§ 16-80-4. Interagency partnerships.
A mechanism will be developed as part of the statewide school-to-career system that
brings the departments of elementary and secondary education, labor and training,
human services and the Rhode Island economic development corporation together to collaboratively
support, implement, and maintain the statewide school-to-career system and to provide
resources, technical assistance and support to regional and local partnerships. Regional
and local partnerships must include employers, local school district representatives,
teachers and their unions, post-secondary institutions, labor unions, and students.
The roles and responsibilities of the partners will include the following:
(1) The economic development corporation and the department of labor and training will:
(i) Work in collaboration to define regions and major industry clusters in each region;
and
(ii) Identify skills needed for growing and emerging businesses and industries.
(2) The department of labor and training, the human resource investment council, and department
of elementary and secondary education will:
(i) Work in collaboration to develop employer incentives and guidelines for school-to-career
local partnerships;
(ii) Develop a statewide information and delivery system to encourage and facilitate business,
labor and education partnerships;
(iii) Develop testing and assessments to measure student knowledge and skills; and
(iv) Provide a state plan for professional development for various constituencies in the
regional and local partnerships, and conduct an aggressive and ongoing outreach and
marketing campaign.
(3) The human resource investment council's school-to-career subcommittee shall serve
as the governing board for the school-to-career system and management team. This subcommittee
shall consist of twenty (20) members comprised of: a chairperson who shall be appointed
by the governor and be a member of the human resource investment council; the commissioner
of elementary and secondary education or his or her designee; the director of the
department of labor and training or his or her designee; the chairperson of the human
resource investment council or his or her designee; the president of the Community
College of Rhode Island or his or her designee; one superintendent of schools and
one school principal to be appointed by the governor; two (2) representatives of labor
unions appointed by the president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO; four (4) members representing
Rhode Island employers to be appointed by the governor; the president of the Rhode
Island Federation of Teachers or his or her designee; and the president of the National
Education Association of Rhode Island or his or her designee and five (5) additional
members appointed by the governor based on recommendations from the school-to-career
subcommittee to afford the subcommittee the opportunity to recommend potential members
from stakeholder groups that are underrepresented on that subcommittee.
(4) The private industry councils, regional employment and training boards, and collaboratives
will:
(i) Serve as the connectors between schools and the business community;
(ii) Provide technical assistance to employers and educators;
(iii) Provide training for workplace and school-site mentors; and
(iv) Collect data on post-program outcomes.
(5) The interagency transition council, created by § 16-24-18, will serve as the liaison on behalf of individuals with disabilities consistent
with the mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.