AL
Alabama House Bill HB241

Alabama 2022 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB241 Compare Versions

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11 1 HB241
2-2 215678-2
2+2 215678-1
33 3 By Representatives Collins, Ball, Robertson, Moore (P), Estes,
44 4 Wood (D), Kitchens, Hurst, Meadows, Shiver, Baker, Stadthagen,
55 5 Ledbetter and Faulkner
66 6 RFD: Education Policy
77 7 First Read: 02-FEB-22
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12-4 A BILL
13-5 TO BE ENTITLED
14-6 AN ACT
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13+5
14+6
1515 7
16-8 Relating to credentials and the workforce; to create
17-9 the Alabama Credential Quality and Transparency Act as a new
18-10 Division 9, commencing with Section 41-29-350, Article 3,
19-11 Chapter 29, Title 41, Code of Alabama 1975; to establish the
20-12 Alabama Workforce Council Committee on Credential Quality and
21-13 Transparency; to provide for full, free, open, public, and
22-14 interoperable essential data about all educational and
23-15 occupational credentials and competencies available to the
24-16 residents of the state; to create the Alabama Terminal on
25-17 Linking and Analyzing Statistics (ATLAS) on Career Pathways
26-18 Act as a new Division 10, commencing with Section 41-29-360,
27-19 Article 3, Chapter 29, Title 41, Code of Alabama 1975; to
28-20 provide a database through which students, job seekers, and
29-21 employers may search, compare, and analyze common information
30-22 about credentials and competencies before making decisions
31-23 about the quality and value of credentials and the education
32-24 and workforce programs related to those credentials; to
33-25 establish the Alabama College and Career Readiness Act by
34-26 adding Section 41-29-298 to the Code of Alabama 1975; relating
35-27 to education, credentials, and the workforce; to establish a
36-Page 1 1 statewide definition of college and career readiness and for
37-2 other purposes relating to workforce development; and in
38-3 connection therewith to have as its purpose or effect the
39-4 requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds
40-5 within the meaning of Amendment 621 of the Constitution of
41-6 Alabama of 1901, as amended by Amendment 890, now appearing as
42-7 Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the
43-8 Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended.
44-9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
45-10 Section 1. Division 9, commencing with Section
46-11 41-29-350, is added to Article 3, Chapter 29, Title 41 of the
47-12 Code of Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
48-13 §41-29-350.
49-14 This division shall be known and may be cited as the
50-15 Alabama Credential Quality and Transparency Act.
51-16 §41-29-351.
52-17 The Legislature finds and declares all of the
53-18 following:
54-19 (1) With nearly 1,000,000 unique credentials in the
55-20 United States, and at least 5,000 available from Alabama-based
56-21 providers alone, too many Alabamians do not know which
57-22 credentials lead to desired outcomes, and employers are unable
58-23 to understand what skills workers bring to a job.
59-24 (2) It is critical for credential providers to
60-25 publish credentials to the Alabama Credential Registry in
61-26 searchable and comparable formats using a common schema
62-27 aligned with national standards and trends.
63-Page 2 1 (3) There is a need for better, consistent, and
64-2 transparent data about credentials and their outcomes in the
65-3 state to more accurately enable the Alabama Committee on
66-4 Credentialing and Career Pathways to identify credentials of
67-5 value.
68-6 §41-29-352.
69-7 For the purposes of this division, the following
70-8 terms shall have the following meanings:
71-9 (1) COMMITTEE. The Alabama Workforce Council
72-10 Committee on Credential Quality and Transparency.
73-11 (2) COMPETENCY. A description of measurable or
74-12 observable knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for the
75-13 successful performance of a task in a given context.
76-14 (3) CONSUMER. Includes, but is not limited to,
77-15 students, learners, workers, unemployed individuals, veterans,
78-16 employers, educators, counselors, program administrators,
79-17 policy makers, advocates, researchers, parents, and other
80-18 individuals who are invested in understanding the quality and
81-19 value of credentials and competencies in the education and
82-20 employment marketplace.
83-21 (4) CREDENTIAL. A qualification, achievement, or
84-22 recognition of competence by an external entity used to
85-23 indicate suitability through mastery of competencies
86-24 associated with the credential. For the purposes of this
87-25 division, credentials include, but are not limited to,
88-26 diplomas, microcredentials, badges, certificates, industry
89-27 recognized and registered apprenticeship certificates of
90-Page 3 1 completions, occupational licenses, certifications, and
91-2 degrees of all types and levels.
92-3 (5) CREDENTIAL PROVIDER. Any organization that owns,
93-4 offers, or issues an educational or occupational credential to
94-5 an individual.
95-6 (6) CREDENTIAL REGISTRY. The virtual repository of
96-7 Alabama competency and credential data, accessible to
97-8 credential providers and the public through an online profile.
98-9 (7) DYNAMIC CAREER PATHWAY. A career pathway that is
99-10 approved by the committee and that includes a sequence of
100-11 occupations that are included on the statewide and regional
101-12 lists of in-demand occupations and occupations that are part
102-13 of the dynamic career pathway but are not on a regional or
103-14 statewide list of in-demand occupations.
104-15 (8) OCCUPATIONAL ONTOLOGY. The tiered system for
105-16 classifying competencies and credentials based on their
106-17 alignment with specific occupations.
107-18 §41-29-353.
108-19 (a) The Alabama Workforce Council Committee on
109-20 Credential Quality and Transparency is established as a
110-21 committee of the Alabama Workforce Council to advise the
111-22 Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways on
112-23 making credential and competency data collected through the
113-24 Alabama Credential Registry publicly available, searchable,
114-25 comparable, and interoperable using open specifications and
115-26 linked data formats, including credential transparency
116-27 description language specifications.
117-Page 4 1 (b) The committee shall be composed of the following
118-2 members:
119-3 (1) One representative from each of the technical
120-4 advisory committees of the Alabama Committee on Credentialing
121-5 and Career Pathways.
122-6 (2) The Governor, or his or her designee, who shall
123-7 chair the committee, shall vote only in the case of a tie, and
124-8 may not make or second motions.
125-9 (3) The Secretary of the Department of Early
126-10 Childhood Education, or his or her designee.
127-11 (4) The State Superintendent of Education, or his or
128-12 her designee.
129-13 (5) The Executive Director of the Alabama Commission
130-14 on Higher Education, or his or her designee.
131-15 (6) The Chancellor of the Alabama Community College
132-16 System, or his or her designee.
133-17 (7) The Secretary of the Department of Commerce, of
134-18 his or her designee.
135-19 (8) The Secretary of Labor, or his or her designee.
136-20 (9) The Commissioner of the Department of
137-21 Rehabilitation Services, or his or her designee.
138-22 (c) The committee, no later than June 30, 2023, and
139-23 the 30th day of the month of June in each consecutive year,
140-24 shall provide to the Alabama Committee on Credentialing and
141-25 Career Pathways, an annual, up-to-date list of credentials of
142-26 value, to be known as the compendium of valuable credentials,
143-27 for each of the industry sectors. Based on recommendations
144-Page 5 1 provided by the Office of Education and Workforce Statistics,
145-2 the committee shall review each credential, newly published or
146-3 revised, to the Alabama Credential Registry, on a continuing
147-4 basis and at least annually, against the quality assurance
148-5 criteria as determined by the Alabama Committee on
149-6 Credentialing and Career Pathways, and shall classify each
150-7 credential registered to the Alabama Credential Registry,
151-8 along with its associated competencies, using the Alabama
152-9 Occupational Ontology.
153-10 (d) The committee shall ensure that open credential
154-11 and competency data is included in, used for, and benefits all
155-12 of the following:
156-13 (1) Providing data to improve navigations and
157-14 guidance tools for the state to identify education and career
158-15 pathways that lead to economic self-sufficiency, including the
159-16 Alabama College and Career Exploration Tool.
160-17 (2) Providing data to improve the process used by
161-18 the Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways to
162-19 identify credentials of value.
163-20 (3) Providing data to be used to determine the
164-21 return on investment for programs and credentials.
165-22 (4) Providing data on identifying gaps in the
166-23 availability of high-quality credentials in the state.
167-24 (5) Providing data to align education and workforce
168-25 credentials.
169-26 §41-29-354.
170-Page 6 1 (a) Essential information to maximize informed
171-2 consumer decisions about all nondegree workforce and
172-3 occupational credentials and their associated competencies,
173-4 costs, career pathways, process and outcome-based quality
174-5 assurance indicators, assessments that are delivered, issued,
175-6 funded, authorized, overseen, or governed in the state using
176-7 funding from the Education Trust Fund, the Workforce
177-8 Innovation and Opportunity Act (P.L. 113-128), licenses issued
178-9 by any state occupational licensing board or commission, the
179-10 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006
180-11 (P.L. 115-224), or the state approving agency for veterans
181-12 education and training shall be made publicly available,
182-13 searchable, comparable, and interoperable using open
183-14 specifications and linked data formats including credential
184-15 transparency description language specifications and the
185-16 annual publication of all educational and occupational
186-17 credentials, and their associated competencies, to the Alabama
187-18 Credential Registry.
188-19 (b) The format and specifications for making all
189-20 educational and occupational credentials and their associated
190-21 competencies public, open, and interoperable shall be approved
191-22 by the committee, be aligned with widely recognized and
192-23 adopted standards, and allow for open access across sectors
193-24 and platforms. The information shall be human-readable,
194-25 machine-actionable, current, accurate, and maintained on the
195-26 Alabama Credential Registry.
196-Page 7 1 (c) The committee shall coordinate the requirements
197-2 of this section to ensure that all required data collected
198-3 through the Alabama Credential Registry is made public in
199-4 required formats on the Alabama Credential Registry.
200-5 §41-29-355.
201-6 (a) All data published to the Alabama Credential
202-7 Registry in the required open formats and with the data
203-8 elements described in this division shall be fully available
204-9 to the public for open use. The data required under this
205-10 division shall not include any personally identifiable
206-11 information.
207-12 (b) No later than January 1, 2023, secondary and
208-13 postsecondary career and technical education credentials
209-14 funded through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical
210-15 Education Act of 2006 (P.L. 115-224) and programs listed on
211-16 the eligible training provider list funded through the
212-17 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (P.L. 113-128) shall
213-18 be registered to the compendium of valuable credentials
214-19 adopted by the Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career
215-20 Pathways and aligned to the Alabama Committee on Credentialing
216-21 and Career Pathways statewide and regional lists of in-demand
217-22 jobs or dynamic career pathways, or both.
218-23 (c) All credential and competency data published to
219-24 the Alabama Credential Registry shall satisfy the requirements
220-25 of this division on, or before, January 1, 2023.
221-Page 8 1 Section 2. Division 10, commencing with Section
222-2 41-29-360, is added to Article 3, Chapter 29, Title 41 of the
223-3 Code of Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
224-4 §41-29-360.
225-5 (a) This division shall be known and may be cited as
226-6 the Alabama Terminal on Linking and Analyzing Statistics
227-7 (ATLAS) on Career Pathways Act.
228-8 (b) For the purposes of this division, the following
229-9 terms shall have the following meanings:
230-10 (1) AGGREGATED DATA. Information produced by
231-11 combining unit-record data from one or more sources into
232-12 summary form for the purpose of analysis or public reporting,
233-13 or both.
234-14 (2) COUNCIL. The P-20W Council.
235-15 (3) DE-IDENTIFICATION. The removal of personally
236-16 identifiable information and other unique characteristics from
237-17 data so the data may be analyzed without disclosing the
238-18 identity of the associated individual.
239-19 (4) FAMILY EDUCATION RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA)
240-20 (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 C.F.R. Part 99). A federal law that
241-21 protects the privacy of student education records, applying to
242-22 all entities that receive funds through the United States
243-23 Department of Education.
244-24 (5) OFFICE. The Office of Education and Workforce
245-25 Statistics.
246-26 (6) P-20W. An abbreviation signifying the education
247-27 to workforce continuum, where P represents preschool, 20
248-Page 9 1 represents kindergarten through graduate school, and W
249-2 represents workforce.
250-3 (7) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION. A data
251-4 element, or combination of data elements, contained in an
252-5 electronic record that identifies an individual. Under the
253-6 federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the
254-7 term means identifiable information that is maintained
255-8 in education records, including direct identifiers, such as
256-9 the name or identification number of the student, indirect
257-10 identifiers, such as the date of birth of the student, or
258-11 other information which may be used to distinguish or trace
259-12 the identity of an individual, either directly or indirectly,
260-13 through linkages with other information.
261-14 (8) STUDENT DATA.
262-15 a. Data relating to student performance including
263-16 all of the following:
264-17 1. State and national assessments.
265-18 2. Course taking and completion.
266-19 3. Grade point average.
267-20 4. Remediation.
268-21 5. Retention.
269-22 6. Special population status as defined by the
270-23 Alabama Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act state plan.
271-24 7. Degree, diploma, or credential attainment.
272-25 8. Enrollment and absenteeism data.
273-26 9. Demographic data.
274-27 10. Suspension and expulsion records.
275-Page 10 1 11. Student financial aid data.
276-2 b. Student data does not include any of the
277-3 following:
278-4 1. Juvenile delinquency records.
279-5 2. Criminal records.
280-6 3. Medical and health records.
281-7 (9) SYSTEM. The Alabama Terminal on Linking and
282-8 Analyzing Statistics (ATLAS) on Career Pathways longitudinal
283-9 database system.
284-10 (10) WORKFORCE DATA. Data relating to any of the
285-11 following:
286-12 a. Employment status.
287-13 b. Wage information.
288-14 c. Special population status as defined by the
289-15 Alabama Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act state plan.
290-16 d. Geographic location of employment.
291-17 e. Industry or occupation, or both.
292-18 §41-29-361.
293-19 The Alabama Terminal on Linking and Analyzing
294-20 Statistics (ATLAS) on Career Pathways System is established as
295-21 a secure system to exchange and match individual-level
296-22 education and workforce data from partner agencies while
297-23 upholding legal protections to ensure the privacy and security
298-24 of personally identifiable information. The system makes it
299-25 possible to match data from various agencies and programs over
300-26 time to create longitudinal records that may then be
301-27 aggregated and analyzed to assist policy makers with
302-Page 11 1 developing strategies to improve education and workforce
303-2 outcomes. The system shall generate timely and accurate
304-3 information on education and training programs to empower
305-4 students, families, and employers with information to make
306-5 decisions best suited for their individual needs and to
307-6 improve the education and training systems at all levels. The
308-7 system shall be configured in the following manner:
309-8 (1) All information matched from partner agencies
310-9 shall be collected, safeguarded, kept confidential, and used
311-10 only by the Office of Education and Workforce Statistics in
312-11 accordance with this division and other state and federal law.
313-12 (2) Each partner entity shall retain ownership of
314-13 any data it provides to the system and shall reserve the right
315-14 to opt out of any research request if the request would
316-15 violate state or federal law. To that end, all of the
317-16 following shall apply:
318-17 a. A partner entity may not have access to data
319-18 owned by another partner entity unless a data request is
320-19 approved unanimously by the P-20W Council.
321-20 b. Nothing in this division or P-20W Council rule or
322-21 policy may prevent partners from engaging in direct data
323-22 sharing agreements with other partners or with external
324-23 entities, so long as the data to be shared is owned by the
325-24 contracting parties.
326-25 (3) The system shall serve as a data linkage that
327-26 connects student and workforce data provided by P-20W Council
328-27 member agencies.
329-Page 12 1 (4) The system shall conduct research relating to
330-2 all of the following:
331-3 a. The effectiveness of state and federal education
332-4 and workforce programs.
333-5 b. The performance of education preparation
334-6 programs.
335-7 c. Instructional practices, education program
336-8 design, and curriculum alignment.
337-9 d. Fulfilling data requests required for state and
338-10 federal reporting.
339-11 e. The research agenda adopted by the P-20W Council.
340-12 f. Fulfilling research requests from external
341-13 researchers or stakeholders that are unanimously approved by
342-14 the P-20W Council.
343-15 §41-29-362.
344-16 (a) The P-20W Council is established to govern the
345-17 system.
346-18 (b) The membership of the council shall consist of
347-19 all of the following:
348-20 (1) The Governor, or his or her designee, who shall
349-21 serve as chair of the council.
350-22 (2) Each partner agency head, or designee, who has
351-23 signed a memorandum of understanding to share data with the
352-24 system.
353-25 (3) The Chair of the House Ways and Means Education
354-26 Committee.
355-Page 13 1 (4) The Chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation
356-2 Education Committee.
357-3 (5) The Chair of the Alabama Workforce Council.
358-4 (6) Up to four members of the general public, who
359-5 are experienced in education and workforce data and
360-6 statistics, who shall be appointed by the Governor and serve
361-7 at the pleasure of the Governor.
362-8 (c) The council shall perform all of the following
363-9 duties:
364-10 (1) Develop a strategic plan, using a process that
365-11 is inclusive of the P-20W Council and all relevant
366-12 stakeholders, that includes a vision for all of the following:
367-13 a. Increasing data matching efficiencies.
368-14 b. Creating publicly available data visualization
369-15 and research tools.
370-16 c. Making aggregated data available to authorized
371-17 entities in a timely manner.
372-18 d. Creating a secure portal for authorized personnel
373-19 of the P-20W Council to transmit data to the Office of
374-20 Education and Workforce Statistics.
375-21 (2) Oversee the development, adoption, and
376-22 implementation of rules and policies to govern the proceedings
377-23 of the council, the office, and the system.
378-24 (3) Oversee compliance regarding the protection of
379-25 data shared with the system, including compliance with
380-26 applicable state and federal law.
381-Page 14 1 (4) Develop a data governance and security plan for
382-2 the system regarding the use, privacy, and security of data
383-3 consistent with state and federal law, including the federal
384-4 Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), publish the
385-5 plan on the system website, and provide an electronic copy of
386-6 the plan to each partner agency.
387-7 (5) Establish the research agenda for the system.
388-8 (6) Establish a process for proposing and approving
389-9 requests for reports using data matched in the system.
390-10 (7) Establish policies for sharing aggregated data
391-11 or reports with the public or external entities.
392-12 (8) Develop strategies for promoting the transparent
393-13 operation of the system.
394-14 (9) Form standing and ad hoc committees and working
395-15 groups from among its own membership to accomplish its duties.
396-16 (10) Prepare and provide an annual report to the
397-17 Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House of
398-18 Representatives, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Chairs
399-19 of the House Education Policy, Senate Education Policy, House
400-20 Ways and Means Education, and Senate Finance and Taxation
401-21 Education Committees on the implementation of the system and
402-22 the activities of the Office of Education and Workforce
403-23 Statistics during the preceding year. The report shall include
404-24 all of the following:
405-25 a. A list and analysis of all research studies
406-26 conducted by the P-20W Council and the Office of Education and
407-Page 15 1 Workforce Statistics using the system during the preceding
408-2 year.
409-3 b. Recommendations or policy changes made by the
410-4 system and the Office of Education and Workforce Statistics
411-5 during the preceding fiscal year.
412-6 c. Goals, recommendations, and priorities for the
413-7 succeeding fiscal year.
414-8 (d) All policies and procedures developed by the
415-9 P-20W Council for the governance and security plan shall apply
416-10 to the Office of Education and Workforce Statistics and all
417-11 vendors and contractors of the Office of Education and
418-12 Workforce Statistics with access to the system and shall be
419-13 incorporated in all contracts. The governance and security
420-14 plan developed pursuant to this section, at a minimum, shall
421-15 include all the following:
422-16 (1) Secure procedures; training; administrative,
423-17 physical, and technical safeguards; internal accountability
424-18 processes; periodic privacy and security audits; review and
425-19 risk assessments; and security clearance requirements for
426-20 individuals with access to personally identifiable
427-21 information.
428-22 (2) Sanctions for violations of the governance and
429-23 security plan.
430-24 (3) Prohibitions against the use of data for
431-25 unauthorized purposes.
432-26 (4) Record keeping, data backup, and data
433-27 destruction plans.
434-Page 16 1 (5) Access and use protocols for third-party vendors
435-2 and contractors.
436-3 §41-29-363.
437-4 (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a)
438-5 of Section 41-29-365:
439-6 (1) The regular meetings of the council shall be
440-7 held at a time and place established by the chair, at least
441-8 four times per state fiscal year.
442-9 (2) Special meetings of the council may be called by
443-10 the chair, or upon written request of a majority of the
444-11 members of the council.
445-12 (3) All regular and special meetings of the council
446-13 shall comply with the Open Meetings Act.
447-14 (b) A majority of the members of the council, or
448-15 their designees, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction
449-16 of business. Members of the council may participate in any
450-17 meeting by means of a telephonic conference, video conference,
451-18 or similar communications equipment, provided that all persons
452-19 participating in the meeting are able to hear one another at
453-20 the same time. Participation by such means shall constitute
454-21 in-person presence at a meeting.
455-22 (c) The council shall follow Robert's Rules of Order
456-23 to the extent that those procedures are not inconsistent with
457-24 this division and state law.
458-25 (d) The recording of any meeting of the council, or
459-26 of any committee of the council, and the public access
460-Page 17 1 thereto, shall be governed by the state law relating to open
461-2 meetings and the accessibility of public records.
462-3 (e)(1) Each member, including the chair, shall have
463-4 one vote on any measure before the council. Voting on all
464-5 matters shall be by voice vote or by roll call, and the ayes
465-6 and nays shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting.
466-7 (2) The chair may not make or second any motions,
467-8 unless otherwise provided by this division.
468-9 (3) Any action of a majority of a present quorum
469-10 shall be considered an act of the council.
470-11 (f) Each member of the council may appoint a
471-12 designee to represent him or her during the proceedings of the
472-13 council, and the designee shall enjoy the full rights and
473-14 privileges of a member of the council. A member shall notify
474-15 the chair, in writing, of the appointment of a designee.
475-16 Letters of designation shall remain on file with the chair and
476-17 the appointee shall be considered the official designee until
477-18 a subsequent designation letter is received, or a written
478-19 request is received by the chair to rescind the designation.
479-20 (g) The chair shall serve as parliamentarian, or may
480-21 designate a parliamentarian to serve the council. The ruling
481-22 of the parliamentarian on procedural questions shall be
482-23 considered final.
483-24 (h) The members of the P-20W Council shall not
484-25 receive a salary or per diem allowance for their service, but
485-26 shall be reimbursed through the Department of Commerce for
486-Page 18 1 expenses incurred in the performance of their duties for the
487-2 office at the same rate as provided for state employees.
488-3 (i) Direct access to personally identifying
489-4 information in the system is restricted to Office of Education
490-5 and Workforce Statistics staff and authorized staff approved
491-6 by the P-20W Council. The Office of Education and Workforce
492-7 Statistics agrees not to re-disclose personally identifiable
493-8 information or any information derived from the personally
494-9 identifiable information, except aggregated data as authorized
495-10 by the P-20W Council.
496-11 (j) Any person who knowingly releases data collected
497-12 pursuant to this division to any other person not authorized
498-13 to lawfully receive the data shall be guilty of a Class C
499-14 felony and punished as provided by law.
500-15 §41-29-364.
501-16 The council may establish standing or ad hoc
502-17 committees as necessary. Standing and ad hoc committees of the
503-18 council shall possess authority as provided by the council.
504-19 (1) A standing committee established by the council
505-20 shall operate until disbanded by an act of the council. Each
506-21 member of a standing committee shall be the contact of record
507-22 for the agencies he or she represents and shall provide timely
508-23 information and response to the Office of Education and
509-24 Workforce Statistics and the P-20W Council.
510-25 (2) An ad hoc committee established by the council
511-26 shall operate for a definite period of time or purpose
512-27 provided in the action establishing the ad hoc committee.
513-Page 19 1 (3) The chair of the council shall appoint the chair
514-2 of any standing or ad hoc committee and each member of the
515-3 council may serve on a standing or ad hoc committee.
516-4 (4) Each standing or ad hoc committee may establish
517-5 procedures for conducting the business of the committee.
518-6 §41-29-365.
519-7 (a) The Office of Education and Workforce Statistics
520-8 is established within the Department of Commerce to manage the
521-9 activities of the system on behalf of the council. The Office
522-10 of Education and Workforce Statistics shall be an authorized
523-11 representative for member agencies of the P-20W Council under
524-12 applicable state and federal laws and regulations for the
525-13 purposes of accessing, aggregating, deidentifying, and
526-14 compiling personally identifiable information for research
527-15 studies, evaluations, or audits. The director of the office
528-16 shall manage the office, serving an initial term of four
529-17 years, and shall be directed by and report to the P-20W
530-18 Council and shall be administratively supported by the
531-19 Department of Commerce. The director of the office, who may
532-20 not serve as a member of the council, shall serve as the
533-21 executive secretary of the council and shall coordinate and
534-22 facilitate all meetings and activities of the council and its
535-23 standing and ad hoc committees.
536-24 (b) The office shall perform all of the following
537-25 functions:
538-26 (1) Implement the directives of the P-20W Council
539-27 for the operation of the system.
540-Page 20 1 (2) Maintain and implement system data sharing
541-2 agreements, staff documentation, governance policies, and
542-3 procedures created by the council and its standing and ad hoc
543-4 committees.
544-5 (3) Maintain the daily operation of the system by
545-6 coordinating with developers, vendors, and partners.
546-7 (4) Monitor vendor and contractor compliance with
547-8 P-20W Council policies.
548-9 (5) Provide the council and its standing and ad hoc
549-10 committees with documentation regarding any developments,
550-11 updates, audits, data breaches, funding, and other activities
551-12 of the system on a regular basis.
552-13 (6) Provide the council with an annual report,
553-14 including any activities conducted and changes made, by
554-15 January 31 of each year.
555-16 (7) Coordinate research requests, gather data to
556-17 develop approved reports, and deliver reports to fulfill
557-18 requests unanimously approved by the P-20W Council.
558-19 (8) Coordinate regular audits of the system and
559-20 provide results of audits to the P-20W Council.
560-21 (9) Maintain compliance with state and federal data
561-22 privacy laws.
562-23 (10) Manage the activities of grants associated with
563-24 the system.
564-25 (11) Serve as the external representative for the
565-26 council on matters related to the operation of the system.
566-Page 21 1 (12) Collaborate with the Governor's Office of
567-2 Education and Workforce Transformation and the Alabama
568-3 Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways to manage the
569-4 annual Governor's Survey of Employer Competencies and produce
570-5 the competency models and dynamic career pathways, as defined
571-6 in Section 41-29-352, associated with the regional and
572-7 statewide in-demand occupations.
573-8 (13) Conduct research on the impact of state and
574-9 federal education and training programs, the performance of
575-10 education and workforce programs, and fulfill unanimously
576-11 approved information requests.
577-12 (c) In the event of a data breach, the office is
578-13 responsible for all of the following actions in compliance
579-14 with the Alabama Data Breach Notification Act of 2018:
580-15 (1) Notifying all partner agencies and all
581-16 potentially affected Alabama residents and employers of an
582-17 unauthorized release or disclosure of personal identifiable
583-18 information. A triggering event is considered a data breach
584-19 when personally identifiable information was or is reasonably
585-20 believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized individual
586-21 or entity.
587-22 (2) Notifying all council members within 24 hours
588-23 after the discovery of the data breach.
589-24 (3) Notifying all potentially affected Alabama
590-25 residents and employers of the data breach in writing, in the
591-26 most expedient means possible and without unreasonable delay,
592-27 unless the delay is necessary to comply with a law enforcement
593-Page 22 1 investigation. In no event shall the notification be provided
594-2 more than 15 days following the discovery of the data breach.
595-3 (4) Notifying the Attorney General, as required by
596-4 Section 8-38-6, if the number of individuals required to be
597-5 notified exceeds one thousand.
598-6 (5) Including in all written notifications to
599-7 affected residents and employers, instructions for monitoring
600-8 their credit reports.
601-9 (6) Conducting an analysis to assess the level of
602-10 the data breach and performing tests to ensure that the data
603-11 breach has been eliminated.
604-12 (7) Suspending any new data imports from partner
605-13 agencies until the required analysis and testing has been
606-14 completed, and providing written assurances, to those partner
607-15 agencies affected by the data breach, that the data breach is
608-16 no longer a threat and that a plan is being developed to
609-17 improve the system to prevent future occurrences.
610-18 (d) No member of, or designee appointed to, the
611-19 council or any standing or ad hoc committee of the council may
612-20 vote or otherwise participate in any discussion or debate on
613-21 any matter before the council in which he or she, or an
614-22 immediate family member, has a direct personal or pecuniary
615-23 interest. A member or designee shall notify the chair of the
616-24 council in writing of any conflict of interest.
617-25 (e) No state agency may use data shared by another
618-26 state agency without the express consent of the agency that
619-27 owns the data.
620-Page 23 1 (f) Local education agencies, public institutions of
621-2 higher education, and state agencies shall respond to the data
622-3 requests and requirements of the P-20W Council and the Office
623-4 of Education and Workforce Statistics in a timely and complete
624-5 manner.
625-6 (g) The Office of Education and Workforce Statistics
626-7 may provide summary data to a publicly accessible web-based
627-8 platform that is capable of assisting current and prospective
628-9 students in making informed decisions about possible
629-10 postsecondary credential pathways and outcomes. The web-based
630-11 platform shall not contain personally identifiable
631-12 information. Any personally identifiable information collected
632-13 for the purposes of supporting or populating the web-based
633-14 platform shall be aggregated into summary statistics before
634-15 the information is used to ensure that the results cannot be
635-16 used to identify individual students. The web-based platform
636-17 shall do all of the following:
637-18 (1) Be capable of searching and comparing available
638-19 data across multiple programs and institution types.
639-20 (2) Provide additional information on state-funded
640-21 financial aid options.
641-22 (3) Include military enlistment opportunities and
642-23 benefits information including the Alabama National Guard.
643-24 (4) Provide information on regional and statewide
644-25 in-demand occupations.
645-26 Section 3. Section 41-29-298 is added to the Code of
646-27 Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
647-Page 24 1 §41-29-298.
648-2 (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as
649-3 the Alabama College and Career Readiness Act.
650-4 (b) For the purposes of this section, the following
651-5 terms shall have the following meanings:
652-6 (1) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION. The term has the
653-7 same meaning as provided in Section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins
654-8 Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (P.L. 115-224).
655-9 (2) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION CONCENTRATOR. At
656-10 the secondary school level, a student who has completed three
657-11 or more career and technical education courses; or completed
658-12 at least two courses in a single career and technical
659-13 education program or program of study; or at the postsecondary
660-14 level, a postsecondary student or adult who completes either
661-15 of the following:
662-16 a. At least 12 academic or career and technical
663-17 education credits within a single program area sequence that
664-18 is comprised of 12 or more academic and technical credits and
665-19 terminates in the award of an industry-recognized credential,
666-20 a certificate, or a degree.
667-21 b. A short-term career and technical education
668-22 program sequence of less than 12 credit units that terminates
669-23 in the award of an industry-recognized credential, a
670-24 certificate, or a degree.
671-25 (3) COOPERATIVE EDUCATION. A method of education for
672-26 an individual who, through written cooperative arrangements
673-27 between a school and employer, receives instruction, including
674-Page 25 1 required rigorous and challenging academic courses and related
675-2 career and technical education instruction, by alternation of
676-3 study in school with a job in any occupational field, which
677-4 alternation shall be planned and supervised by the school and
678-5 employer so that each contributes to the education and
679-6 employability of the individual; and may include an
680-7 arrangement in which work periods and school attendance may be
681-8 on alternate half days, full days, weeks, or other periods of
682-9 time in fulfilling the cooperative program. The term also
683-10 includes paid work with the express goal of attaining work
684-11 experience for the participant where the work performed may
685-12 not directly relate to the field of study of the student. At
686-13 the postsecondary level, a cooperative arrangement should
687-14 provide practical experience in the field of study of the
688-15 student.
689-16 (4) INTERNSHIP. Paid or unpaid work experience,
690-17 usually for a predetermined period of time, that familiarizes
691-18 potential candidates with the specific industry or the
692-19 specific employer, or both, who is hosting the intern. An
693-20 internship is typically a one-time work or service experience
694-21 related to the major or career goals of the student. An
695-22 internship involves students working in professional settings
696-23 under the supervision and monitoring of practicing
697-24 professionals. The completion of an internship organized by an
698-25 educational institution may be associated with earning
699-26 secondary or postsecondary course credit.
700-Page 26 1 (5) ON-THE-JOB LEARNING. Paid work experience with
701-2 the same characteristics as cooperative education and with the
702-3 added distinction that the work performed and tasks learned on
703-4 the job are directly linked to the technical instruction the
704-5 student is receiving.
705-6 (6) PREAPPRENTICESHIP. Designed to prepare students
706-7 to enter and succeed in a registered apprenticeship and
707-8 ultimately a career. A preapprenticeship program offers
708-9 participants structured training opportunities to prepare them
709-10 for entry into a registered apprenticeship program and may
710-11 provide services that a participant needs to progress into an
711-12 apprenticeship including, work readiness skills and other
712-13 wrap-around supports. To be considered a preapprenticeship,
713-14 training shall be connected to a registered apprenticeship.
714-15 Participants in a preapprenticeship shall complete on-the-job
715-16 learning or related technical instruction which shall be
716-17 counted towards completion of a registered apprenticeship if
717-18 the preapprentice becomes an apprentice. Preapprenticeship
718-19 programs shall be certified by the state apprenticeship agency
719-20 as an indicator of quality and to provide assurance the
720-21 content has been validated to count towards a registered
721-22 apprenticeship program.
722-23 (7) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM. A plan
723-24 containing all terms and conditions for the qualification,
724-25 recruitment, selection, employment, and training of
725-26 apprentices, as required under 29 C.F.R. Parts 29 and 30, and
726-Page 27 1 rules adopted by the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship,
727-2 including rules requiring a written apprenticeship agreement.
728-3 (8) STATE APPRENTICESHIP AGENCY. The Alabama Office
729-4 of Apprenticeship.
730-5 (c) Commencing with the 2023-2024 school year,
731-6 students in public schools shall earn one or more of the
732-7 following college or career readiness indicators, and any
733-8 additional college and career readiness indicators approved by
734-9 the State Board of Education, before graduation:
735-10 (1) Earning a benchmark score in any subject area on
736-11 the ACT college entrance exam.
737-12 (2) Earning a qualifying score of three or higher on
738-13 an advanced placement exam.
739-14 (3) Earning a qualifying score of four or higher on
740-15 an international baccalaureate exam.
741-16 (4) Earning college credit while in high school.
742-17 (5) Earning a silver or gold level on the ACT
743-18 WorkKeys Exam.
744-19 (6) Registration in a school youth registered
745-20 apprenticeship program.
746-21 (7) Completing a certified preapprenticeship
747-22 program.
748-23 (8) Earning a career technical industry credential
749-24 listed on the compendium of valuable credentials of the
750-25 Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways.
751-26 (9) Being accepted into the military before
752-27 graduation.
753-Page 28 1 (10) Attaining career and technical education
754-2 concentrator status.
755-3 (d) The State Superintendent of Education shall
756-4 require career coaches funded through the Career Coaches
757-5 Initiative of the state Career Tech Initiative supported by
758-6 the Education Trust Fund, as defined and described in Chapter
759-7 13 of Title 16 and Chapter 9 of Title 29, Code of Alabama
760-8 1975, to satisfy or surpass annual targets, established by the
761-9 State Superintendent of Education and the Chair of the Alabama
762-10 Workforce Council, to increase the number of employer
763-11 placements for students participating in an internship,
764-12 cooperative education, on-the-job learning, preapprenticeship,
765-13 or registered apprenticeship programs recognized by the state
766-14 apprenticeship agency that are aligned to an occupation listed
767-15 on a regional or statewide list of in-demand occupations
768-16 adopted by the Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career
769-17 Pathways.
770-18 (e) Commencing with the 2023-2024 school year, the
771-19 career preparedness course required for graduation from public
772-20 K-12 schools shall include all of the following:
773-21 (1) Exploration of the in-demand jobs in the state
774-22 as identified annually by the Alabama Committee on
775-23 Credentialing and Career Pathways.
776-24 (2) Completion of the Alabama Works financial
777-25 literacy module approved by the State Superintendent of
778-26 Education and the Chair of the Alabama Workforce Council.
779-Page 29 1 (3) A work-based learning experience aligned to the
780-2 Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways list of
781-3 in-demand occupations.
782-4 (4) Establishment of a state college and career
783-5 exploration tool account for each participating student.
784-6 (5) Completion of a workforce preparedness module
785-7 approved by the Alabama Workforce Council that is focused on
786-8 employability skills, resume and interview success, and
787-9 securing postsecondary and workforce opportunities post high
788-10 school.
789-11 (f) The State Superintendent of Education and the
790-12 Chair of the Alabama Workforce Council shall collaborate to
791-13 implement the modifications and customization of the career
792-14 preparedness course to meet the needs of each of the seven
793-15 workforce regions of the state.
794-16 (g) On or before December 30, 2022, the career
795-17 preparedness course of study shall be revised to reflect the
796-18 provisions of this subsection. Thereafter, the career
797-19 preparedness course of study shall be revised every seven
798-20 years.
799-21 Section 4. The appointing authorities for the
800-22 Alabama Workforce Council Committee on Credential Quality and
801-23 Transparency and the P-20W Council shall coordinate their
802-24 appointments to assure the Alabama Workforce Council Committee
803-25 on Credential Quality and Transparency and the P-20W Council
804-26 membership is inclusive and reflects the racial, gender,
805-27 geographic, urban, rural, and economic diversity of the state.
806-Page 30 1 Section 5. Although this bill would have as its
807-2 purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased
808-3 expenditure of local funds, the bill is excluded from further
809-4 requirements and application under Amendment 621, as amended
810-5 by Amendment 890, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the
811-6 Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901,
812-7 as amended, because the bill defines a new crime or amends the
813-8 definition of an existing crime.
814-9 Section 6. This act shall become effective on the
815-10 first day of the third month following its passage and
816-11 approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.
817-Page 31 1
818-2
819-House of Representatives3
820-Read for the first time and re-4
821-5 ferred to the House of Representa-
822-6 tives committee on Education Policy
823-....................................7 .......02-FEB-22
824- 8
825-Read for the second time and placed9
826-on the calendar 1 amendment ......10 .......09-FEB-22
827- 11
828-Read for the third time and passed12
829-as amended.........................13 .......15-FEB-22
830-Yeas 98, Nays 2, Abstains 014
831- 15
832-16 Jeff Woodard
833-17 Clerk
834-18
16+8 SYNOPSIS: This bill would establish the Alabama
17+9 Credential Quality and Transparency Act and the
18+10 Alabama Workforce Council Committee on Credential
19+11 Quality and Transparency; would establish the
20+12 Alabama Terminal on Linking and Analyzing
21+13 Statistics (ATLAS) on Career Pathways Act; and
22+14 would establish the Alabama College and Career
23+15 Readiness Act.
24+16 This bill would provide for full, free,
25+17 open, public, and interoperable essential data
26+18 about all educational and occupational credentials
27+19 and competencies available to the residents of the
28+20 state.
29+21 This bill would provide a database through
30+22 which students, job seekers, and employers may
31+23 search, compare, and analyze common information
32+24 about credentials and competencies before making
33+25 decisions about the quality and value of
34+26 credentials and the education and workforce
35+27 programs related to those credentials.
36+Page 1 1 This bill would also establish a statewide
37+2 definition of college and career readiness.
38+3 Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama
39+4 of 1901, as amended by Amendment 890, now appearing
40+5 as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of
41+6 the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, prohibits a
42+7 general law whose purpose or effect would be to
43+8 require a new or increased expenditure of local
44+9 funds from becoming effective with regard to a
45+10 local governmental entity without enactment by a
46+11 2/3 vote unless: it comes within one of a number of
47+12 specified exceptions; it is approved by the
48+13 affected entity; or the Legislature appropriates
49+14 funds, or provides a local source of revenue, to
50+15 the entity for the purpose.
51+16 The purpose or effect of this bill would be
52+17 to require a new or increased expenditure of local
53+18 funds within the meaning of the amendment. However,
54+19 the bill does not require approval of a local
55+20 governmental entity or enactment by a 2/3 vote to
56+21 become effective because it comes within one of the
57+22 specified exceptions contained in the amendment.
58+23
59+24 A BILL
60+25 TO BE ENTITLED
61+26 AN ACT
62+27
63+Page 2 1 Relating to credentials and the workforce; to create
64+2 the Alabama Credential Quality and Transparency Act as a new
65+3 Division 9, commencing with Section 41-29-350, Article 3,
66+4 Chapter 29, Title 41, Code of Alabama 1975; to establish the
67+5 Alabama Workforce Council Committee on Credential Quality and
68+6 Transparency; to provide for full, free, open, public, and
69+7 interoperable essential data about all educational and
70+8 occupational credentials and competencies available to the
71+9 residents of the state; to create the Alabama Terminal on
72+10 Linking and Analyzing Statistics (ATLAS) on Career Pathways
73+11 Act as a new Division 10, commencing with Section 41-29-360,
74+12 Article 3, Chapter 29, Title 41, Code of Alabama 1975; to
75+13 provide a database through which students, job seekers, and
76+14 employers may search, compare, and analyze common information
77+15 about credentials and competencies before making decisions
78+16 about the quality and value of credentials and the education
79+17 and workforce programs related to those credentials; to
80+18 establish the Alabama College and Career Readiness Act by
81+19 adding Section 41-29-298 to the Code of Alabama 1975; relating
82+20 to education, credentials, and the workforce; to establish a
83+21 statewide definition of college and career readiness and for
84+22 other purposes relating to workforce development; and in
85+23 connection therewith to have as its purpose or effect the
86+24 requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds
87+25 within the meaning of Amendment 621 of the Constitution of
88+26 Alabama of 1901, as amended by Amendment 890, now appearing as
89+Page 3 1 Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the
90+2 Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended.
91+3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
92+4 Section 1. Division 9, commencing with Section
93+5 41-29-350, is added to Article 3, Chapter 29, Title 41 of the
94+6 Code of Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
95+7 §41-29-350.
96+8 This division shall be known and may be cited as the
97+9 Alabama Credential Quality and Transparency Act.
98+10 §41-29-351.
99+11 The Legislature finds and declares all of the
100+12 following:
101+13 (1) With nearly 1,000,000 unique credentials in the
102+14 United States, and at least 5,000 available from Alabama-based
103+15 providers alone, too many Alabamians do not know which
104+16 credentials lead to desired outcomes, and employers are unable
105+17 to understand what skills workers bring to a job.
106+18 (2) It is critical for credential providers to
107+19 publish credentials to the Alabama Credential Registry in
108+20 searchable and comparable formats using a common schema
109+21 aligned with national standards and trends.
110+22 (3) There is a need for better, consistent, and
111+23 transparent data about credentials and their outcomes in the
112+24 state to more accurately enable the Alabama Committee on
113+25 Credentialing and Career Pathways to identify credentials of
114+26 value.
115+27 §41-29-352.
116+Page 4 1 For the purposes of this division, the following
117+2 terms shall have the following meanings:
118+3 (1) COMMITTEE. The Alabama Workforce Council
119+4 Committee on Credential Quality and Transparency.
120+5 (2) COMPETENCY. A description of measurable or
121+6 observable knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for the
122+7 successful performance of a task in a given context.
123+8 (3) CONSUMER. Includes, but is not limited to,
124+9 students, learners, workers, unemployed individuals, veterans,
125+10 employers, educators, counselors, program administrators,
126+11 policy makers, advocates, researchers, parents, and other
127+12 individuals who are invested in understanding the quality and
128+13 value of credentials and competencies in the education and
129+14 employment marketplace.
130+15 (4) CREDENTIAL. A qualification, achievement, or
131+16 recognition of competence by an external entity used to
132+17 indicate suitability through mastery of competencies
133+18 associated with the credential. For the purposes of this
134+19 division, credentials include, but are not limited to,
135+20 diplomas, microcredentials, badges, certificates, industry
136+21 recognized and registered apprenticeship certificates of
137+22 completions, occupational licenses, certifications, and
138+23 degrees of all types and levels.
139+24 (5) CREDENTIAL PROVIDER. Any organization that owns,
140+25 offers, or issues an educational or occupational credential to
141+26 an individual.
142+Page 5 1 (6) CREDENTIAL REGISTRY. The virtual repository of
143+2 Alabama competency and credential data, accessible to
144+3 credential providers and the public through an online profile.
145+4 (7) DYNAMIC CAREER PATHWAY. A career pathway that is
146+5 approved by the committee and that includes a sequence of
147+6 occupations that are included on the statewide and regional
148+7 lists of in-demand occupations and occupations that are part
149+8 of the dynamic career pathway but are not on a regional or
150+9 statewide list of in-demand occupations.
151+10 (8) OCCUPATIONAL ONTOLOGY. The tiered system for
152+11 classifying competencies and credentials based on their
153+12 alignment with specific occupations.
154+13 §41-29-353.
155+14 (a) The Alabama Workforce Council Committee on
156+15 Credential Quality and Transparency is established as a
157+16 committee of the Alabama Workforce Council to advise the
158+17 Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways on
159+18 making credential and competency data collected through the
160+19 Alabama Credential Registry publicly available, searchable,
161+20 comparable, and interoperable using open specifications and
162+21 linked data formats, including credential transparency
163+22 description language specifications.
164+23 (b) The committee shall be composed of the following
165+24 members:
166+25 (1) One representative from each of the technical
167+26 advisory committees of the Alabama Committee on Credentialing
168+27 and Career Pathways.
169+Page 6 1 (2) The Governor, or his or her designee, who shall
170+2 chair the committee, shall vote only in the case of a tie, and
171+3 may not make or second motions.
172+4 (3) The Secretary of the Department of Early
173+5 Childhood Education, or his or her designee.
174+6 (4) The State Superintendent of Education, or his or
175+7 her designee.
176+8 (5) The Executive Director of the Alabama Commission
177+9 on Higher Education, or his or her designee.
178+10 (6) The Chancellor of the Alabama Community College
179+11 System, or his or her designee.
180+12 (7) The Secretary of the Department of Commerce, of
181+13 his or her designee.
182+14 (8) The Secretary of Labor, or his or her designee.
183+15 (9) The Commissioner of the Department of
184+16 Rehabilitation Services, or his or her designee.
185+17 (c) The committee, no later than June 30, 2023, and
186+18 the 30th day of the month of June in each consecutive year,
187+19 shall provide to the Alabama Committee on Credentialing and
188+20 Career Pathways, an annual, up-to-date list of credentials of
189+21 value, to be known as the compendium of valuable credentials,
190+22 for each of the industry sectors. Based on recommendations
191+23 provided by the Office of Education and Workforce Statistics,
192+24 the committee shall review each credential, newly published or
193+25 revised, to the Alabama Credential Registry, on a continuing
194+26 basis and at least annually, against the quality assurance
195+27 criteria as determined by the Alabama Committee on
196+Page 7 1 Credentialing and Career Pathways, and shall classify each
197+2 credential registered to the Alabama Credential Registry,
198+3 along with its associated competencies, using the Alabama
199+4 Occupational Ontology.
200+5 (d) The committee shall ensure that open credential
201+6 and competency data is included in, used for, and benefits all
202+7 of the following:
203+8 (1) Providing data to improve navigations and
204+9 guidance tools for the state to identify education and career
205+10 pathways that lead to economic self-sufficiency, including the
206+11 Alabama College and Career Exploration Tool.
207+12 (2) Providing data to improve the process used by
208+13 the Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways to
209+14 identify credentials of value.
210+15 (3) Providing data to be used to determine the
211+16 return on investment for programs and credentials.
212+17 (4) Providing data on identifying gaps in the
213+18 availability of high-quality credentials in the state.
214+19 (5) Providing data to align education and workforce
215+20 credentials.
216+21 §41-29-354.
217+22 (a) Essential information to maximize informed
218+23 consumer decisions about all nondegree workforce and
219+24 occupational credentials and their associated competencies,
220+25 costs, career pathways, process and outcome-based quality
221+26 assurance indicators, assessments that are delivered, issued,
222+27 funded, authorized, overseen, or governed in the state using
223+Page 8 1 funding from the Education Trust Fund, the Workforce
224+2 Innovation and Opportunity Act (P.L. 113-128), licenses issued
225+3 by any state occupational licensing board or commission, the
226+4 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006
227+5 (P.L. 115-224), or the state approving agency for veterans
228+6 education and training shall be made publicly available,
229+7 searchable, comparable, and interoperable using open
230+8 specifications and linked data formats including credential
231+9 transparency description language specifications and the
232+10 annual publication of all educational and occupational
233+11 credentials, and their associated competencies, to the Alabama
234+12 Credential Registry.
235+13 (b) The format and specifications for making all
236+14 educational and occupational credentials and their associated
237+15 competencies public, open, and interoperable shall be approved
238+16 by the committee, be aligned with widely recognized and
239+17 adopted standards, and allow for open access across sectors
240+18 and platforms. The information shall be human-readable,
241+19 machine-actionable, current, accurate, and maintained on the
242+20 Alabama Credential Registry.
243+21 (c) The committee shall coordinate the requirements
244+22 of this section to ensure that all required data collected
245+23 through the Alabama Credential Registry is made public in
246+24 required formats on the Alabama Credential Registry.
247+25 §41-29-355.
248+26 (a) All data published to the Alabama Credential
249+27 Registry in the required open formats and with the data
250+Page 9 1 elements described in this division shall be fully available
251+2 to the public for open use. The data required under this
252+3 division shall not include any personally identifiable
253+4 information.
254+5 (b) No later than January 1, 2023, secondary and
255+6 postsecondary career and technical education credentials
256+7 funded through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical
257+8 Education Act of 2006 (P.L. 115-224) and programs listed on
258+9 the eligible training provider list funded through the
259+10 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (P.L. 113-128) shall
260+11 be registered to the compendium of valuable credentials
261+12 adopted by the Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career
262+13 Pathways and aligned to the Alabama Committee on Credentialing
263+14 and Career Pathways statewide and regional lists of in-demand
264+15 jobs or dynamic career pathways, or both.
265+16 (c) All credential and competency data published to
266+17 the Alabama Credential Registry shall satisfy the requirements
267+18 of this division on, or before, January 1, 2023.
268+19 Section 2. Division 10, commencing with Section
269+20 41-29-360, is added to Article 3, Chapter 29, Title 41 of the
270+21 Code of Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
271+22 §41-29-360.
272+23 (a) This division shall be known and may be cited as
273+24 the Alabama Terminal on Linking and Analyzing Statistics
274+25 (ATLAS) on Career Pathways Act.
275+26 (b) For the purposes of this division, the following
276+27 terms shall have the following meanings:
277+Page 10 1 (1) AGGREGATED DATA. Information produced by
278+2 combining unit-record data from one or more sources into
279+3 summary form for the purpose of analysis or public reporting,
280+4 or both.
281+5 (2) COUNCIL. The P-20W Council.
282+6 (3) DE-IDENTIFICATION. The removal of personally
283+7 identifiable information and other unique characteristics from
284+8 data so the data may be analyzed without disclosing the
285+9 identity of the associated individual.
286+10 (4) FAMILY EDUCATION RIGHTS AND PRIVACY ACT (FERPA)
287+11 (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 C.F.R. Part 99). A federal law that
288+12 protects the privacy of student education records, applying to
289+13 all entities that receive funds through the United States
290+14 Department of Education.
291+15 (5) OFFICE. The Office of Education and Workforce
292+16 Statistics.
293+17 (6) P-20W. An abbreviation signifying the education
294+18 to workforce continuum, where P represents preschool, 20
295+19 represents kindergarten through graduate school, and W
296+20 represents workforce.
297+21 (7) PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION. A data
298+22 element, or combination of data elements, contained in an
299+23 electronic record that identifies an individual. Under the
300+24 federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the
301+25 term means identifiable information that is maintained
302+26 in education records, including direct identifiers, such as
303+27 the name or identification number of the student, indirect
304+Page 11 1 identifiers, such as the date of birth of the student, or
305+2 other information which may be used to distinguish or trace
306+3 the identity of an individual, either directly or indirectly,
307+4 through linkages with other information.
308+5 (8) STUDENT DATA.
309+6 a. Data relating to student performance including
310+7 all of the following:
311+8 1. State and national assessments.
312+9 2. Course taking and completion.
313+10 3. Grade point average.
314+11 4. Remediation.
315+12 5. Retention.
316+13 6. Special population status as defined by the
317+14 Alabama Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act state plan.
318+15 7. Degree, diploma, or credential attainment.
319+16 8. Enrollment and absenteeism data.
320+17 9. Demographic data.
321+18 10. Suspension and expulsion records.
322+19 11. Student financial aid data.
323+20 b. Student data does not include any of the
324+21 following:
325+22 1. Juvenile delinquency records.
326+23 2. Criminal records.
327+24 3. Medical and health records.
328+25 (9) SYSTEM. The Alabama Terminal on Linking and
329+26 Analyzing Statistics (ATLAS) on Career Pathways longitudinal
330+27 database system.
331+Page 12 1 (10) WORKFORCE DATA. Data relating to any of the
332+2 following:
333+3 a. Employment status.
334+4 b. Wage information.
335+5 c. Special population status as defined by the
336+6 Alabama Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act state plan.
337+7 d. Geographic location of employment.
338+8 e. Industry or occupation, or both.
339+9 §41-29-361.
340+10 The Alabama Terminal on Linking and Analyzing
341+11 Statistics (ATLAS) on Career Pathways System is established as
342+12 a secure system to exchange and match individual-level
343+13 education and workforce data from partner agencies while
344+14 upholding legal protections to ensure the privacy and security
345+15 of personally identifiable information. The system makes it
346+16 possible to match data from various agencies and programs over
347+17 time to create longitudinal records that may then be
348+18 aggregated and analyzed to assist policy makers with
349+19 developing strategies to improve education and workforce
350+20 outcomes. The system shall generate timely and accurate
351+21 information on education and training programs to empower
352+22 students, families, and employers with information to make
353+23 decisions best suited for their individual needs and to
354+24 improve the education and training systems at all levels. The
355+25 system shall be configured in the following manner:
356+26 (1) All information matched from partner agencies
357+27 shall be collected, safeguarded, kept confidential, and used
358+Page 13 1 only by the Office of Education and Workforce Statistics in
359+2 accordance with this division and other state and federal law.
360+3 (2) Each partner entity shall retain ownership of
361+4 any data it provides to the system. To that end, all of the
362+5 following shall apply:
363+6 a. A partner entity may not have access to data
364+7 owned by another partner entity unless a data request is
365+8 approved unanimously by the P-20W Council.
366+9 b. Nothing in this division or P-20W Council rule or
367+10 policy may prevent partners from engaging in direct data
368+11 sharing agreements with other partners or with external
369+12 entities, so long as the data to be shared is owned by the
370+13 contracting parties.
371+14 (3) The system shall serve as a data linkage that
372+15 connects student and workforce data provided by P-20W Council
373+16 member agencies.
374+17 (4) The system shall conduct research relating to
375+18 all of the following:
376+19 a. The effectiveness of state and federal education
377+20 and workforce programs.
378+21 b. The performance of education preparation
379+22 programs.
380+23 c. Instructional practices, education program
381+24 design, and curriculum alignment.
382+25 d. Fulfilling data requests required for state and
383+26 federal reporting.
384+27 e. The research agenda adopted by the P-20W Council.
385+Page 14 1 f. Fulfilling research requests from external
386+2 researchers or stakeholders that are unanimously approved by
387+3 the P-20W Council.
388+4 §41-29-362.
389+5 (a) The P-20W Council is established to govern the
390+6 system.
391+7 (b) The membership of the council shall consist of
392+8 all of the following:
393+9 (1) The Governor, or his or her designee, who shall
394+10 serve as chair of the council.
395+11 (2) Each partner agency head, or designee, who has
396+12 signed a memorandum of understanding to share data with the
397+13 system.
398+14 (3) The Chair of the House Ways and Means Education
399+15 Committee.
400+16 (4) The Chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation
401+17 Education Committee.
402+18 (5) The Chair of the Alabama Workforce Council.
403+19 (6) Up to four members of the general public, who
404+20 are experienced in education and workforce data and
405+21 statistics, who shall be appointed by the Governor and serve
406+22 at the pleasure of the Governor.
407+23 (c) The council shall perform all of the following
408+24 duties:
409+25 (1) Develop a strategic plan, using a process that
410+26 is inclusive of the P-20W Council and all relevant
411+27 stakeholders, that includes a vision for all of the following:
412+Page 15 1 a. Increasing data matching efficiencies.
413+2 b. Creating publicly available data visualization
414+3 and research tools.
415+4 c. Making aggregated data available to authorized
416+5 entities in a timely manner.
417+6 d. Creating a secure portal for authorized personnel
418+7 of the P-20W Council to transmit data to the Office of
419+8 Education and Workforce Statistics.
420+9 (2) Oversee the development, adoption, and
421+10 implementation of rules and policies to govern the proceedings
422+11 of the council, the office, and the system.
423+12 (3) Oversee compliance regarding the protection of
424+13 data shared with the system, including compliance with
425+14 applicable state and federal law.
426+15 (4) Develop a data governance and security plan for
427+16 the system regarding the use, privacy, and security of data
428+17 consistent with state and federal law, including the federal
429+18 Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), publish the
430+19 plan on the system website, and provide an electronic copy of
431+20 the plan to each partner agency.
432+21 (5) Establish the research agenda for the system.
433+22 (6) Establish a process for proposing and approving
434+23 requests for reports using data matched in the system.
435+24 (7) Establish policies for sharing aggregated data
436+25 or reports with the public or external entities.
437+26 (8) Develop strategies for promoting the transparent
438+27 operation of the system.
439+Page 16 1 (9) Form standing and ad hoc committees and working
440+2 groups from among its own membership to accomplish its duties.
441+3 (10) Prepare and provide an annual report to the
442+4 Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House of
443+5 Representatives, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Chairs
444+6 of the House Education Policy, Senate Education Policy, House
445+7 Ways and Means Education, and Senate Finance and Taxation
446+8 Education Committees on the implementation of the system and
447+9 the activities of the Office of Education and Workforce
448+10 Statistics during the preceding year. The report shall include
449+11 all of the following:
450+12 a. A list and analysis of all research studies
451+13 conducted by the P-20W Council and the Office of Education and
452+14 Workforce Statistics using the system during the preceding
453+15 year.
454+16 b. Recommendations or policy changes made by the
455+17 system and the Office of Education and Workforce Statistics
456+18 during the preceding fiscal year.
457+19 c. Goals, recommendations, and priorities for the
458+20 succeeding fiscal year.
459+21 (d) All policies and procedures developed by the
460+22 P-20W Council for the governance and security plan shall apply
461+23 to the Office of Education and Workforce Statistics and all
462+24 vendors and contractors of the Office of Education and
463+25 Workforce Statistics with access to the system and shall be
464+26 incorporated in all contracts. The governance and security
465+Page 17 1 plan developed pursuant to this section, at a minimum, shall
466+2 include all the following:
467+3 (1) Secure procedures; training; administrative,
468+4 physical, and technical safeguards; internal accountability
469+5 processes; periodic privacy and security audits; review and
470+6 risk assessments; and security clearance requirements for
471+7 individuals with access to personally identifiable
472+8 information.
473+9 (2) Sanctions for violations of the governance and
474+10 security plan.
475+11 (3) Prohibitions against the use of data for
476+12 unauthorized purposes.
477+13 (4) Record keeping, data backup, and data
478+14 destruction plans.
479+15 (5) Access and use protocols for third-party vendors
480+16 and contractors.
481+17 §41-29-363.
482+18 (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a)
483+19 of Section 41-29-365:
484+20 (1) The regular meetings of the council shall be
485+21 held at a time and place established by the chair, at least
486+22 four times per state fiscal year.
487+23 (2) Special meetings of the council may be called by
488+24 the chair, or upon written request of a majority of the
489+25 members of the council.
490+26 (3) All regular and special meetings of the council
491+27 shall comply with the Open Meetings Act.
492+Page 18 1 (b) A majority of the members of the council, or
493+2 their designees, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction
494+3 of business. Members of the council may participate in any
495+4 meeting by means of a telephonic conference, video conference,
496+5 or similar communications equipment, provided that all persons
497+6 participating in the meeting are able to hear one another at
498+7 the same time. Participation by such means shall constitute
499+8 in-person presence at a meeting.
500+9 (c) The council shall follow Robert's Rules of Order
501+10 to the extent that those procedures are not inconsistent with
502+11 this division and state law.
503+12 (d) The recording of any meeting of the council, or
504+13 of any committee of the council, and the public access
505+14 thereto, shall be governed by the state law relating to open
506+15 meetings and the accessibility of public records.
507+16 (e)(1) Each member, including the chair, shall have
508+17 one vote on any measure before the council. Voting on all
509+18 matters shall be by voice vote or by roll call, and the ayes
510+19 and nays shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting.
511+20 (2) The chair may not make or second any motions,
512+21 unless otherwise provided by this division.
513+22 (3) Any action of a majority of a present quorum
514+23 shall be considered an act of the council.
515+24 (f) Each member of the council may appoint a
516+25 designee to represent him or her during the proceedings of the
517+26 council, and the designee shall enjoy the full rights and
518+27 privileges of a member of the council. A member shall notify
519+Page 19 1 the chair, in writing, of the appointment of a designee.
520+2 Letters of designation shall remain on file with the chair and
521+3 the appointee shall be considered the official designee until
522+4 a subsequent designation letter is received, or a written
523+5 request is received by the chair to rescind the designation.
524+6 (g) The chair shall serve as parliamentarian, or may
525+7 designate a parliamentarian to serve the council. The ruling
526+8 of the parliamentarian on procedural questions shall be
527+9 considered final.
528+10 (h) The members of the P-20W Council shall not
529+11 receive a salary or per diem allowance for their service, but
530+12 shall be reimbursed through the Department of Commerce for
531+13 expenses incurred in the performance of their duties for the
532+14 office at the same rate as provided for state employees.
533+15 (i) Direct access to personally identifying
534+16 information in the system is restricted to Office of Education
535+17 and Workforce Statistics staff and authorized staff approved
536+18 by the P-20W Council. The Office of Education and Workforce
537+19 Statistics agrees not to re-disclose personally identifiable
538+20 information or any information derived from the personally
539+21 identifiable information, except aggregated data as authorized
540+22 by the P-20W Council.
541+23 (j) Any person who knowingly releases data collected
542+24 pursuant to this division to any other person not authorized
543+25 to lawfully receive the data shall be guilty of a Class C
544+26 felony and punished as provided by law.
545+27 §41-29-364.
546+Page 20 1 The council may establish standing or ad hoc
547+2 committees as necessary. Standing and ad hoc committees of the
548+3 council shall possess authority as provided by the council.
549+4 (1) A standing committee established by the council
550+5 shall operate until disbanded by an act of the council. Each
551+6 member of a standing committee shall be the contact of record
552+7 for the agencies he or she represents and shall provide timely
553+8 information and response to the Office of Education and
554+9 Workforce Statistics and the P-20W Council.
555+10 (2) An ad hoc committee established by the council
556+11 shall operate for a definite period of time or purpose
557+12 provided in the action establishing the ad hoc committee.
558+13 (3) The chair of the council shall appoint the chair
559+14 of any standing or ad hoc committee and each member of the
560+15 council may serve on a standing or ad hoc committee.
561+16 (4) Each standing or ad hoc committee may establish
562+17 procedures for conducting the business of the committee.
563+18 §41-29-365.
564+19 (a) The Office of Education and Workforce Statistics
565+20 is established within the Department of Commerce to manage the
566+21 activities of the system on behalf of the council. The Office
567+22 of Education and Workforce Statistics shall be an authorized
568+23 representative for member agencies of the P-20W Council under
569+24 applicable state and federal laws and regulations for the
570+25 purposes of accessing, aggregating, deidentifying, and
571+26 compiling personally identifiable information for research
572+27 studies, evaluations, or audits. The director of the office
573+Page 21 1 shall manage the office, serving an initial term of four
574+2 years, and shall be directed by and report to the P-20W
575+3 Council and shall be administratively supported by the
576+4 Department of Commerce. The director of the office, who may
577+5 not serve as a member of the council, shall serve as the
578+6 executive secretary of the council and shall coordinate and
579+7 facilitate all meetings and activities of the council and its
580+8 standing and ad hoc committees.
581+9 (b) The office shall perform all of the following
582+10 functions:
583+11 (1) Implement the directives of the P-20W Council
584+12 for the operation of the system.
585+13 (2) Maintain and implement system data sharing
586+14 agreements, staff documentation, governance policies, and
587+15 procedures created by the council and its standing and ad hoc
588+16 committees.
589+17 (3) Maintain the daily operation of the system by
590+18 coordinating with developers, vendors, and partners.
591+19 (4) Monitor vendor and contractor compliance with
592+20 P-20W Council policies.
593+21 (5) Provide the council and its standing and ad hoc
594+22 committees with documentation regarding any developments,
595+23 updates, audits, data breaches, funding, and other activities
596+24 of the system on a regular basis.
597+25 (6) Provide the council with an annual report,
598+26 including any activities conducted and changes made, by
599+27 January 31 of each year.
600+Page 22 1 (7) Coordinate research requests, gather data to
601+2 develop approved reports, and deliver reports to fulfill
602+3 requests unanimously approved by the P-20W Council.
603+4 (8) Coordinate regular audits of the system and
604+5 provide results of audits to the P-20W Council.
605+6 (9) Maintain compliance with state and federal data
606+7 privacy laws.
607+8 (10) Manage the activities of grants associated with
608+9 the system.
609+10 (11) Serve as the external representative for the
610+11 council on matters related to the operation of the system.
611+12 (12) Collaborate with the Governor's Office of
612+13 Education and Workforce Transformation and the Alabama
613+14 Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways to manage the
614+15 annual Governor's Survey of Employer Competencies and produce
615+16 the competency models and dynamic career pathways, as defined
616+17 in Section 41-29-352, associated with the regional and
617+18 statewide in-demand occupations.
618+19 (13) Conduct research on the impact of state and
619+20 federal education and training programs, the performance of
620+21 education and workforce programs, and fulfill unanimously
621+22 approved information requests.
622+23 (c) In the event of a data breach, the office is
623+24 responsible for all of the following actions in compliance
624+25 with the Alabama Data Breach Notification Act of 2018:
625+26 (1) Notifying all partner agencies and all
626+27 potentially affected Alabama residents and employers of an
627+Page 23 1 unauthorized release or disclosure of personal identifiable
628+2 information. A triggering event is considered a data breach
629+3 when personally identifiable information was or is reasonably
630+4 believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized individual
631+5 or entity.
632+6 (2) Notifying all council members within 24 hours
633+7 after the discovery of the data breach.
634+8 (3) Notifying all potentially affected Alabama
635+9 residents and employers of the data breach in writing, in the
636+10 most expedient means possible and without unreasonable delay,
637+11 unless the delay is necessary to comply with a law enforcement
638+12 investigation. In no event shall the notification be provided
639+13 more than 15 days following the discovery of the data breach.
640+14 (4) Notifying the Attorney General, as required by
641+15 Section 8-38-6, if the number of individuals required to be
642+16 notified exceeds one thousand.
643+17 (5) Including in all written notifications to
644+18 affected residents and employers, instructions for monitoring
645+19 their credit reports.
646+20 (6) Conducting an analysis to assess the level of
647+21 the data breach and performing tests to ensure that the data
648+22 breach has been eliminated.
649+23 (7) Suspending any new data imports from partner
650+24 agencies until the required analysis and testing has been
651+25 completed, and providing written assurances, to those partner
652+26 agencies affected by the data breach, that the data breach is
653+Page 24 1 no longer a threat and that a plan is being developed to
654+2 improve the system to prevent future occurrences.
655+3 (d) No member of, or designee appointed to, the
656+4 council or any standing or ad hoc committee of the council may
657+5 vote or otherwise participate in any discussion or debate on
658+6 any matter before the council in which he or she, or an
659+7 immediate family member, has a direct personal or pecuniary
660+8 interest. A member or designee shall notify the chair of the
661+9 council in writing of any conflict of interest.
662+10 (e) No state agency may use data shared by another
663+11 state agency without the express consent of the agency that
664+12 owns the data.
665+13 (f) Local education agencies, public institutions of
666+14 higher education, and state agencies shall respond to the data
667+15 requests and requirements of the P-20W Council and the Office
668+16 of Education and Workforce Statistics in a timely and complete
669+17 manner.
670+18 (g) The Office of Education and Workforce Statistics
671+19 may provide summary data to a publicly accessible web-based
672+20 platform that is capable of assisting current and prospective
673+21 students in making informed decisions about possible
674+22 postsecondary credential pathways and outcomes. The web-based
675+23 platform shall not contain personally identifiable
676+24 information. Any personally identifiable information collected
677+25 for the purposes of supporting or populating the web-based
678+26 platform shall be aggregated into summary statistics before
679+27 the information is used to ensure that the results cannot be
680+Page 25 1 used to identify individual students. The web-based platform
681+2 shall do all of the following:
682+3 (1) Be capable of searching and comparing available
683+4 data across multiple programs and institution types.
684+5 (2) Provide additional information on state-funded
685+6 financial aid options.
686+7 (3) Include military enlistment opportunities and
687+8 benefits information including the Alabama National Guard.
688+9 (4) Provide information on regional and statewide
689+10 in-demand occupations.
690+11 Section 3. Section 41-29-298 is added to the Code of
691+12 Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
692+13 §41-29-298.
693+14 (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as
694+15 the Alabama College and Career Readiness Act.
695+16 (b) For the purposes of this section, the following
696+17 terms shall have the following meanings:
697+18 (1) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION. The term has the
698+19 same meaning as provided in Section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins
699+20 Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (P.L. 115-224).
700+21 (2) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION CONCENTRATOR. At
701+22 the secondary school level, a student who has completed three
702+23 or more career and technical education courses; or completed
703+24 at least two courses in a single career and technical
704+25 education program or program of study; or at the postsecondary
705+26 level, a postsecondary student or adult who completes either
706+27 of the following:
707+Page 26 1 a. At least 12 academic or career and technical
708+2 education credits within a single program area sequence that
709+3 is comprised of 12 or more academic and technical credits and
710+4 terminates in the award of an industry-recognized credential,
711+5 a certificate, or a degree.
712+6 b. A short-term career and technical education
713+7 program sequence of less than 12 credit units that terminates
714+8 in the award of an industry-recognized credential, a
715+9 certificate, or a degree.
716+10 (3) COOPERATIVE EDUCATION. A method of education for
717+11 an individual who, through written cooperative arrangements
718+12 between a school and employer, receives instruction, including
719+13 required rigorous and challenging academic courses and related
720+14 career and technical education instruction, by alternation of
721+15 study in school with a job in any occupational field, which
722+16 alternation shall be planned and supervised by the school and
723+17 employer so that each contributes to the education and
724+18 employability of the individual; and may include an
725+19 arrangement in which work periods and school attendance may be
726+20 on alternate half days, full days, weeks, or other periods of
727+21 time in fulfilling the cooperative program. The term also
728+22 includes paid work with the express goal of attaining work
729+23 experience for the participant where the work performed may
730+24 not directly relate to the field of study of the student. At
731+25 the postsecondary level, a cooperative arrangement should
732+26 provide practical experience in the field of study of the
733+27 student.
734+Page 27 1 (4) INTERNSHIP. Paid or unpaid work experience,
735+2 usually for a predetermined period of time, that familiarizes
736+3 potential candidates with the specific industry or the
737+4 specific employer, or both, who is hosting the intern. An
738+5 internship is typically a one-time work or service experience
739+6 related to the major or career goals of the student. An
740+7 internship involves students working in professional settings
741+8 under the supervision and monitoring of practicing
742+9 professionals. The completion of an internship organized by an
743+10 educational institution may be associated with earning
744+11 secondary or postsecondary course credit.
745+12 (5) ON-THE-JOB LEARNING. Paid work experience with
746+13 the same characteristics as cooperative education and with the
747+14 added distinction that the work performed and tasks learned on
748+15 the job are directly linked to the technical instruction the
749+16 student is receiving.
750+17 (6) PREAPPRENTICESHIP. Designed to prepare students
751+18 to enter and succeed in a registered apprenticeship and
752+19 ultimately a career. A preapprenticeship program offers
753+20 participants structured training opportunities to prepare them
754+21 for entry into a registered apprenticeship program and may
755+22 provide services that a participant needs to progress into an
756+23 apprenticeship including, work readiness skills and other
757+24 wrap-around supports. To be considered a preapprenticeship,
758+25 training shall be connected to a registered apprenticeship.
759+26 Participants in a preapprenticeship shall complete on-the-job
760+27 learning or related technical instruction which shall be
761+Page 28 1 counted towards completion of a registered apprenticeship if
762+2 the preapprentice becomes an apprentice. Preapprenticeship
763+3 programs shall be certified by the state apprenticeship agency
764+4 as an indicator of quality and to provide assurance the
765+5 content has been validated to count towards a registered
766+6 apprenticeship program.
767+7 (7) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM. A plan
768+8 containing all terms and conditions for the qualification,
769+9 recruitment, selection, employment, and training of
770+10 apprentices, as required under 29 C.F.R. Parts 29 and 30, and
771+11 rules adopted by the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship,
772+12 including rules requiring a written apprenticeship agreement.
773+13 (8) STATE APPRENTICESHIP AGENCY. The Alabama Office
774+14 of Apprenticeship.
775+15 (c) Commencing with the 2023-2024 school year,
776+16 students in public schools shall earn one or more of the
777+17 following college or career readiness indicators, and any
778+18 additional college and career readiness indicators approved by
779+19 the State Board of Education, before graduation:
780+20 (1) Earning a benchmark score in any subject area on
781+21 the ACT college entrance exam.
782+22 (2) Earning a qualifying score of three or higher on
783+23 an advanced placement exam.
784+24 (3) Earning a qualifying score of four or higher on
785+25 an international baccalaureate exam.
786+26 (4) Earning college credit while in high school.
787+Page 29 1 (5) Earning a silver or gold level on the ACT
788+2 WorkKeys Exam.
789+3 (6) Registration in a school youth registered
790+4 apprenticeship program.
791+5 (7) Completing a certified preapprenticeship
792+6 program.
793+7 (8) Earning a career technical industry credential
794+8 listed on the compendium of valuable credentials of the
795+9 Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways.
796+10 (9) Being accepted into the military before
797+11 graduation.
798+12 (10) Attaining career and technical education
799+13 concentrator status.
800+14 (d) The State Superintendent of Education shall
801+15 require career coaches funded through the Career Coaches
802+16 Initiative of the state Career Tech Initiative supported by
803+17 the Education Trust Fund, as defined and described in Chapter
804+18 13 of Title 16 and Chapter 9 of Title 29, Code of Alabama
805+19 1975, to satisfy or surpass annual targets, established by the
806+20 State Superintendent of Education and the Chair of the Alabama
807+21 Workforce Council, to increase the number of employer
808+22 placements for students participating in an internship,
809+23 cooperative education, on-the-job learning, preapprenticeship,
810+24 or registered apprenticeship programs recognized by the state
811+25 apprenticeship agency that are aligned to an occupation listed
812+26 on a regional or statewide list of in-demand occupations
813+Page 30 1 adopted by the Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career
814+2 Pathways.
815+3 (e) Commencing with the 2023-2024 school year, the
816+4 career preparedness course required for graduation from public
817+5 K-12 schools shall include all of the following:
818+6 (1) Exploration of the in-demand jobs in the state
819+7 as identified annually by the Alabama Committee on
820+8 Credentialing and Career Pathways.
821+9 (2) Completion of the Alabama Works financial
822+10 literacy module.
823+11 (3) A work-based learning experience aligned to the
824+12 Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways list of
825+13 in-demand occupations.
826+14 (4) Establishment of a state college and career
827+15 exploration tool account for each participating student.
828+16 (5) Completion of a workforce preparedness module
829+17 approved by the Alabama Workforce Council that is focused on
830+18 employability skills, resume and interview success, and
831+19 securing postsecondary and workforce opportunities post high
832+20 school.
833+21 (f) The State Superintendent of Education and the
834+22 Chair of the Alabama Workforce Council shall collaborate to
835+23 implement the modifications and customization of the career
836+24 preparedness course to meet the needs of each of the seven
837+25 workforce regions of the state.
838+26 (g) On or before December 30, 2022, the career
839+27 preparedness course of study shall be revised to reflect the
840+Page 31 1 provisions of this subsection. Thereafter, the career
841+2 preparedness course of study shall be revised every seven
842+3 years.
843+4 Section 4. Although this bill would have as its
844+5 purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased
845+6 expenditure of local funds, the bill is excluded from further
846+7 requirements and application under Amendment 621, as amended
847+8 by Amendment 890, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the
848+9 Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901,
849+10 as amended, because the bill defines a new crime or amends the
850+11 definition of an existing crime.
851+12 Section 5. This act shall become effective on the
852+13 first day of the third month following its passage and
853+14 approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.
835854 Page 32