AB 2719: Workforce development: out-of-school youth.

The federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 provides for workforce investment activities, including activities in which states may participate. The California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (state act) establishes the California Workforce Development Board, which is responsible for assisting the Governor in the development and continuous improvement of Californias workforce investment system. The state act also contains various programs for job training and employment investment, as specified. The state act requires the board to assist the Governor in helping individuals with barriers to employment achieve economic security and upward mobility by implementing policies that encourage the attainment of marketable skills relevant to current labor market trends. The state act defines an individual with employment barriers to include youths who are individuals with disabilities, homeless youths, and youths who are in, or who have aged out of, the foster care system.

This bill would define out-of-school youth for purposes of the state act, would revise the duties of the board regarding, among other things, out-of-school youth, as specified, and would define a school operating in partnership with United States Department of Labor programs, as specified.

Existing law requires the local chief elected officials in a local workforce development area to form, pursuant to specified guidelines, a local workforce development board to, among other things, plan and oversee the workforce development system and develop a comprehensive 4-year local plan. Existing law requires the Governor to establish, through the California Workforce Development Board, standards for certification of high-performance local workforce investment boards, in accordance with specified criteria. Existing law requires the local workforce development boards to, with representatives of secondary and postsecondary education programs, lead efforts in the local area to develop and implement career pathways within the local area. Existing law provides that school districts and county offices of education are eligible to apply to local workforce development boards to provide basic skills training and skills necessary for attaining a secondary school diploma.

This bill would revise the criteria to include references to out-of-school youth and schools operating in partnership with United States Department of Labor programs, as specified, and, for the purposes of that requirement on local workforce development boards to lead efforts to develop and implement career pathways, provide that secondary and postsecondary education programs include specified entities. The bill would instead provide that school districts, county offices of education, and schools operating in partnership with United States Department of Labor programs are eligible to apply to local workforce development boards to provide basic skills training and skills necessary for attaining a secondary school diploma, as specified.