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Labor and Job Training

WorkNotes

March 1999

School-to-Work in State Laws
PEPNet Searching for Excellence

WorkNotes Archive

School-to-Work: Past and Future

State legislation plays an integral role in school-to-work programs across the country. Before the term school-to-work was batted around Capitol Hill and the White House, states like California, Maine, Michigan, Washington and Wisconsin already had elements of school-to-work in their education systems. In fact, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act was inspired by state innovation. Now in anticipation of the sunset of the act, states are trying to find ways to continue this school reform by aligning existing funding.

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have now received federal implementation grants from the National School-to-Work Office of the Departments of Labor and Education. Federal implementation grant money to the first eight states will end in 1999 in anticipation of the law’s sunset in 2001. In states where the legislature has made efforts to secure the future of school-to-work, the sunset of the federal law should have little effect on the prognosis for long-term education reform.

To strengthen school-to-work for the future states have:

• Made the connection between a successful education system and a prepared work force. (Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, Wisconsin, West Virginia)
• Infused education reform with such principles as higher standards for all, regular assessments, elimination of tracking, applied learning, integrated curricula, work-based learning, career exploration and connecting activities with important partners like business. (Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia)
• Passed this vision of reform and accountability into state statute. Legislative action changes the perception that these reforms are just fads that will lose steam when the next governor or state superintendent comes into office. (Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and West Virginia)

Almost half the states have passed laws supporting school-to-work. Some states, such as Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii and Michigan, offer tax credits to businesses that are involved with apprenticeships or in a school-to-work partnership. Other states have apprenticeship programs that either stand alone in statute as in Georgia, Maine and Vermont or are included in other language for school-to-work as in Wisconsin. State laws also may highlight one facet of school-to-work like career academies in California.

Hawaii, Iowa, Montana, and Wisconsin tackled the question of liability with amendments to their workers’ compensation legislation. Hawaii went even further to amend the occupational safety laws for students in the workplace.

Several states also recognize the importance of linking school-to-work efforts to work force development policies. Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin solidified this in statute by relating school-to-work policy with the state’s human resource investment council.

School-to-work, or school-to-careers as it is called in some states, has also been folded into school reform efforts in Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Michigan, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The long-term outlook for school-to-work in these states seems more promising because federal money generally goes only for start-up costs. Most of these states also specifically address the importance of local partnerships between schools, businesses and higher education. These states have the advantage of using all the educational money for integrating school-to-work principles in the classroom.

Some states have revisited their approaches. For example in Washington, school districts may now choose to apply for a school-to-work block grant from the state. Realizing that school reform is a long-term process, Oregon delayed the implementation of certificates of advanced mastery, to give school districts more time to find mandatory work experiences for students.

State Statutes Relating to School-to-Work

* Only mentions school-to-work in relation to coordination with work force development policy.

PEPNet Searching for Excellence

The Promising and Effective Practices Network (PEPNet) has released its 1999 Application/Self Assessment. PEPNet seeks youth employment programs interested in improving services and being recognized for effectiveness.

PEPNet can help programs in your states:

• Increase program exposure.
• Engage in ongoing program and staff development.
• Focus on quality.
• Raise expectations for students and staff.
• Share and receive information on effective practice.

Created to improve youth employment programs and dispel the notion that "nothing works," PEPNet helps youth professionals improve and document youth employment practice, and provides information to policymakers and the public to increase support for youth programming.

Based on a set of effective practice criteria developed by members in the field, PEPNet’s Self-Assessment enables programs to evaluate and enhance services. Programs desiring national recognition may submit the PEPNet Application, which closely follows the Self-Assessment, by April 30, 1999. PEPNet has recognized 43 programs around the country in the past three years.

PEPNet is a project of the National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC). For a copy of the PEPNet Application/Self Assessment or for more information visit the NYEC/PEPNet Web Site at or fax 202-659-0399.

 Labor and Job Training

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