Second Regular Session H.B. 2122
PROPOSED
SENATE AMENDMENTS TO H.B. 2122
(Reference to House engrossed bill)
Page 1, line 3, strike "section" insert "sections"; after "15-217" insert ", 15-217.01, 15-217.02 and 15-217.03"
Between lines 3 and 4, insert:
"15-217. Performance measures; adult education and workforce development programs
A. On or before July 1, 2024, the state board of education, in cooperation with the department of education, shall adopt performance measures to evaluate the performance of adult education and workforce development programs offered in this state. The performance measures shall include:
1. Measurements of adult learner progress toward earning a high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma.
2. The number of high school diplomas or high school equivalency diplomas earned.
3. The number of industry-recognized credentials earned.
4. The number of adult learners or graduates who have matriculated at an institution of higher learning or postsecondary educational institution.
5. The number of adult learners or graduates who have newly acquired employment, who are now earning higher wages or who have obtained a better job or a promotion.
6. Other relevant measures as adopted by the state board, in cooperation with the department.
B. The performance measures adopted by the state board of education pursuant to this section shall both:
1. Allow for a comparable evaluation across adult education and workforce development programs.
2. Take into consideration the variety of learning levels of adult learners entering the programs."
Page 1, line 4, strike "15-217" insert "15-217.01"
Line 40, after "school" strike remainder of line
Line 41, strike "2023-2024"
Strike lines 43 and 44
Page 2, strike lines 1 and 2
Renumber to conform
Line 4, strike "student" insert "learner"
Page 3, strike lines 36 through 45
Page 4, strike lines 1 through 10
Reletter to conform
Between lines 20 and 21, insert:
"5. The number of adult learners who have newly acquired proficiency in the English language."
Renumber to conform
Line 24, strike "expectations"
Strike line 25, insert "measures adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 15-217."
Line 39, strike "K" insert "J"
Page 5, after line 10, insert:
"15-217.02. Adult workforce diploma program; fund; program providers; requirements; annual report; definitions
A. The adult workforce diploma program is established within the state board of education to assist a person who is at least twenty-one years of age in earning a high school diploma and developing critical employability and career and technical skills to prepare the person for employment. The state board of education shall operate the program in cooperation with the department of education. The program may be delivered in a campus-based, online or blended modality.
B. The adult workforce diploma program fund is established consisting of legislative appropriations, gifts, grants and other donations. The department of education shall administer the fund. MOnies in the fund are continuously appropriated and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations.
C. On or before August 15 of each year, the state board of education shall issue a request for qualifications for eligible program providers to participate in the program. To be approved, a program provider must meet all of the following:
1. Be operating a regionally accredited high school diploma-granting entity.
2. Have the ability to develop a learning plan for each student that integrates graduation requirements and career goals.
3. Provide a course catalog that includes all courses that are necessary to meet graduation requirements.
4. Have the ability to provide all of the following:
(a) Remediation opportunities in literacy and numeracy.
(b) Career pathways coursework.
(c) Preparation for industry-recognized credentials and stackable credentials.
(d) Career placement services.
(e) academic skills intake assessments and transcript evaluations.
D. On or before October 15 of each year, the state board of education, in consultation with the department of education, shall approve all qualified program providers and place those providers on an approved program providers list. Approved program providers shall begin enrolling students on or before November 15 of each year. Approved program providers maintain approval status unless the approved program provider is removed from the approved program providers list pursuant to subsection I of this section.
E. The department of education shall pay approved program providers the following amounts for each student who completes the following milestones:
1. $250 for each completed half unit of high school credit.
2. $250 for each completed employability skills certification.
3. $250 for each earned industry-recognized credential or stackable credential that requires not more than fifty hours of training.
4. $500 for each earned industry-recognized credential or stackable credential that requires at least fifty hours but not more than one hundred hours of training.
5. $750 for each earned industry-recognized credential or stackable credential that requires more than one hundred hours of training.
6. $1,000 for each earned high school diploma.
F. Approved Program Providers shall submit monthly invoices to the department of education not later than the tenth calendar day of each month for milestones met in the previous calendar month. The department of education shall pay approved program providers in the order in which invoices are submitted until all available monies are exhausted. The department of education shall provide a written update to the approved program providers on or before the last calendar day of each month, including the aggregate total dollars that have been paid to approved program providers to date and the estimated number of enrollments still available for the program year.
G. On or before July 15 of each year, each approved program provider shall report the following to the state board of education:
1. The total number of students who were funded through the program.
2. The total number of earned credits.
3. The total number of earned industry-recognized credentials or stackable credentials earned for each tier of funding.
4. The total number of students who graduated through the program.
5. The information required by the performance measures adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 15-217.
H. Beginning with the end of the second fiscal year of the program, the state board of education, in cooperation with the department of education, shall review data from each approved program provider to ensure that each approved program provider is achieving minimum program performance standards, including:
1. A graduation rate of at least fifty percent.
2. An average cost per graduate of $7,000 or less.
I. The state board of education, in cooperation with the department of education, shall place an approved program provider that does not meet the minimum program performance standards prescribed in subsection h of this section on probationary status for the remainder of the fiscal year. An approved program provider that does not meet the minimum performance standards for two consecutive years shall be removed from the approved program providers list.
J. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Academic skills intake assessment" means a criterion-referenced assessment of numeracy and literacy skills with high reliability and validity that is determined by third-party research and that may be administered in person or online.
2. "Accredited provider" means an entity that is currently accredited by one of the seven regional ACCREDITATION organizations or any successor entity.
3. "Approved program provider" means a public, nonprofit or other entity that meets the requirements of this section and that does not receive federal or state funding or private tuition for a student who is funded through the program.
4. "Average cost per graduate" means the total program funding dispersed to an approved program provider divided by the total number of graduates for a cohort calculated twelve months after the close of the cohort.
5. "Career pathways coursework" means one or more courses that align with the skill needs of industries in the economy of this state or region and that assist students to enter or advance within a specific occupation or occupational cluster.
6. "Career placement services" means services that are designed to assist students in obtaining employment, including career interest self-assessments, job search skills, résumé development and mock interviews.
7. "Cohort" means the students who enter the program between July 1 and June 30 of each program year.
8. "Employability skills certification" means a certificate earned by demonstrating professional nontechnical skills through assessment, portfolio or observation.
9. "Graduate" means a student who has successfully completed all state and approved program provider requirements to earn a high school diploma.
10. "Graduation rate" means the total number of graduates from a cohort divided by the total number of students from the same cohort calculated twelve months after the close of the cohort.
11. "Graduation requirements" means course and credit requirements needed to earn a high school diploma from an approved program provider.
12. "High school diploma" means a diploma that is issued by an accredited provider and that is recognized as a secondary school diploma by this state.
13. "Industry-recognized credential" means an education-related or work-related credential that verifies an individual's qualification or competence and that is issued by a third party with the relevant authority to issue the credential.
14. "Learning plan" means a documented plan that both:
(a) is designed to prepare a student to succeed in the program and the student's future endeavors.
(b) Identifies the courses and credits that are needed for a student to complete the program and that are approved program provider graduation requirements.
15. "Milestones" means objective measures of progress for which payment is made to an approved program provider under this section, including earned units of high school credit, earned industry-recognized credentials and earned high school diplomas.
16. "Program" means the adult workforce diploma program.
17. "Request for qualifications" means a request for interested potential program providers to submit evidence that they meet the qualifications prescribed by this section.
18. "Stackable credential" means a third-party credential that is part of a sequence of credentials that can be accumulated over time to build up an individual's qualifications to advance along a career pathway.
19. "Student" means a participant in the program who is at least twenty-one years of age, who is a resident of this state and who has not earned a high school diploma.
20. "Transcript evaluation" means a documented summary of credits that were earned in previous public or private accredited high schools compared with program and approved program provider graduation requirements.
21. "Unit of high school credit" means a credit that is awarded based on a student's demonstration that the student has successfully met the content expectations for the credit area as defined by subject area standards, expectations or guidelines.
15-217.03. Community college adult education workforce development program; fund; program schools; annual report
A. The community college adult education workforce development program is established within the state board of education, to be operated in cooperation with the department of education, to provide adult learners with integrated education and training programs and additional study and support services that lead to the issuance of both of the following:
1. A high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma.
2. An industry-recognized credential or community college degree.
B. To be eligible to participate in the program, the program applicant must be a community college that is a recognized high school diploma or HIGH SCHOOL equivalency DIPLOMA provider and provides education and workforce training that leadS to industry-recognized credentials or community college degrees. If a program applicant meets the requirements of this subsection, the department of education shall distribute monies to the program applicant as prescribed in subsection C of this section.
C. The community college adult education workforce development program fund is established consisting of legislative appropriations and any other monies. The department of education shall administer the fund. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations. Notwithstanding any other law, a program school shall be funded as follows:
1. The program school may receive up to $3,000 per full-time student enrolled in the program each fiscal year. Part-time students shall be funded in proportion to the number of enrolled courses or hours of instruction.
2. The department of education shall distribute fund monies to all program SCHOOLS THAT meet the criteria PRESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION b OF THIS SECTION in a proportional manner based on the number of adult learners each PROGRAM SCHOOL serves.
D. A program SCHOOL shall use monies received under this section to supplement and not supplant current program offerings. In addition to any monies received from the fund, a program SCHOOL may accept and spend federal monies and private grants, gifts, contributions and devises to assist the program SCHOOL in carrying out the purposes of this section. A program SCHOOL shall use monies received under subsection C of this section for adult learners to participate in a high school diploma or high school equivalency DIPLOMA program that also offers an industry-recognized credential or community college degree. A portion of monies may be used for additional support services to ensure the success of adult learners in the program, including the following:
1. Transportation assistance for ADULT LEARNERS with a demonstrated need.
2. Child care services for dependents of adult learners while the adult learner is on-site.
3. College and career counseling.
4. Job placement assistance.
E. For each year that monies are appropriated by the legislature to the fund established by subsection C of this section, on or before September 30, each program SCHOOL shall submit a report regarding the community college adult education workforce development program to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives and shall provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state. eACH report shall include, at a minimum, all of the following INFORMATION FOR EACH PROGRAM SCHOOL FOR THE PRECEDING SCHOOL YEAR:
1. The number of adult learners enrolled in the program.
2. The completion rate of high school diplomaS AND high school equivalency diplomaS EARNED BY adult learners enrolled in the program.
3. The average progress of ADULT LEARNERS toward meeting completion criteria.
4. The number and type of industry-recognized credentials, COMMUNITY COLLEGE degree credits and COMMUNITY COLLEGE degrees earned by adult learners enrolled in the program.
5. A descriptive summary of the community college adult education workforce development program offered.
6. The number of adult learners who have newly acquired proficiency in the English language.
7. The information required by the performance measures adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 15-217.
F. The state board of education, in cooperation with the department of education, may request information from any program applicant or program SCHOOL for the purposes of determining program eligibility and funding distributions under this section.
G. The state board, in cooperation with the department, may develop a process to bring a program SCHOOL into compliance or revoke the program SCHOOL's authorization to participate in the program, at the discretion of the state board, in cooperation with the department.
Sec. 2. Appropriations; adult workforce diploma program fund; community college adult education workforce development program fund
A. The sum of $6,000,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in each of fiscal years 2022-2023, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 to the adult workforce diploma program fund established by section 15-217.02, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act.
B. The sum of $6,000,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal years 2022-2023, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 to the community college adult education workforce development program fund established by section 15-217.03, Arizona Revised Statutes as added by this act."
Amend title to conform