GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

EXTRA SESSION 1994

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 58

Short Title:  Apprenticeship Program Grants.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representative Wilson.
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Referred to:  Education.
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February 9, 1994

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE GRANTS FOR LOCALLY DESIGNED PROGRAMS TO REDUCE CRIME BY PROVIDING A SCHOOL/WORK APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM FOR YOUTHS IN HIGH SCHOOLS THAT SERVE LOW-INCOME, HIGH-CRIME AREAS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to Aid to Local School Administrative Units, the sum of seven hundred thousand dollars ($700,000) for the 1994-95 fiscal year to provide grants for local school administrative units for locally designed innovative local programs to reduce crime by providing a school/work apprenticeship program for youths in high schools that serve low-income, high-crime areas.  These funds shall be used for 20 five-year grants of from twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per year to local school administrative units.  No more than fifteen percent (15%) of the funds each year shall be spent for administration of the program at the local level.
	A single local school administrative unit may apply for a grant or two or more adjacent local school administrative units may apply jointly for a grant for one or more of their schools that serve high school- and middle school-aged students.  Applicants for grants shall submit to the State Board of Education an application that includes the following information:
(1)	Data on the socioeconomic status, unemployment rates, and crime rates in the neighborhoods in which the youths who attend the target schools live, and the dropout and attendance rates for the target high schools.
(2)	A detailed plan for a school/work apprenticeship program that will provide high school-aged youths with apprenticeships in local businesses and industry and with academic training that is directly applicable to the job training that they are receiving at work.
(3)	A detailed plan for a program that will provide middle school-aged students with career counseling and curriculum planning assistance that will prepare them for employment.
(4)	A statement of how the grant funds will be used to enhance and encourage existing programs to serve these youths.
(5)	A statement of how the grant funds will be used in conjunction with existing State, federal, and local resources, and of any additional local funds or services that will be committed to the program.
In reviewing grant applications, the State Board of Education shall consider the severity of the local problems with regard to crime and the likelihood that the locally designed plan will provide a meaningful school/work apprenticeship program for students at the targeted schools.  The State Board of Education shall attempt to award grants to local school administrative units that are located geographically throughout the State, that use existing resources meaningfully for vocational programs to serve these youths, and that are making strong local commitments to vocational programs to serve these youths.  The State Board shall select grant recipients prior to January 1, 1995.
The State Board of Education shall contract with a private consultant to evaluate the program in July of 1997 and in July of 1998.  The evaluations shall include an analysis of the employability of the youths who participate in the program, their success at their careers, and testing results and graduation rates for their schools.  The State Board shall report the results of the evaluations immediately after receiving them to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee.
The State Board of Education shall report on how the funds are being used to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee prior to November 1 of each year of the program.  The State Board may report at any time to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on any recommended changes to the grant program.
Sec. 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1994.