1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for a demonstration 
  1.3             program for job skills; appropriating money. 
  1.4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.5      Section 1.  [INTENT.] 
  1.6      The legislature believes that all employment-age 
  1.7   Minnesotans should have the opportunity to be productive members 
  1.8   of the changing workforce and the opportunity to earn a living 
  1.9   wage.  The legislature recognizes that economic opportunities in 
  1.10  the future will often depend on an employee's ability to adapt 
  1.11  continually to changing technology.  To ensure that such 
  1.12  economic opportunities are broadly available to all Minnesotans, 
  1.13  the legislature intends that a program be designed and 
  1.14  implemented which would identify a core group of broadly 
  1.15  applicable job skills, and that courses should be offered in 
  1.16  those skills at no cost or very low cost to Minnesotans.  
  1.17     Sec. 2.  [DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.] 
  1.18     The chancellor of the Minnesota state colleges and 
  1.19  universities shall designate at least one technical college 
  1.20  campus to be a demonstration site to establish the work skills 
  1.21  update program in the 1996-1997 academic year.  The program 
  1.22  shall offer a core curriculum of courses having broad 
  1.23  application for Minnesotans wishing to improve their 
  1.24  employability or otherwise to keep current in skills necessary 
  2.1   to succeed in the changing economy.  The courses in the 
  2.2   demonstration program shall initially be offered at no cost or 
  2.3   at very low cost.  Enrollment in the demonstration program shall 
  2.4   not be counted for funding purposes under Minnesota Statutes, 
  2.5   section 135A.03.  The chancellor shall report to the education 
  2.6   committees of the legislature by January 15, 1997, on the 
  2.7   progress of the demonstration program and possibility of 
  2.8   expanding the program to all areas of the state through use of 
  2.9   alternative instructional methods such as telecommunications. 
  2.10     Sec. 3.  [CONSULTATION.] 
  2.11     In establishing the demonstration program in section 2, the 
  2.12  chancellor shall consult with the commissioner of economic 
  2.13  security, the commissioner of children, families, and learning, 
  2.14  and representatives of the labor and business communities, to 
  2.15  identify which courses have the greatest general applicability 
  2.16  to workforce needs.  The chancellor shall also establish a 
  2.17  method of documenting to employers that skills courses have been 
  2.18  completed whether through issuing of regular credits or some 
  2.19  alternate method. 
  2.20     Sec. 4.  [FUNDING.] 
  2.21     The chancellor shall establish an account to fund the 
  2.22  demonstration program established in section 2.  The account 
  2.23  shall initially include the appropriation in section 5 but may 
  2.24  also include nonstate funds.  The chancellor may also establish 
  2.25  a revolving fund in the account whereby students or employers 
  2.26  deriving demonstrable economic benefit from the demonstration 
  2.27  program would be required to repay some portion of that benefit 
  2.28  so that the core curriculum opportunities can be expanded to 
  2.29  others in the workforce. 
  2.30     Sec. 5.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.31     $....... is appropriated in fiscal year 1997 to the board 
  2.32  of trustees of the Minnesota state colleges and universities for 
  2.33  the demonstration program established in section 2.  The board 
  2.34  of trustees is encouraged to seek nonstate matching funds.