Incentives To Complete Career Development Courses

The act creates the career development success pilot program to provide financial incentives for school districts and charter schools to encourage pupils enrolled in grades 9 through 12 to enroll in and successfully complete identified industry-credential, internship, residency, or construction industry pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship programs related to jobs identified in the Colorado talent pipeline report or jobs in other high-demand industries and computer science advanced placement (AP) courses. The state work force development council, in collaboration with the departments of education, higher education, and labor and employment and the office of economic development, must annually identify the level of regional and state demand for various jobs and those industry-credential programs and qualifying internship, residency, and construction industry pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs that are related to the identified jobs.

Starting June 30, 2017, each school district that chooses to participate, each nonparticipating school district on behalf of its charter schools that choose to participate, and the state charter school institute (institute) on behalf of institute charter schools that choose to participate, must annually report to the department of education (department) the number of students who successfully earned an industry certificate by completing an identified industry-credential program or successfully completed an internship, residency, or construction industry pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship program or qualified to receive college credit for completing a computer science AP course for that school year.

Beginning in the 2017-18 budget year and in each budget year thereafter, the general assembly shall appropriate at least $1,000,000 for the career development success pilot program. In each budget year, the department shall first distribute to each school district and, through the institute, to each institute charter school $1,000 for each student reported as successfully earning an industry certificate by completing an identified industry-credential program in the preceding school year. If there is money remaining in the appropriation after the first distribution, the department must distribute to each school district and, through the institute, to each institute charter school $1,000 for each student reported as successfully completing an identified internship, residency, or construction industry pre-apprenticeship or apprenticeship program in the preceding school year. And if there is money remaining after the second distribution, the department must distribute to each school district and, through the institute, to each institute charter school $1,000 for each student reported as successfully completing a computer science AP course in the preceding school year. Each school district and the institute shall transfer to its charter schools 100% of the amount received on behalf of the students enrolled in each charter school.

With each distribution, if the amount of the appropriation is insufficient to fully fund the students included in the distribution, the department must proportionately reduce the amount distributed for each student.

Beginning in 2017, the department must provide to the joint education committee of the general assembly a report on the implementation and impact of the career development success pilot program. The career development success pilot program is repealed in 2019.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)