General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6485
January Session, 2011 LCO No. 3951
*03951_______HED*
Referred to Committee on Higher Education and Employment Advancement
Introduced by:
(HED)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 6485
January Session, 2011
LCO No. 3951
*03951_______HED*
Referred to Committee on Higher Education and Employment Advancement
Introduced by:
(HED)
AN ACT CONCERNING JOB TRAINING PROGRAMS AT THE COMMUNITY-TECHNICAL COLLEGES AND ALIGNMENT OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2011) Any state service agreement requirements that prevent companies from contracting with the regional community-technical colleges for purposes of offering workforce development training programs at the regional community-technical colleges or at the company's facility or a clinical site shall be waived.
Sec. 2. Section 10-8b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2011):
(a) The Commissioner of Education shall annually, by December first, determine subject and geographic areas in which a teacher shortage exists and shall certify such shortages to the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority for purposes of section 8-265pp. In determining teacher shortages, the commissioner shall consider the following: (1) The number of teacher vacancies in a particular subject or geographic area; (2) the number of new certificates in such areas issued by the Department of Education during the preceding year; and (3) the number and types of classes being taught by persons whose training is not specific to the field in which they are teaching.
(b) The Department of Education shall annually, by January first, electronically distribute to every institution of higher education in this state offering a teacher preparatory program information concerning teacher shortage areas, determined pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, for at least the prior five years.
Sec. 3. Section 10a-6a of the general statutes is amended by adding subsection (c) as follows (Effective July 1, 2011):
(NEW) (c) On or before July 1, 2011, and every five years thereafter, the council shall review the accountability measures developed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and determine their continued validity or need for revision or elimination. The council shall submit any proposed revisions or eliminations to the Board of Governors of Higher Education for approval. Upon approval by the Board of Governors of Higher Education, the Commissioner of Higher Education shall notify the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of the subject matter of each such revision or elimination and provide the committees with a brief explanation of the reason for approval.
Sec. 4. Subsection (g) of section 10a-6b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2011):
(g) Each constituent unit of the state system of higher education shall submit an accountability report to the Commissioner of Higher Education annually, by January first. The report shall include strategies to improve performance and achieve results on accountability measures and unmet goals and funding estimates for such strategies. The commissioner shall compile the reports and shall submit, in accordance with section 11-4a, a consolidated accountability report for the state system of higher education to the joint standing [committee] committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, higher education, employment advancement and commerce annually, by February first. The report shall contain accountability measures for each constituent unit and public institution of higher education pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section. The report shall include updated baseline and peer comparison data, performance improvement targets for each measure, the constituent units' strategies to improve performance and achieve results on accountability measures and unmet goals, funding estimates for such strategies, and other information as determined by the commissioner.
Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2011) The Office of Workforce Competitiveness, in consultation with the Connecticut Employment and Training Commission, the Departments of Education, Higher Education and Economic and Community Development and the Labor Department, shall biennially submit to the Board of Governors of Higher Education a report identifying the sectors or subsectors in which workforce shortages exist, the types of workforce skills needed in such sectors or subsectors to address workforce shortages and which career pathways should be established.
Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2011) On or before January 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, each constituent unit of the state system of higher education shall submit a report to the Commissioner of Higher Education on the manner in which existing and proposed academic programs, including career pathways, address the workforce shortages identified by the Office of Workforce Competitiveness pursuant to section 5 of this act. The Commissioner of Higher Education shall assess such reports to identify any gaps in alignment between workforce needs and public postsecondary education, and submit such commissioner's assessment, including information from the constituent units on the resources needed to address those gaps, not later than February 15, 2013, and annually thereafter, to the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, higher education, employment advancement, commerce and labor in accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2011 New section
Sec. 2 July 1, 2011 10-8b
Sec. 3 July 1, 2011 10a-6a
Sec. 4 October 1, 2011 10a-6b(g)
Sec. 5 October 1, 2011 New section
Sec. 6 October 1, 2011 New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
July 1, 2011
New section
Sec. 2
July 1, 2011
10-8b
Sec. 3
July 1, 2011
10a-6a
Sec. 4
October 1, 2011
10a-6b(g)
Sec. 5
October 1, 2011
New section
Sec. 6
October 1, 2011
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To ensure the continuation of job training program contracts with the community-technical colleges and to better align postsecondary education with employment.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]