A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to create the education and workforce innovation act.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Legislative Findings and Purpose.
The General Assembly finds that:
(1)	The Education and Workforce Innovation Act will accelerate progress toward high academic rigor and skills development with the goal of graduating every student both college and career ready.
(2)	The increased demand for a highly educated workforce requires North Carolina to prepare students to compete in the global economy.
(3)	It is the policy of the State to graduate all of its students ready for career and college.
(4)	Educational outcomes improve when there is coordination among K‑12 schools, universities, and community colleges. In addition, industry partnerships with these public schools enrich student learning and better prepare students for careers and college.
(5)	The increased cooperative or shared use of resources, personnel, and facilities between public schools, community colleges, and universities creates budget efficiencies.
(6)	North Carolina's economy benefits when high school students are given the opportunity to take higher level education classes to develop skills in occupations with high employment potential.
(7)	A skills gap exists in the State and is expected to exist in occupations relying on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
(8)	It is the policy of the State to encourage businesses and business leaders to participate in the improvement of our public schools by forming long-term partnerships with local school administrative units to integrate career relevance training with academic curriculum.
(9)	The Act is designed to stimulate economic activity through quality education.
(10)	It is the intent of the General Assembly that grants provided through this act be used to create innovative education programs that reshape classrooms, allow high school students to earn valued industry credentials or up to two years of college credit, provide comprehensive teacher professional development, and create scalable models of success in education.
SECTION 2.  There is created the North Carolina Education and Workforce Innovation Commission.
SECTION 3.  The Commission shall be located administratively in the Department of Public Instruction but shall exercise all its prescribed powers independently of the Department of Public Instruction. The Commission shall consist of the following 11 members:
(1)	The Secretary of Commerce.
(2)	The State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
(3)	The Chair of the State Board of Education.
(4)	The President of The University of North Carolina.
(5)	The President of the North Carolina Community College System.
(6)	Two members appointed by the Governor who have experience in education.
(7)	Two members appointed by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as provided in G.S. 120‑121 who have experience in businesses operating in North Carolina.
(8)	Two members appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, as provided in G.S. 120‑121 who have experience in businesses operating in North Carolina.
SECTION 4.  The Commission members shall elect a chair from the membership of the Commission. The Commission shall meet at least three times annually on the call of the Chair or as additionally provided by the Commission. A quorum is five members of the Commission. Members may not send designees to Commission meetings, nor may they vote by proxy. Appointments to the Commission shall be made by the appointing entity no later than September 1, 2013. The Commission shall hold its first meeting no later than October 1, 2013.
SECTION 5.  The Commission shall develop and administer the Education and Workforce Program created in Section 6 of this bill and make awards of grants under the Program. The Commission shall work closely with the North Carolina New Schools in administering the program. In addition, the Commission shall publish a report on the Education and Workforce Innovation Grant Program on or before April 30 of each year. The Report shall include: an accounting of how funds and personnel resources were utilized and their impact on student achievement, retention, and employability; recommended statutory and policy changes; and recommendations for improvement of the program. The Report shall be submitted to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, the State Board of Education, the State Board of Community Colleges, and the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina. The Commission shall also conduct a study to determine the most efficient way to fund dual enrollment for high school students in college coursework. The Committee shall report the results of this study to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee by October 1, 2014.
SECTION 6.  The Education and Workforce Innovation Program.
(1)	Program. – There is established the Education and Workforce Innovation Program, to foster innovation in education that will lead to more students graduating career and college ready. Funds appropriated to the Program shall be used to award competitive grants to an individual school, a local school administrative unit, or a regional partnership of more than one local school administrative unit to advance comprehensive, high-quality education that equips teachers with the knowledge and skill required to succeed with all students. Before receiving a grant, all applicants must meet all of the following conditions:
a.	Form a partnership, for the purposes of the grant, with either a public or private university or a community college.
b.	Form a partnership, for the purposes of the grant, with regional businesses and business leaders.
c.	Demonstrate the ability to sustain innovation once grant funding ends.
(2)	Applicant categories and specific requirements.
a.	Individual schools. – Individual public schools must demonstrate all of the following in their applications:
1.	Partnerships with business and industry to determine the skills and competencies needed for students' transition into growth sectors of the regional economy.
2.	Aligned pathways to employment, including students' acquisition of college credit or industry recognized credentials.
3.	Development of systems, infrastructure, capacity, and culture to enable teachers and school leaders to continuously focus on improving individual student achievement.
b.	Local School Administrative Units. – Local school administrative units must demonstrate all of the following in their applications:
1.	Implementation of comprehensive reform and innovation.
2.	Appointment of a senior leader to manage and sustain the change process with a specific focus on providing parents with a portfolio of meaningful options among schools.
c.	Regional partnerships of two or more local school administrative units. – Partnerships of two or more local school administrative units must demonstrate all of the following in their applications:
1.	Implementation of resources of partnered local school administrative units in creating a tailored workforce development system for the regional economy and seed innovation in each of the partnered local school administrative units.
2.	Promotion of the development of knowledge and skills in career clusters of critical importance to the region.
3.	Capitalization on the shared strengths of local businesses and higher education.
4.	Usage of technology to deliver instruction over large geographic regions and build networks with industry.
5.	Implementation of comprehensive reform and innovation that can be replicated in other local school administrative units.
(3)	General factors considered in awarding of grants. – All applications must do all of the following in order to be considered for a grant:
a.	Describe the aligned pathways from school to high-growth careers in regional economies.
b.	Leverage technology to efficiently and effectively drive teacher and principal development, connect students and teachers to online courses and resources and foster virtual learning communities among faculty, higher education partners, and business partners.
c.	Establish a comprehensive approach to enhancing the knowledge and skills of teachers and administrators to successfully implement the proposed innovative program and to graduate all students ready for work and college.
d.	Link to a proven provider of professional development services for teachers and administrators capable of providing evidence‑based training and tools aligned with the goals of the proposed innovative program.
e.	Form explicit partnerships with businesses and industry, which may include business advisory councils, internship programs, and other customized projects aligned with relevant workforce skills.
f.	Partner with community colleges or public or private universities to enable communities to challenge every student to graduate with workplace credentials or college credit.
g.	Align K‑12 and post‑secondary instruction and performance expectations to reduce the need for college remediation courses.
h.	Secure input from parents to foster broad ownership for school choice options and to foster greater understanding of the need for continued education beyond high school.
i.	Provide a description of the funds that will be used and a proposed budget for five years.
j.	A description of the matching funds required in subdivision (4) of this section.
(4)	Matching private and local funds. – All funds appropriated by the State must be matched by a combination of private and local funds. All grant applicants must fund twenty-five percent (25%) of program costs through local funds. An additional twenty-five percent (25%) of program costs must be raised by private funds statewide.
(5)	Grants. – Any grants awarded by the Commission may be spent over a five year period from the initial award.
(6)	Reporting requirements. – No later than March 1 of each year, a grant recipient shall submit to the Commission an annual report for the preceding grant year that describes the academic progress made by the students.
SECTION 7.  This act is effective when it becomes law.