Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
                                           Office of Research                              Legislative Budget
         www.lsc.ohio.gov                    and Drafting                                        Office
                            S.B. 219                            Bill Analysis
                  133rd   General Assembly
                                                                  Click here for S.B. 219’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsor: Sen. Williams
Effective Date:
Mitchell Smith, Research Analyst
                                                      SUMMARY
                     Requires the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Higher
                        Education, the Council Office within the Department of Job and Family Services, and the
                        State Workforce Policy Board to develop and administer the Career Pathways
                        Apprentice Program for students in grades 9-12.
                     Requires the program to establish partnerships between schools and public and private
                        entities, provide information and technical assistance to program enrollees, and reduce
                        obstacles to and ensure compatibility with statutory requirements for earning high
                        school credit through work-based learning experiences.
                                             DETAILED ANALYSIS
Career Pathways Apprentice Program
       The bill requires the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of
Higher Education, the Council Office within the Department of Job and Family Services, and the
State Workforce Policy Board to develop and administer the Career Pathways Apprentice
Program for students in grades 9-12.1
        The program must establish partnerships between schools, businesses, communities,
local government entities, and nonprofit organizations to create career pathways for
apprenticeships in manufacturing, information technology, financial services, business
operations, healthcare, and education. It also must provide information and technical
assistance to program enrollees and reduce obstacles to and ensure compatibility with
1                 R.C. 3303.08(B).
                                                                                                          January 31, 2020
Office of Research and Drafting                         LSC               Legislative Budget Office
statutory requirements for earning high school credit through work-based learning
experiences.2
        The Department of Education, in conjunction with the other state entities, must adopt
rules to administer the program. The bill specifies that the program may incorporate or work in
conjunction with other apprentice and pre-apprentice programs already in operation in Ohio.3
Background
     Pre-apprenticeship training programs
       H.B. 49 of the 132nd General Assembly, enacted in 2017, required the Department of
Education and the Department of Job and Family Services, in consultation with the Governor’s
Office of Workforce Transformation, to establish an option for career-technical education
students to participate in pre-apprenticeship training programs that impart the skills and
knowledge to prepare students for a formal Registered Apprenticeship training program. 4 A
pre-apprenticeship can provide classroom training and hands-on labs related to an
apprenticeship occupation. It may also include paid work experience, and many enable
students to earn credit toward the completion requirements for a Registered Apprenticeship
program.
        Restrictions
        There are restrictions in the state minor labor laws that can affect pre-apprenticeship
programs. Those laws prescribe who may work when and where. Generally, employers may not
employ persons under the age of 18 without an appropriate age and schooling certificate or, as
they are more commonly known, “work permits,” “proof-of-age,” or “age and schooling”
certificates.5
       Further, minors may not be employed in any occupation “found to be hazardous or
detrimental to the health and well-being of minors” under rules adopted by the Director of
Commerce.6 The minimum age for employment is 14, and these individuals may work no more
than 3 hours on a school day or 18 total hours in a school week. They may work up to 8 hours
on a nonschool day and up to 40 hours in a nonschool week.7
     Apprenticeships
        An apprenticeship is a combination of on-the-job training and related technical
instruction. A student engaged in an apprenticeship must be at least 16 years of age except
2   R.C. 3303.08(C) and 3313.603(J)(3), the latter not in the bill.
3   R.C. 3303.08(D).
4   R.C. 3313.904, not in the bill.
5   R.C. 4109.02(A), not in the bill.
6   R.C. 4109.05, not in the bill.
7   R.C. 3331.01 and 4109.02(A), neither in the bill.
P a g e |2                                                                                S.B. 219
                                                                                    As Introduced
Office of Research and Drafting                   LSC                               Legislative Budget Office
where a higher minimum age standard is required by law, and the program must be registered
with the Ohio Apprenticeship Council to teach a skilled occupation pursuant to a registered
apprenticeship agreement. Apprenticeships are limited to skilled occupations and trades that
meet basic criteria through on-the-job training and related technical instruction. Currently,
there are over 950 occupations that have been recognized as apprentice occupations but more
are continually being added to the list.
        Related instruction is commonly provided in the classroom, but other types of
instruction, such as online learning and individualized instruction are also permitted. Federal
rules recommend that apprentices complete at least 144 hours of related instruction per year,
and many programs subsequently choose to require that amount. In many programs, the
related instruction can lead to a college degree, thereby providing an individual with the
opportunity to earn both academic and occupational credentials simultaneously.8
     Credit through subject area competency
        H.B. 49 also required the Department of Education to develop a framework for school
districts and community schools to use in granting units of high school credit to students who
demonstrate subject area competency through work-based learning experiences, internships,
or cooperative education.
       Districts and schools, beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, must comply with the
framework. Each district and school must review any policy it has adopted regarding the
demonstration of subject area competency to identify ways to incorporate work-based learning
experience, internships, and cooperative education into the policy in order to increase student
engagement and opportunities to earn units of high school credit.9
                                           HISTORY
                               Action                                          Date
Introduced                                                   10-15-19
S0219-I-133/ec
8   http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Career-Tech/Apprenticeships-and-Internships.
9   R.C. 3313.603(J), not in the bill.
P a g e |3                                                                                          S.B. 219
                                                                                              As Introduced