Relates to wage reporting data under the federal workforce investment act

Summary of provisions:

Section 1 of the bill would amend Education Law § 1007(2) and add a new subdivision 3 to Education Law § 1007 to require that any wage reporting information obtained by the Office of Adult, Career and Continuing Education Services obtained from the State Department of Tax and Finance and the Department of Labor shall be considered confidential and shall not be disclosed to persons other than those entitled to the information when such disclosure is necessary for the proper administration of the department's vocational rehabilitation program, including authorized representatives of the SED.

Section 2 of the bill would add a new subdivision 40-a to Education Law § 305 to require the State Department of Labor to provide necessary wage reporting information under Labor Law § 537 so that the State can provide data on employment and employment outcomes in required reports and evaluations under the federal workforce investment act and in the prekindergarten through employment (P-20) data system established to meet the conditions of federal grant awards and any federal or state program or data requirements, including but not limited to program evaluations. Any personally identifiable information shall be confidential and not be redisclosed, except to authorized representatives of the department, the State University of New York or the City University of New York for purposes of carrying out federal and state requirements.

Section 3 of the bill would amend clause 8 of Labor Law 537(3)(g)(ii) to update the references to the Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities to its current name of the Office of Adult, Career and Continuing Education Services.

Section 4 of the bill would add a new clause 10 to subparagraph ii of paragraph g of subdivision 3 of section 537 of the Labor Law to make conforming amendments to the Labor Law to ensure that the State Department of Labor provides all relevant date on employment and employment outcomes in required reports and evaluations under the federal workforce investment act and in the prekindergarten through employment (P-20) data system to SED.

Section 5 of the bill would be the effective date.

Statement in support of the bill: Ensuring that New York State's students graduate from high school college and career ready is a central goal of the Regents Reform Agenda and is embedded throughout the State's winning Race to the Top (RTTT) application. As part of RTTT, the Board of Regents has adopted the Common Core State Standards. Implementation of these standards, together with the development of curriculum and assessments aligned to the standards, will prepare our students for success in college and the work place. Our ability to include employment and wage data from the Department of Labor in our P-20 data system is crucial to our efforts to measure career outcomes for students and to evaluate our success in educating our students at college and career ready levels.

As part of RTTT, the State has committed $4.5 million to "P-20 Data System Expansion: Integration of Non-Education Systems," which includes workforce data. NYSED has also received a State Longitudinal Data System Grant from the United States Department of Education, which includes $7.8 million to "Create and Implement P-20," including workforce data This legislation is critical to the Department's ability to deliver the comprehensive P-20 data system envisioned under RTTT. In addition, Chapter 100 of the Laws of 2010 provided a $20 million State capital appropriation to support implementation of the data system.

The State has committed to providing reports that provide information regarding K-12 program effectiveness, higher education program effectiveness, and the adequacy of teacher preparation programs to demonstrate the educational pathways that predict student success and "early warning systems" that predict high school dropout rates or lack of adequate preparation for college or careers. Employment and wage data is an essential link to the reports which will allow data-informed decisions to reallocate resources away from underperforming initiatives and into innovative, high-performing ones.

In addition, in 1998, the federal Work-force Investment Act (Public Law 105-220) established various workforce investment activities to promote a healthier workforce. More specifically, the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 provided for statewide and local workforce investment systems aimed at increasing the employment, retention, and earnings of participants in these programs and activities, and aimed at increasing the occupational skills of such participants, which would, as a result, improve the quality of the workforce, reduce welfare dependency, and enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the Nation. As a State participant in these initiatives, SED needs certain wage data in order for it to fully and effectively evaluate the effect of training and employment programs administered by the Department on the employment outcome and earning capacity of the participants of such programs. The federal government requires the monitoring and reporting of activities funded under the Workforce Investment Act for program accountability, in order to optimize the return on the investment of federal funding. Thus, this wage data is needed to more accurately meet these federal reporting requirements. Moreover, the Department can utilize this wage data to more effectively assess the effectiveness of its programs on its participants, which will, in turn, increase program efficacy.

In 2007, Section 4 of Part A of Chapter 57 added a new subdivision 40 to section 305 of the Education Law to require that the Board of Regents of the State Education Department explore the development of a pre-kindergarten through postsecondary (P-16) data system that tracks student performance from pre-kindergarten through attendance at public colleges and would link students to teachers or instructors. Education Law § 305(40), as added by Chapter 57, further provided that that the Commissioner of Education would consult with other relevant State departments and agencies about the feasibility of linking such data system to other data collection systems containing information relevant to the education of children, which would, in turn, facilitate the free exchange of data among such agencies. This bill will further expand the data system from pre-kindergarten through postsecondary (P-16) to pre-kindergarten through employment (P-20) to enable the Commissioner of Education to implement the requirements of federal grant awards and data reporting requirements by requiring State departments and agencies to require the State Labor Department to provide wage reporting information so the State can report employment outcomes of the children education in this State. Overall, this bill will help enable the State Education Department to better assess the effects of the education on the performance of students in this State and allow SED to meet the conditions of federal grant awards, federal data requirements and federal and state program requirements.

Budgetary implications of the bill: No additional costs would be associated with this legislation, but absent enactment of this legislation the State would jeopardize its ability to meet conditions in its RTTT application and could lose federal funding dedicated to specific activities in the grant.

Prior legislative history: None.

Effective date: The bill would take effect immediately.