HB1561 CD1

Report Title:

School-to-Work; Work-Based Learning; School-to-Career; DOE

Description:

Appropriates funds for the school-to-work system. Requires the Hawaii state school-to-work executive council strategic plan to target specific best practices relating to career development. (HB1561 CD1)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1561
TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001		H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 1
		C.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to education.

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that education is a top priority in all fifty states. In the twenty-first state legislature, two great possibilities exist for Hawaii's students in the new economy: schools that have fully integrated workforce readiness proficiencies in their curricula and realization of the full potential of private/public partnerships. These possibilities directly link to the mission of the school-to-work system which is to develop an educational system involving partnerships to link educational experiences with career opportunity and community, thereby helping Hawaii students achieve their potential.

From 1996 to 1999 state and regional partnerships supporting school-based and work-based learning produced exemplary accomplishments which directly benefited our students:

(1) Sixty-three school-based enterprises have been reported from elementary, middle, and high schools, including enterprises such as food service, networking installation, hydroponic produce, and web design. In all situations, students are in charge of all aspects of running a small business including planning, marketing, production, and sales;

(2) Four community colleges and eleven high schools have been involved in the CISCO academies. To date, several hundred students have received training in networking equipment and network management. The students have already started to use the knowledge and skills learned in the academies to set up networks for their schools, other schools, and their communities;

(3) Groundhog job-shadow day has involved over one thousand eight hundred students and teachers throughout the State in the last two years. In this one-day activity, participants have had the opportunity to explore career interests;

(4) Since the enactment of Act 344 in 1997, a total of four hundred fourteen private businesses have been safety-surveyed and approved as safe sites for school-to-work learning activities;

(5) Twenty-four local partnerships have been established between one thousand three hundred different employers and Hawaii schools, including 99.9 per cent of public schools, ten, two- or four-year colleges, and several private post-secondary institutions;

(6) Approximately eight per cent of secondary school students participated in job shadowing, two per cent participated in mentoring activities, two per cent participated in paid or unpaid internships, and fourteen per cent participated in school-based enterprises, community service, or service learning in 1997-1999;

(7) The running start program allows qualifying juniors and seniors in high school to take college-level courses and receive both high school and college credit; and

(8) Ninety teachers have been trained in complex, integrated, real-world projects that are academically rigorous, relevant to students and the community, and empowering to over ten thousand students.

School-to-career initiatives enhance the achievement of academic, performance, and industry standards. School-to-career initiatives improve academic rigor through relevant, real-world experiences by integrating school-based learning, work-based learning, and information technology with the formal academic, career, and technical education curriculum. To sustain and further develop a strong school-to-career development system for kindergarten to grade twelve students, Hawaii must support youths with career guidance, intra-agency help in developing careers, and networks of support that serve as the foundation for lifelong learning.

Past and present members of the Hawaii state school-to-work executive council believe that a career development system establishes much-needed cohesion, coherence, and infrastructure from kindergarten to postsecondary levels. However, federal grant moneys for the state school-to-work system end on October 1, 2001.

The legislature recognizes the importance of preparing students for an economy that demands strong academic, employability, and technical skills. The purpose of this Act is to support the operational transition from the current Hawaii school-to-work office to the career development system. These are urgent goals requiring the development and implementation of a plan that integrates existing programs such as vocational education, career guidance, transition centers, learning centers, academies, and alternative programs into one coherent career development system.

Establishment of a career development system within the department of education will encourage collaboration towards enabling all students to earn transferable/portable credentials, prepare them for jobs in highly skilled careers, and increase the opportunities for further education, including four-year colleges and universities.

SECTION 2. The legislature finds and declares the following:

(1) Hawaii must make more efficient use of limited resources to do a better job of preparing students for an economy that demands that workers have strong academic and career knowledge and skills, are adaptable to change, and are prepared for lifelong learning;

(2) The growth of Hawaii's population and the labor force require special efforts to attract, support, and retain businesses that pay high wages to highly skilled workers. Improvement in the overall quality of the workforce is a vital component of economic development of Hawaii;

(3) The current array of education and training programs need to continue to move toward a more coherent system based on public-private collaboration and cooperation;

(4) The policies and methods through which Hawaii provides education to prepare all young people for lifelong learning, higher education, and highly-skilled, highly-paid careers may be the most important component of Hawaii's economic growth;

(5) Sustaining and further developing a strong career development system needs to be the top priority in establishing an efficient and effective educational system and in establishing a seamless system of lifelong education and employment for all citizens in Hawaii; and

(6) Hawaii's career development system will be a long-term investment in supplying a highly-skilled and adaptable workforce. By successfully matching the skills of the emerging workforce with the needs of Hawaii's growing economy, the career development system will be one of the most essential components in ensuring the State's competitive edge in an increasingly global economy.

SECTION 3. The Hawaii state school-to-work department of education's plan shall address the findings and declarations in section 2 by developing targeted programs that are consistent with department of education policies and initiatives:

(1) Career pathways delivery models. The school-to-work executive director shall administer a grant award program for local partnerships that meets specific requirements. Detailed plans submitted shall be a part of each school's Standards Implementation Design (SID) and may include provisions for the following:

(A) Academies, smaller learning communities, and blended classrooms which focus on a career path with postsecondary alignment emphasizing learning options for all students;

(B) Career paths which emphasize integrated academic and technical learning, project-based learning, information technology, work-based learning, and collaborations with post-secondary and business partners;

(D) The ability to provide school-based learning, work-based learning, and service learning at an appropriate level for each local partnership; and

(E) Accountability measurements that demonstrate increased academic performance, decreased dropout rates, and improved transitions to appropriate employment, apprenticeships, and post-secondary institutions.

Funds shall be awarded through a competitive grant process, and technical assistance shall be coordinated by the career development transition office;

(2) Career development centers. A career center shall be located in high schools as funding becomes available. The career centers shall provide group career activities, individual career guidance, information about careers, post-high school training programs, and educational options to students, parents, and staff;

(3) Technical and professional training for staff. The career development plan shall include professional development activities which integrate curriculum with work-based connections and student-centered assessment. A priority shall be placed on project-based learning, including information technology; and

(4) Career development system transition. The current Hawaii school-to-work office, the office of the state director for career and technical education, and the department of education's career and technical education staff shall facilitate the transition to a systems approach for career development by:

(A) Identifying an interagency partnership which may include chambers of commerce, the department of labor and industrial relations, department of business, economic development, and tourism, department of human services, director of career and technical education, Hawaii Business Roundtable, Workforce Development, and the University of Hawaii to facilitate the transition to a career development system that is supportive of the department's strategic plan for standards-based education;

(B) Defining the career development system within the organizational structure of the department of education;

(D) Developing and implementing the career pathway delivery model grant process;

(E) Providing technical assistance to the awardees of the grants and to participating schools and agencies;

(F) Recruiting business partners to participate in the career pathway delivery model grant process; and

(G) Coordinating professional development for project-based learning and the integration of academic and technical learning.

SECTION 4. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $550,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2001-2002 for the following activities and programs:

(1) Career development centers, $252,000 (five centers);

(2) Professional development, $86,000; and

(3) Career development transition office, $212,000 operational moneys, including funding the establishment of:

(A) One exempt educational specialist III position;

(B) One intradepartmental/interagency resource teacher; and

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2001.