What's happening
This bill creates a grant program for community colleges to train unemployed individuals for local jobs, with industry partnerships and incentives for successful employment outcomes.
Why it matters
Directly targets regional workforce needs. by requiring community colleges to partner with local businesses and industries to identify in-demand jobs, ensuring that training aligns with actual employment opportunities in the community.
Links funding to successful job placement. , incentivizing colleges to focus on effective training and placement outcomes—colleges can receive additional funding if over half of participants secure employment, creating accountability for real-world results.
Promotes shared investment and partnership. by mandating that employers reimburse colleges for a portion of training costs once participants are hired, fostering stronger ties between educational institutions and local industry.
Expands career pathways for youth. by encouraging collaboration between BOCES, community colleges, and businesses to create programs that help middle and high school students transition directly into workforce training or community college, strengthening the pipeline from education to employment.
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Who cares
SUNY and CUNY community colleges
They could receive grants of up to $500,000, subject to appropriation, to develop or improve workforce training tied to regional job needs.
Unemployed workers
They would receive priority placement in training programs, with colleges consulting the Department of Labor to identify participants.
Regional businesses and industries
Participating employers would help identify needed skills and reimburse colleges for one-third of employee training costs upon successful placement of participants.
BOCES and middle and high school students
SUNY and CUNY trustees would consult with regional BOCES on career training partnerships, with grant eligibility tied to high school graduation and community college enrollment or RE-UP participation.
Headline styles
Retrain and Hire Unemployed
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
3 Multi-sponsors
History
- Referred to higher education
- Referred to higher education
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1350
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. SIMON -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK, SEAWRIGHT, WALKER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing the retrain and employ unemployed persons program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6303-b to read as follows:
§ 6303-b. Retrain and employ unemployed persons program. 1. Definitions. As used in this section the following terms shall have the following meanings.
(a) "Grant program" shall mean the retrain and employ unemployed persons program or the RE-UP New York program.
(b) "Training program or workforce development program" shall mean the community college programs created or improved pursuant to the grant program.
(c) "BOCES" shall mean boards of cooperative educational services as defined in article forty of this chapter.
2. By no later than July first, two thousand twenty-six the state university boards of trustees and the city university boards of trustees shall establish a grant program for community colleges to develop training programs or improve existing workforce development programs for the purposes of training unemployed individuals for jobs in the regions surrounding such community colleges.
3. Grants shall be awarded pursuant to appropriation in an amount up to five hundred thousand dollars to community colleges that can demonstrate that such training programs or workforce development programs will provide the requisite training required for job placement in businesses and industries within the region that lack the necessary workforce or that are seeking employees with new skills in an area where job
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02749-01-5
openings currently exist or where job growth is anticipated in the near future.
4. To be eligible to receive a grant, a community college must also demonstrate that such community college: (a) has partnered with regional businesses or industries to determine areas where jobs are available or are anticipated to become available and a skilled workforce is needed; and (b) consults with the department of labor to target unemployed individuals who shall be given priority placement into such training programs or workforce development programs.
5. Upon successful placement of training program or workforce development program participants, local businesses or industries partnering with community colleges pursuant to this grant program shall reimburse the community colleges for one-third of the cost of such employee training.
6. Community colleges may seek to provide on-site training or may seek to have participants trained on job sites.
7. The community college, in consultation with local business or industry, shall determine the length of such training or workforce development program, provided that such program shall provide competency for a particular business or industry need. Successful completion of such programs shall be signified by the receipt of a certificate of completion, however, training or workforce development programs need not lead to degrees or official certifications provided by the department or the department of state.
8. Beginning in the year two thousand twenty-seven and thereafter, pursuant to appropriation and based on the availability of funds, community colleges shall be eligible to receive an additional fifty thousand dollars in any year that more than fifty percent of all grant program participants trained become employed.
9. SUNY and CUNY boards of trustees shall also consult with regional BOCES to develop or improve career training programs that will partner with community colleges and business industries to train middle school or high school students. In order to be eligible for a grant under this subdivision, such career training programs shall result in high school graduation and enrollment in a community college or participation in a RE-UP New York training or workforce development program. A portion of the funding for the BOCES, community college and industry partnership may be funded by the participating business or industry.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.