§18-9A-26 Allowance for workers' compensation for unpaid student work-based learning.
§18-9A-26. Allowance for workers' compensation for unpaid student work-based learning.
(a) The workers' compensation commission shall create a classification and calculate a base premium tax rate for students participating in an unpaid work-based learning experience off school premises as a part of the school curriculum with employers other than the county board of education. The workers' compensation commission shall report to the state department of education:
(1) The amount of the base premium tax rate for the class; and
(2) The amount of wages per student to be used to provide the minimum weekly benefits required by section six, article four, chapter twenty-three of this code.
(b) The state department of education shall communicate the amount of the premium to the governor and Legislature by the first day of December of each year.
(c) The base premium tax rate reported to the state department of education shall be that which was published by the workers' compensation commission prior to the first day of the immediately preceding July. The workers' compensation commission shall make no merit rate adjustment, as otherwise provided for in paragraph (A), subdivision (1), subsection (a), section four, article two, chapter twenty-three of this code for the members of the class required to be created by subsection (a) of this section.
(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any rules adopted to implement the provisions of section four, article two, chapter twenty-three of this code and for the sole purpose of this section, the workers' compensation commission shall permit any county board of education affected by this section to be classified in accordance with this section and to be also classified as otherwise required by any rules adopted to implement the provisions of section four, article two, chapter twenty-three of this code.
(e) Subject to an appropriation by the Legislature, funds shall be provided to the department of education to distribute to the county boards. If the appropriation is less than the total premium calculated, the county boards, individually, shall either reduce the number of students participating in work-based learning experiences off school premises or the county boards shall pay the difference between the amount of the premium calculated by the workers' compensation commission and the amount allocated to the county board by the department of education.