
6-9 the preceding calendar year and the types of training, by
6-10 occupation, that members of those groups received:
6-11 (1) minority group members, listed by ethnic
6-12 classification;
6-13 (2) women; and
6-14 (3) persons with disabilities.
6-15 Sec. 481.379. DESIGN COMMITTEE. (a) The Committee on the
6-16 Design of Apprenticeship and Career Pathways Programs for Youth is
6-17 established to advise the department on the workforce development
6-18 initiative.
6-19 (b) The design committee is composed of members appointed by
6-20 the executive director as follows:
6-21 (1) three members who are employers, representing the
6-22 business community, including representation of small businesses;
6-23 (2) three members who are employees, representing the
6-24 labor community, including representation by persons with
6-25 experience in the Apprenticeship and Training Advisory Committee
6-26 created under Chapter 33, Education Code;
6-27 (3) three members who are high school teachers,
7-1 representing secondary education, including representation by
7-2 persons with experience in the federal technical preparatory
7-3 education programs created under 20 U.S.C. Section 2394b;
7-4 (4) three members who are faculty members of
7-5 institutions of higher education, representing higher education,
7-6 including representation by persons with experience in the federal
7-7 technical preparatory education programs created under 20 U.S.C.
7-8 Section 2394b;
7-9 (5) three members who are training directors from
7-10 registered United States Department of Labor Bureau of
7-11 Apprenticeship and Training programs; and
7-12 (6) three members who are persons who are not eligible
7-13 for appointment under Subdivisions (1) through (5), representing
7-14 the general public.
7-15 (c) In addition to the appointed members under Subsection
7-16 (b), the state director of the Bureau of Apprenticeship and
7-17 Training, United States Department of Labor, may serve as an ex
7-18 officio, nonvoting member of the design committee.
7-19 (d) An appointed member of the design committee serves
7-20 without compensation, but is entitled to reimbursement for actual
7-21 and necessary expenses incurred in performing duties as a member of
7-22 the design committee, subject to any applicable limitation in the
7-23 General Appropriations Act.
7-24 (e) The department shall provide necessary personnel to
7-25 staff the design committee. The design committee may also obtain
7-26 additional assistance or staff from other state agencies as
7-27 required to implement its duties under this subchapter.
8-1 Sec. 481.380. POWERS AND DUTIES OF DESIGN COMMITTEE.
8-2 (a) The design committee shall:
8-3 (1) conduct public outreach programs to build public
8-4 awareness of the need to improve the transition from school to
8-5 employment and to build apprenticeship opportunities and career
8-6 pathways for the youth of this state;
8-7 (2) guide the knowledge-development process to achieve
8-8 the initiative;
8-9 (3) develop a consensus among the various groups
8-10 affected by the transition from school to employment regarding the
8-11 initiative; and
8-12 (4) advise the department on all aspects of the
8-13 development of the pilot programs, including grant project
8-14 specifications, eligibility criteria for receipt of grants, and
8-15 program performance standards.
8-16 (b) The design committee shall advise the governor, the
8-17 legislature, and affected state agencies on the workforce
8-18 development initiative and the implementation of long-term
8-19 apprenticeship programs and career pathways programs to improve the
8-20 transition from school to employment. At a minimum, the issues
8-21 addressed by the design committee must include:
8-22 (1) methods of achieving integration of:
8-23 (A) secondary and postsecondary learning;
8-24 (B) academic and vocational or applied learning;
8-25 and
8-26 (C) learning at work with learning at school;
8-27 (2) the intended goals for the programs created under
9-1 this subchapter;
9-2 (3) development of capacities and structures,
9-3 particularly in private industry, to administer and finance the
9-4 career pathways program on a permanent basis;
9-5 (4) professional development for educators, on-the-job
9-6 trainers, and mentors;
9-7 (5) adoption of high academic standards for youths
9-8 participating in programs under this subchapter to enhance future
9-9 academic and career options;
9-10 (6) methods of ensuring access and support to women,
9-11 minority group members, and persons with disabilities;
9-12 (7) provisions for the assessment of any industry
9-13 certification program adopted for youths who successfully complete
9-14 a career pathways program;
9-15 (8) incentives for employers and schools to
9-16 participate in the programs created under this subchapter;
9-17 (9) analyses of attendant safety and liability
9-18 concerns; and
9-19 (10) provisions to ensure that the training provided
9-20 to youths participating in programs created under this subchapter
9-21 is of high quality.
9-22 (c) The design committee shall obtain information from
9-23 national and international benchmark studies to ensure that the
9-24 system adopted in this state produces workers whose skills are
9-25 competitive in the national and international markets and shall
9-26 obtain and provide information relating to similar workforce
9-27 development initiatives in other states, including information
10-1 relating to:
10-2 (1) industry-developed national skill standards; and
10-3 (2) federal or state restructuring of employment and
10-4 training programs.
10-5 (d) The design committee shall report to the 73rd
10-6 Legislature and to the department not later than October 1, 1994,
10-7 relating to the operation of the pilot programs. The report must
10-8 include:
10-9 (1) a status report on the pilot programs;
10-10 (2) recommendations for the design and implementation
10-11 of effective long-term programs for the transition from school to
10-12 employment; and
10-13 (3) an analysis of the operation and success of
10-14 similar programs created in other states and foreign countries.
10-15 Sec. 481.381. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS. (a) Not more than 10
10-16 percent of the funds available to the department under the
10-17 initiative may be used by the department or the design committee
10-18 for administration of this subchapter, including necessary
10-19 staffing.
10-20 (b) The design committee may use an additional five percent
10-21 of the funds available to the committee under the initiative for
10-22 public outreach and education purposes.
10-23 Sec. 481.382. EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires August
10-24 31, 1995.
10-25 SECTION 2. The Committee on the Design of Apprenticeship and
10-26 Career Pathways Programs for Youth is abolished on August 31, 1995.
10-27 All state property and records in the custody of that committee on
11-1 that date that relate to the operation of the workforce development
11-2 initiative created under Subchapter AA, Chapter 481, Government
11-3 Code, shall be transferred to the custody of the Texas Department
11-4 of Commerce not later than October 1, 1995.
11-5 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
11-6 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
11-7 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
11-8 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
11-9 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
11-10 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
11-11 passage, and it is so enacted.