ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 538
(By Senators Plymale, Jenkins, Foster and Browning)
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[Passed March 9, 2011; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact §18B-3D-5 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a
new section, designated §18B-3D-6, all relating to
establishing the Learn and Earn Cooperative Education Program;
authorizing expenditure of certain funds; defining eligibility
to receive funding; setting terms for required cash match; and
requiring legislative and emergency rules.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18B-3D-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding
thereto a new section, designated §18B-3D-6, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 3D. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE.
§18B-3D-5. Legislative and emergency rules.
(a) The council shall propose a legislative rule pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement
the provisions of this article and shall file the rule with the
Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability no
later than October 1, 2011.
(b) The Legislature finds that an emergency exists and,
therefore, the council shall propose an emergency rule to implement
the provisions of this article in accordance with section six,
article one of this chapter and article three-a, chapter twenty-
nine-a of this code by October 1, 2011
.
(c) Any rule promulgated by the council pursuant to previous
enactments of this section and in effect on the effective date of
the amendment and reenactment of this section in the year 2011
remains in effect until amended, modified, repealed or replaced by
the council.
§18B-3D-6. Learn and Earn Cooperative Education Program
established.
(a)
Legislative findings.
(1) The Legislature finds that many West Virginians,
particularly young adults, cannot enroll full-time in a community
and technical college technical program because circumstances
require them to maintain full-time employment. It is critically
important that technical programs leading to high-wage occupations
be more accessible and affordable for all West Virginians.
(2) The Legislature further finds that cooperative education programs are successful in providing access to these technical
programs while providing students enrolled full-time in a community
and technical college with the financial benefits they need to
continue their education. These cooperative education programs
provide opportunities for students to work with West Virginia
companies while in college, thus increasing the likelihood that
they will complete the program, find gainful employment and choose
to remain in West Virginia upon graduation. They provide students
with hands-on, real world work experience with a salary while they
complete a technical program of study and, at the same time,
provide employers with a cost-effective tool for recruiting and
training.
(b) The purpose of this section is to establish a cooperative
education program, under the jurisdiction of the council, as a
component of the Workforce Development Initiative Program
established pursuant to this article. The program shall be known
and may be cited as the "Learn and Earn Program".
(c) The program requires a dollar-for-dollar cash match from
participating employers or groups of employers from which the
student receives a salary from the employer or employers while
participating in the program. Participants may not substitute a
match in-kind for the cash match required by this section.
(d) An institution is eligible to apply for a program grant in
cooperation with one or more employer partners if it meets the definition of a community and technical college provided in section
two, article one of this chapter. The council shall define the
application process in the rules required in section five of this
article.
(e) The council may expend funds available through the
Workforce Development Initiative program to implement the
provisions of this section.