Bill Text: IL SB3614 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Workforce Diploma Pilot Program Act. Creates the Workforce Diploma Pilot Program to provide performance payments to approved program providers for eligible students enrolled in an approved program provider's program. Provides criteria and other requirements for the selection of approved program providers. Allows the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, subject to appropriation, to disburse payments to approved program providers in amounts, to be specified by the Department by rule, for each eligible student's completion or attainment of specified academic outcomes. Requires approved program providers to submit invoices on an ongoing basis to the Department for payments for student completion or attainment of specified goals. Requires the Department to review data from each approved program provider to ensure the programs offered by each provider are meeting minimum Program performance standards. Provides for the adoption of rules. Provides Program reporting requirements. Repeals the Act on July 1, 2023. Provides a legislative declaration. Defines terms. Effective July 1, 2020.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB3614 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB3614-Introduced.html

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101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 SB3614 Introduced 2/13/2020, by Sen. Scott M. Bennett SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
Creates the Workforce Diploma Pilot Program Act. Creates the Workforce Diploma Pilot Program to provide performance payments to approved program providers for eligible students enrolled in an approved program provider's program. Provides criteria and other requirements for the selection of approved program providers. Allows the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, subject to appropriation, to disburse payments to approved program providers in amounts, to be specified by the Department by rule, for each eligible student's completion or attainment of specified academic outcomes. Requires approved program providers to submit invoices on an ongoing basis to the Department for payments for student completion or attainment of specified goals. Requires the Department to review data from each approved program provider to ensure the programs offered by each provider are meeting minimum Program performance standards. Provides for the adoption of rules. Provides Program reporting requirements. Repeals the Act on July 1, 2023. Provides a legislative declaration. Defines terms. Effective July 1, 2020.
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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
SB3614 LRB101 19995 RJF 69521 b
AN ACT concerning the Workforce Diploma Pilot Program.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Workforce Diploma Pilot Program Act.
Section 5. Legislative declaration. The General Assembly
finds and declares that:
(1) In Illinois, nearly 13% of adults do not have a high
school diploma.
(2) Research shows that as many as 80% of the individuals
who left high school without a diploma did so for nonacademic
reasons, including the need to work to support themselves or
their families, becoming parents, bullying or social anxiety,
or falling too far behind to graduate on time.
(3) Education is a significant economic driver, with
significant costs to the State in social services,
incarceration expenses, and lost income from taxes
attributable to students who drop out of high school.
(4) When combined with lost wages, the average lifetime
total opportunity cost for one high school dropout is $755,900.
(5) Therefore, the General Assembly declares that by
creating a Workforce Diploma Pilot Program that provides
Illinois adults with the opportunity to complete a high school

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diploma, while transferring the risk to providers who receive
performance payments only when those students meet performance
milestones, the State can better meet its workforce goals for
future economic growth.
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Academic skill intake assessment" means a
criteria-referenced assessment of numeracy and literacy skill
with high reliability and validity as determined by third party
research, whether administered in person or online.
"Accredited" means holding an active accreditation from
one of the 7 United States regional accreditors recognized by
the United States Department of Education, including the Middle
States Commission on Higher Education, the New England
Association of Schools and Colleges, the Higher Learning
Commission, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and
Universities, the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the
Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, as
well as any successor entities or consolidations of the above,
including AdvancEd/Cognia.
"Adult dropout recovery services" includes, but is not
limited to, sourcing, recruitment, and engagement of eligible
students, learning plan development, active teaching, and
proactive coaching and mentoring, resulting in an accredited
high school diploma.

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"Approved program provider" means a public, non-profit, or
other entity that meets the requirements of this Act. An
approved program provider may not receive funding for a student
if the approved program provider receives federal or State
funding or private tuition for that student.
"Coaching" means proactive communication between the
approved program provider and the student related to the
student's pace and progress through his or her learning plan.
"Career pathways coursework" means one or more courses that
align with the skill needs of industries in the economy of the
State or region that helps an individual enter or advance
within a specific occupation or occupational cluster.
"Career placement services" means services designed to
assist students in obtaining employment, including career
interest self-assessments, job search skills, resume
development, and mock interviews.
"Cost per graduate" means total Program funding reimbursed
to a provider divided by total graduates for a cohort year.
"Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity.
"Eligible student" or "student" means a participant in the
Workforce Diploma Pilot Program who is 19 years of age or
older, who is a resident of Illinois, and who has not yet
earned a high school diploma.
"Employability skills certification" means a certificate
earned by demonstrating professional non-technical skills

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through assessment, portfolio, or observation.
"Graduate" means a student who has successfully completed
all of the provider requirements in order to obtain a high
school diploma.
"Graduation rate" means the total graduates for the fiscal
year divided by all students for the fiscal year for whom the
provider has received funding, calculated one fiscal year in
arrears.
"Graduation guidelines" means course and credit
requirements for a student to receive the approved program
provider's high school diploma.
"High school diploma" means a diploma issued by an
accredited institution. A diploma issued under this Act is
recognized as a high school diploma by the State.
"Industry-recognized credential" means an
education-related or work-related credential that verifies an
individual's qualification or competence issued by a third
party with the relevant authority to issue such credentials.
"Learning plan" means a documented plan for courses and
credits needed for each individual in order to complete Program
and provider graduation requirements.
"Mentoring" means a direct relationship between a coach and
a student to facilitate the completion of the student's
learning plan designed to prepare the student to succeed in the
Program and his or her future endeavors.
"Milestones" means objective measures of progress for

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which payment is made to an approved program provider under
this Act, including earned units of high school credit,
attainment of an employability skills certificate, attainment
of an industry-recognized credential, and attainment of an
accredited high school diploma.
"Program" means the Workforce Diploma Pilot Program
created under this Act.
"Request for qualifications" means a request for
interested potential program providers to submit evidence that
they meet the qualifications established in this Act, all of
which once confirmed by the Department that they meet the
qualifications become approved program providers. A request
for qualifications may be left open with approved program
providers approved to operate programs at any time of year.
"Transcript evaluations" means a documented summary of
credits earned in previous public or private accredited high
schools compared with Program and approved program provider
graduation guidelines.
"Units of high school credit" means credit awarded based on
a student's demonstration that he or she has successfully met
the content expectations for the credit area as defined by
subject area standards, expectations, or guidelines.
Section 15. Workforce Diploma Pilot Program.
(a) There is created in the Department of Commerce and
Economic Opportunity the Workforce Diploma Pilot Program to

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provide performance payments to approved program providers for
eligible students enrolled in an approved program provider's
program.
(b) On or before August 15 in any fiscal year in which the
General Assembly appropriates money for the Program, the
Department shall issue a request for qualifications for
providers to participate in the Program as approved program
providers.
(c) The criteria necessary to be an approved program
provider includes the following:
(1) experience providing adult dropout recovery
services;
(2) the ability to provide academic skill intake
assessment and transcript evaluations;
(3) the ability to develop a learning plan that
integrates academic requirements and career goals;
(4) the ability to provide all instruction necessary to
meet or exceed the State Board of Education's high school
graduation guidelines to achieve a high school diploma;
(5) the ability to provide remedial course work in
literacy and numeracy;
(6) the ability to provide a research-validated
academic resiliency assessment and intervention;
(7) the ability to provide employability skills
development aligned to employer needs;
(8) the ability to provide career pathways course work;

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(9) the ability to provide preparation for
industry-recognized credentials;
(10) the ability to provide career placement services;
and
(11) high school diploma accreditation by a recognized
regional accrediting body or a consolidation of one or more
regional accrediting bodies.
(d) The Department shall review qualifications from
approved program providers to determine whether the provider
meets the criteria to be an approved program provider under the
Program. Within 60 days after submission of qualifications
under this Section, the Department shall publish a list of
providers that meet the criteria for an approved program
provider. An approved program provider is eligible for Program
payments for outcomes, as provided under subsection (e),
achieved 30 or more days after the Department publishes the
list of approved program providers.
Once the Department determines that a provider is an
approved program provider under the Program, the provider
remains an approved program provider without the need to
reapply annually, unless the provider is removed by the
Department from the list of approved program providers as
provided under subsection (g).
(e) In any fiscal year in which the General Assembly
appropriates money for the Program, the Department shall
disburse payments to approved program providers in amounts, to

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be specified by the Department by rule, for each eligible
student's completion or attainment of the following outcomes:
(1) for completion of each half-credit;
(2) for completion of an accredited high school
diploma;
(3) for completion of an employability skills
certification program equal to at least one carnegie unit;
(4) for attainment of an industry-recognized
credential requiring up to 50 hours of training;
(5) for attainment of an industry-recognized
credential requiring between 51 and 100 hours of training;
and
(6) for attainment of an industry-recognized
credential requiring more than 100 hours of training.
An approved program provider that receives tuition or other
payment from or on behalf of an eligible student shall not also
receive a payment from the Program on behalf of the eligible
student for the same course or program.
(f) Approved program providers shall submit invoices on an
ongoing basis to the Department for payments for student
completion or attainment of goals set forth in subsection (e).
The Department shall determine the submission dates for the
invoices. Subject to available appropriations, approved
program providers who submit invoices on or before the dates
determined by the Department shall receive payments. If
available appropriations are insufficient to satisfy all

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invoices received by the submission date, the Department shall
reduce all payments by the same percentage until the money is
exhausted.
The Department shall publish monthly reports for approved
program providers indicating the total amount of payments
disbursed pursuant to the Program and the total number of
students enrolled in the Program.
(g) The Department shall review data from each approved
program provider to ensure the programs offered by each
provider are meeting minimum Program performance standards,
including a minimum 50% high school graduation rate from the
approved program provider's programs, calculated one year in
arrears. The Department shall place an approved program
provider that does not meet the Program performance standards
established in this Section on probationary status for the
remainder of the State fiscal year. The Department shall remove
an approved program provider from the list of approved program
providers if the provider does not meet the performance
standards for 2 consecutive years.
(h) The Department may adopt rules necessary to implement
and administer the Program created under this Act.
Section 20. Program reporting.
(a) On or before August 15 of each year in which Program
payments were disbursed for the prior State fiscal year, each
approved program provider that received payments under the

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Program for the preceding State fiscal year shall report the
following information to the Department:
(1) the total number of eligible students for whom the
approved program provider has received payments;
(2) the total number of units of high school credit
earned by eligible students for whom the approved program
provider is receiving payments;
(3) the total number of employability skills
certifications issued to eligible students for whom the
approved program provider is receiving payments;
(4) the total number of industry-recognized
credentials earned for each tier of funding described in
subsection (e) of Section 15 by eligible students for whom
the approved program provider is receiving payments; and
(5) the total number of eligible students for whom the
approved program provider is receiving payments who
receive high school diplomas.
(b) On or before October 15 of each year in which Program
payments were disbursed for the prior State fiscal year, the
Department shall submit to the General Assembly a report
listing approved program providers and summarizing the
information received from approved program providers under
subsection (a), and other workforce and postsecondary
outcomes, including employment and college enrollment.
Section 25. Repeal. This Act is repealed on July 1, 2023.

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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
2020.