1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; clarifying the objectives of local education and employment 
1.3 	transition systems; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 124D.49, 
1.4 	subdivision 3.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 124D.49, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
1.7 		Subd. 3.Local education and employment transitions systems. A local education 
1.8 	and employment transitions partnership must assess the needs of employers, employees, 
1.9 	and learners, and develop a plan for implementing and achieving the objectives of a local 
1.10 	or regional education and employment transitions system. The plan must provide for a 
1.11 	comprehensive local system for assisting learners and workers in making the transition 
1.12 	from school to work or for retraining in a new vocational area. The objectives of a local 
1.13 	education and employment transitions system include:
1.14 	(1) increasing the effectiveness of the educational programs and curriculum of 
1.15 	elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools and the work site in preparing students 
1.16 	in the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in the workplace;
1.17 	(2) implementing learner outcomes for students in grades kindergarten through 12 
1.18 	designed to introduce the world of work and to explore career opportunities, including 
1.19 	nontraditional career opportunities;
1.20 	(3) eliminating barriers to providing effective integrated applied learning, 
1.21 	service-learning, or work-based curriculum;
1.22 	(4) increasing opportunities to apply academic knowledge and skills, including 
1.23 	skills needed in the workplace, in local settings which include the school, school-based 
1.24 	enterprises, postsecondary institutions, the workplace, and the community;
2.1 	(5) increasing applied instruction in the attitudes and skills essential for success in 
2.2 	the workplace, including cooperative working, leadership, problem-solving, and respect 
2.3 	for diversity;
2.4 	(6) providing staff training for vocational guidance counselors, teachers, and other 
2.5 	appropriate staff in the importance of preparing learners for the transition to work, and in 
2.6 	methods of providing instruction that incorporate applied learning, work-based learning, 
2.7 	and service-learning experiences;
2.8 	(7) identifying and enlisting local and regional employers who can effectively 
2.9 	provide work-based or service-learning opportunities, including, but not limited to, 
2.10 	apprenticeships, internships, and mentorships;
2.11 	(8) recruiting community and workplace mentors including peers, parents, employers 
2.12 	and employed individuals from the community, and employers of high school students;
2.13 	(9) identifying current and emerging educational, training, and employment needs of 
2.14 	the area or region, especially within industries with potential for job growth;
2.15 	(10) improving the coordination and effectiveness of local vocational and job training 
2.16 	programs, including vocational education, adult basic education, tech prep, apprenticeship, 
2.17 	service-learning, youth entrepreneur, youth training and employment programs 
2.18 	administered by the commissioner of employment and economic development, and local 
2.19 	job training programs under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Public Law 105-220;
2.20 	(11) identifying and applying for federal, state, local, and private sources of funding 
2.21 	for vocational or applied learning programs;
2.22 	(12) providing students with current information and counseling about career 
2.23 	opportunities, potential employment, educational opportunities in postsecondary 
2.24 	institutions, workplaces, and the community, and the skills and knowledge necessary to 
2.25 	succeed, with emphasis on postsecondary educational programs that produce graduates 
2.26 	with technical and vocational skills for which there is a high employer need within the 
2.27 	state or region of the state;
2.28 	(13) providing educational technology, including interactive television networks 
2.29 	and other distance learning methods, to ensure access to a broad variety of work-based 
2.30 	learning opportunities;
2.31 	(14) including students with disabilities in a district's vocational or applied learning 
2.32 	program and ways to serve at-risk learners through collaboration with area learning 
2.33 	centers under sections 123A.05 to 123A.09, or other alternative programs; and
2.34 	(15) providing a warranty to employers, postsecondary education programs, and 
2.35 	other postsecondary training programs, that learners successfully completing a high school 
2.36 	work-based or applied learning program will be able to apply the knowledge and work 
3.1 	skills included in the program outcomes or graduation requirements. The warranty shall 
3.2 	require education and training programs to continue to work with those learners that need 
3.3 	additional skill development until they can demonstrate achievement of the program 
3.4 	outcomes or graduation requirements.