74(R) SB 1528 Senate Committee Report

BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.S.B. 1528
By: Ellis
Economic Development
4-29-95
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND

The 73rd Legislature created the Committee on the Design of
Apprenticeship and Career Pathways Programs for Youth (committee)
which recommended to the legislature steps that could be taken to
improve transition of youth in Texas from school-to-work. The
committee found confusion as to what school-to-work really meant
and a lack of clarity as to which agencies had authority for
various aspects of school-to-work issues in Texas.

PURPOSE

As proposed, C.S.S.B. 1528 establishes a school-to-work component
of the state's workforce development system and creates the Texas
Skill Standards Board.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or
agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Title 83, V.T.C.S., by adding Article 5190.8, as
follows:

Art. 5190.8. SCHOOL-TO-WORK TRANSITION

Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE: Texas School-to-Work Act.

Sec. 2. FINDINGS. Sets forth the findings of the legislature
relating to school-to-work transition.

Sec. 3. PURPOSE. Sets forth the purpose of this article.

Sec. 4. DEFINITIONS. Defines "assessment," "commissioner,"
"council," "department," "industry skill standard,"
"integrated learning," "local workforce development areas,"
"local workforce development board," "occupational
credential," "registered apprenticeship," and "structured
work-based learning."

Sec. 5. COMPONENTS OF SCHOOL-TO-WORK COMPONENT. (a) Defines
"school-to-work."

(b) Provides that the school-to-work component is composed
of three main elements: school-based learning, work-based
learning, and activities that connect school-based learning
to work-based learning.

(d) Sets forth the composition of work-based learning.

(e) Sets forth the connecting activities for school-based
and work-based learning.
Sec. 6. STATE RESPONSIBILITIES. (a) Provides that the Texas
Council on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness is
responsible for strategic planning, oversight, and evaluation
of the school-to-work component. Sets forth additional
requirements for the council.

(b) Provides that the Texas Workforce Development Department
is responsible for administering the school-to-work
component as a part of the state's comprehensive workforce
development system. Requires this responsibility to be
carried out in close cooperation with participating state
agencies.

(d) Sets forth requirements for the Commissioner of
Workforce Development, in conjunction with the Commissioner
of Higher Education and the Commissioner of Education.

(e) Sets forth requirements for the Central Education
Agency.
Sec. 7. LOCAL RESPONSIBILITIES. (a) Requires the school-to-work component to be implemented in a local labor market area
as defined by the boundaries designated as a local workforce
development area.

(b) Provides that each local workforce development board is
responsible for:

(1) strategic planning, oversight, and evaluation of the
school-to-work component in the board's area as part of
its overall responsibility for workforce development; and

(2) supporting the development of industry-based steering
committees in which employers have primary responsibility
for the development, validation, and modification of skill
standards for each of the occupational areas targeted for
all workforce education and training, including school-to-work.

(d) Requires each local workforce development board to
provide logistical and technical support to the industry-based steering committees.

(e) Requires school-to-work responsibilities, in an area not
yet designated as a workforce development area or in which
a workforce development board has not yet been formed, to be
implemented by an informal local partnership that includes
representatives of employers, workers, local public
secondary and postsecondary educational institutions,
community-based organizations, and students. Sets forth
groups from which a local partnership may include
representatives.

(f) Requires each local partnership to designate one of its
members as the grant recipient and administrative entity
responsible and accountable for all school-to-work funds
available for the area.

(g) Requires a local partnership to perform the school-to-work responsibilities until a local workforce development
board is formed. Authorizes the board to retain the local
partnership as a technical advisory committee for school-to-work activities.

Sec. 8. TEXAS SKILL STANDARDS BOARD. (a) Creates the Texas
Skill Standards Board as an advisory board to the governor for
the development of a state-level skill standards and
certification system for all education and training, including
school-to-work.

(b) Provides that the board is composed of 11 members
appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the governor, as
follows:

(1) seven members representing business, two of whom must
be from business entities with fewer than 50 employees;

(2) two members representing labor; and

(3) one member each from secondary and postsecondary
education.

(d) Requires the skill standards board to:

(1) validate nationally established skill standards to
guide curriculum development, training, and assessment and
certification of workforce skills;

(2) convene industry groups to develop skill standards and
certification procedures in industries and occupations in
which national standards have not been established or
adopted; and

(3) review standards developed by other states and nations
and enter into agreements for mutual recognition of
credentials to enhance portability of skills.

(e) Requires the skill standards board to meet at the call
of the presiding officer as necessary to implement its
duties under this Act.

(f) Provides that a member of the skill standards board is
not entitled to compensation but is entitled to
reimbursement for expenses incurred in performing duties
under this Act, subject to any limitation in the General
Appropriations Act.

(g) Requires the council to provide staff support for the
skill standards board.

(h) Requires the skill standards board to report to the
governor periodically and to provide annual reports to the
governor and the legislature.

Sec. 9. OCCUPATIONAL CREDENTIALING. Requires occupational
credentials, in occupational areas where skill standards have
been established, to be granted under a process approved by
the appropriate industry group.

Sec. 10. APPLICATION OF OTHER LAWS. Provides that a state or
federal law relating to the safety, health, and well-being of
workers applies to a student participating in school-to-work
programs.

Sec. 11. EFFECT ON OTHER WORKERS. Prohibits the employment of
youth in school-to-work programs from displacing or causing
any reduction in the hours of non-overtime work, wages, or
employment benefits of any currently employed worker.

Sec. 12. LABOR MARKET INFORMATION. Requires the state
occupational information coordinating committee to collect
labor market information to assist in the identification of
industries and occupational clusters that are characterized by
high growth, upward mobility, high wages, and strong technical
skills, and are focused on high performance and diversity and
investment in skill development.

Sec. 13. DUTIES OF EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES. (a) Requires the
commissioner of education and the commissioner of higher
education to develop and implement a plan for the preparation,
certification, and recertification of teachers and workplace
instructors who are proficient in developing curricula for and
teaching in integrated learning school-to-work programs.

(b) Authorizes a school district to use state funds to fund
school-to-work initiatives and programs.

(c) Requires the Central Education Agency to ensure that a
student's decision to enter into a school-to-work agreement
will not affect the student's status with regard to
fulfilling all prerequisites for graduation from high school
and for eligibility to enroll in postsecondary degree
programs in this state.

(d) Requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
to develop and implement a plan that provides for the award
of credit or advanced standing in two-year and four-year
postsecondary degree programs for graduates of school-to-work learning programs.

Sec. 14. STUDY; REPORT. (a) Requires the department, Texas
Education Agency, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board,
Texas Workers' Compensation Commission, and Texas Department
of Insurance to jointly conduct a study of workplace liability
issues affecting the school-to-work system.

(b) Requires the agencies participating in the study under
Subsection (a) of this section to provide a report and
recommendations for the resolution of liability problems
identified by the study to the governor and legislature no
later than November 1, 1996.

(c) Requires the commissioner of education, in conjunction
with the commissioner of higher education and the
commissioner of insurance, to study and recommend to the
governor and legislature, no later than September 1, 1996,
ways to incorporate the elements of the school-to-work
component into the curriculum of primary and secondary
public schools and postsecondary institutions in the state
and to periodically inform the legislature on the progress
of local partnerships in the implementation of the school-to-work component and the needs for staff development to
implement the system.

Sec. 15. AGREEMENT. Authorizes the department to enter into an
agreement with any private, not-for-profit, quasi-governmental
organization or industry group that has statewide jurisdiction
to administer assessments to determine if a student has
mastered the academic and occupational competencies necessary
for the award of an occupational credential.

SECTION 2. Amends Section 4.02(a), Article 5190.7a, V.T.C.S.
(Workforce and Economic Competitiveness Act), to include a member
who is a student in an educational institution of this state in the
required members of the board.

SECTION 3. Provides that if the 74th Legislature, Regular Session,
1995, does not enact legislation to establish a separate state
workforce development agency, the responsibilities assigned to the
workforce development department and the commissioner of that
department under Article 5190.8, V.T.C.S., as added by this Act,
are assigned to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

SECTION 4. Requires the plan required under Section 13(d), Article
5190.8, V.T.C.S., as added by this Act, to be submitted to the
governor and to the legislature no later than September 1, 1997.

SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 1995.

SECTION 6. Emergency clause.