(1) The private, nonprofit corporation shall establish a council to be known as the “District Education and Learning Technologies Advancement Council” (in this subchapter referred to as the “Council”).
(A) The private, nonprofit corporation shall appoint members to the Council. An individual shall be appointed as a member to the Council on the basis of the commitment of the individual, or the entity which the individual is representing, to providing time, energy, and resources to the Council.
(B) Members of the Council shall serve without compensation.
(3) The Council:
(A) Shall advise the private, nonprofit corporation with respect to the duties of the corporation under subsections (b) through (d) of this section; and
(B) Shall assist the corporation in leveraging private sector resources for the purpose of carrying out such duties.
(1) The private, nonprofit corporation, in conjunction with the Superintendent, students, parents, and teachers, shall establish and implement strategies to ensure access to state-of-the-art educational technology within the District of Columbia public schools and public charter schools.
(2) The private, nonprofit corporation shall assist the Superintendent in acquiring the necessary equipment, including computer hardware and software, to establish an electronic data transfer system. The private, nonprofit corporation shall also assist in arranging for training of District of Columbia public school employees in using such equipment.
(A) In establishing and implementing the strategies under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the private, nonprofit corporation, not later than September 1, 1996, shall provide for an assessment of the availability, on April 26, 1996, of state-of-the-art educational technology within the District of Columbia public schools and public charter schools.
(B) In providing for the assessment under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the private, nonprofit corporation:
(i) Shall provide for onsite inspections of the state-of-the-art educational technology within a minimum sampling of District of Columbia public schools and public charter schools; and
(ii) Shall ensure proper input from students, parents, teachers, and other school officials through the use of focus groups and other appropriate mechanisms.
(C) The private, nonprofit corporation shall ensure that the assessment carried out under this paragraph provides, at a minimum, necessary information on state-of-the-art educational technology within the District of Columbia public schools and public charter schools, including:
(i) The extent to which typical District of Columbia public schools have access to such state-of-the-art educational technology and training for such technology;
(ii) How such schools are using such technology;
(iii) The need for additional technology and the need for infrastructure for the implementation of such additional technology;
(iv) The need for computer hardware, software, training, and funding for such additional technology or infrastructure; and
(v) The potential for computer linkages among District of Columbia public schools and public charter schools.
(A) Based upon the results of the technology assessment under paragraph (3) of this subsection, the private, nonprofit corporation shall develop a 3-year plan that includes goals, priorities, and strategies for obtaining the resources necessary to implement strategies to ensure access to state-of-the-art educational technology within the District of Columbia public schools and public charter schools.
(B) The private, nonprofit corporation, in conjunction with schools, students, parents, and teachers, shall implement the plan developed under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
(5) Prior to the completion of the implementation of the short-term technology plan under paragraph (4) of this subsection, the private, nonprofit corporation shall develop a plan under which the corporation will continue to coordinate the donation of private sector resources for maintaining the continuous improvement and upgrading of state-of-the-art educational technology within the District of Columbia public schools and public charter schools.
(1) The private, nonprofit corporation shall establish a center to be known as the “District Employment and Learning Center” (in this subchapter referred to as the “Center”), which shall serve as a regional institute providing job training and employment assistance.
(A) The Center shall establish a program to provide job training and employment assistance in the District of Columbia and shall coordinate with career preparation programs in existence on April 26, 1996, such as vocational education, school-to-work, and career academies in the District of Columbia public schools.
(B) In carrying out the program established under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Center:
(i) Shall provide job training and employment assistance to youths who have attained the age of 18 but have not attained the age of 26, who are residents of the District of Columbia, and who are in need of such job training and employment assistance for an appropriate period not to exceed 2 years;
(ii) Shall work to establish partnerships and enter into agreements with appropriate agencies of the District of Columbia Government to serve individuals participating in appropriate federal programs, including programs under the Job Training Partnership Act or title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program under part F of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 681 et seq.), the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.);
(iii) Shall conduct such job training, as appropriate, through a consortium of colleges, universities, community colleges, businesses, and other appropriate providers, in the District of Columbia metropolitan area;
(iv) Shall design modular training programs that allow students to enter and leave the training curricula depending on their opportunities for job assignments with employers; and
(v) Shall utilize resources from businesses to enhance work-based learning opportunities and facilitate access by students to work-based learning and work experience through temporary work assignments with employers in the District of Columbia metropolitan area.
(C) The Center may provide compensation to youths participating in the program under this paragraph for part-time work assigned in conjunction with training. Such compensation may include need-based payments and reimbursement of expenses.
(1) The private, nonprofit corporation shall establish initiatives with the District of Columbia public schools, and public charter schools, appropriate governmental agencies, and businesses and other private entities, to facilitate the integration of rigorous academic studies with workforce preparation programs in District of Columbia public schools and public charter schools.
(2) In carrying out the initiatives under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the private, nonprofit corporation shall, at a minimum, actively develop, expand, and promote the following programs:
(A) Career academy programs in secondary schools, as such programs are established in certain District of Columbia public schools, which provide a school-within-a-school concept, focusing on career preparation and the integration of the academy programs with vocational and technical curriculum; and
(B) Programs carried out in the District of Columbia that are funded under the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.).