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20 ILCS 701/ High Technology School-to-Work Act.

(20 ILCS 701/1)     Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the High Technology School‑to‑Work Act. (Source: P.A. 92‑250, eff. 8‑3‑01.)

(20 ILCS 701/5)     Sec. 5. Statement of findings. The General Assembly finds that:         (1) Illinois must compete in an increasingly global

economy characterized by the use of advanced technologies to create new products and services and increase the efficiency of production;

(2) those new technologies include, but are not

limited to, advanced telecommunications and computer technologies; advanced developments in biotechnology relating to health, medical science, and agriculture; advanced manufacturing methods; and advanced materials development;

(3) to successfully compete in the new economy,

Illinois needs workers who are highly skilled in scientific, technical, and engineering occupations, including engineers; life and physical scientists; mathematical specialists; engineering and science technicians; computer specialists; and engineering, scientific, and computer managers;

(4) workers in these occupations need in‑depth

knowledge of the theories and principles of science, engineering, and mathematics; and

(5) there is a need to increase the number of

secondary and postsecondary students preparing for and entering high technology occupations.

(Source: P.A. 92‑250, eff. 8‑3‑01.)

    (20 ILCS 701/10)
    Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
    "Director" means the Director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
    "High technology occupations" mean scientific, technical, and engineering occupations including, but not limited to, the following occupational groups and detailed occupations: engineers; life and physical scientists; mathematical specialists; engineering and science technicians; computer specialists; and engineering, scientific, and computer managers.
    "Local partnership" means a cooperative agreement between one or more employers, including employer associations, and one or more secondary or postsecondary schools established to operate a high technology school‑to‑work project. The partnerships must be employer‑led and designed to respond to the high technology skill requirements of participating employers.
(Source: P.A. 94‑793, eff. 5‑19‑06.)

(20 ILCS 701/15)     Sec. 15. Purpose. The primary purpose of this Act is to increase the number of students exiting secondary and postsecondary schools who opt to enter occupations requiring advanced skills in the areas of science, mathematics, and advanced technology. A secondary goal is to encourage students exiting secondary schools to pursue advance educational programs in technical fields and the sciences. (Source: P.A. 92‑250, eff. 8‑3‑01.)

(20 ILCS 701/20)     Sec. 20. Coordination with economic development activities. The Department must coordinate the administration of the High Technology School‑to‑Work Program, including the targeting of projects, with the Department's technology related planning and economic development initiatives. (Source: P.A. 92‑250, eff. 8‑3‑01.)

(20 ILCS 701/25)     Sec. 25. Program design. Local partnerships must provide students with work experience in high technology occupations combined with related classroom instruction. Employers and educators must cooperatively adopt or develop, or both, skills standards, curricula, and assessment tools. Skills standards must be current with high performance workplaces and technology requirements. Project activities include, but are not limited to:         (1) designing in‑school and related work‑based

curricula;

(2) training teachers;         (3) training work site supervisors and mentors;         (4) developing instructional materials;         (5) coordinating activities among the partners;         (6) outreach and recruitment of students;         (7) developing assessment tools;         (8) providing vocational counseling to student

participants;

(9) completing project related administrative

activities; and

(10) evaluating the project. (Source: P.A. 92‑250, eff. 8‑3‑01.)

(20 ILCS 701/30)     Sec. 30. Allowable costs. Subject to the limitations in Section 35 of this Act, grant funds may be used for any reasonable and necessary expense related to the successful conduct of a high technology school‑to‑work project as approved by the Department and specified in a grant agreement with the Department. (Source: P.A. 92‑250, eff. 8‑3‑01.)

(20 ILCS 701/35)     Sec. 35. Limitations. To be an allowable grant cost, expenses must:         (1) be for an extraordinary cost incurred due to the

high technology school‑to‑work project;

(2) not be used for stipends or wages paid to

students during the work‑based project activities; and

(3) not be used to pay the wages of teachers working

in short‑term, part‑time, internship, or similar work experience arrangements with private employers designed to provide teachers with experience in an industry.

(Source: P.A. 92‑250, eff. 8‑3‑01.)

(20 ILCS 701/40)     Sec. 40. Duties. The Department has the following duties:         (1) To establish and coordinate the High Technology

School‑to‑Work Program.

(2) Subject to appropriations, to make grants to

local partnerships to administer high technology school‑to‑work projects.

(3) To periodically identify high technology

industries and occupations for which training programs may be developed pursuant to the requirements of this Act.

(4) To issue guidelines for submitting grant

applications.

(5) To adopt, amend, or repeal any rules that may be

necessary to administer this Act.

(Source: P.A. 92‑250, eff. 8‑3‑01.)

(20 ILCS 701/45)     Sec. 45. Grant selection. Applications for funding must be reviewed using the criteria in this Section. The Director must make final funding decisions. Review criteria include:         (1) the appropriateness of the targeted industries

and occupations;

(2) the appropriateness of the targeted student

population;

(3) the efforts to recruit female and minority

students into the project;

(4) the strength of the local partnership and

private sector involvement;

(5) the related experience and qualifications of the

project staff;

(6) the quality of the project work plan;         (7) the proposed project costs in relationship to

planned outcomes;

(8) the relationship of the project to the

Department's economic development plans and initiatives;

(9) the geographic distribution of grant awards

throughout the State; and

(10) the quality of presentations made to the

Department, if the Department requests presentations.

(Source: P.A. 92‑250, eff. 8‑3‑01.)

(20 ILCS 701/99)     Sec. 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law. (Source: P.A. 92‑250, eff. 8‑3‑01.)