Creates the empire state internship program for secondary students who may be interested in specific careers; program provides exposure to advanced technologies and equipment not available in the classroom; authorizes commissioner of education to establish and administer such program; requires department of education to submit a report by October 1, 2012 and every October first thereafter, to the legislature.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5344
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 13, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KOON -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ALFANO,
BARRA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to creating the empire
state internship program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and
2 declares that secondary school students who may be interested in specif-
3 ic careers have little or no opportunity to explore those interests
4 beyond the classroom.
5 The legislature also finds that students who gain practical work expe-
6 rience through internships generally become more committed to their
7 academic fields, more serious about their course work, and more
8 constructive contributors in the classroom.
9 The legislature further finds that internships provide exposure to
10 advanced technologies and equipment not available in the classroom.
11 Students learn about the competitive nature of job markets and what is
12 needed to prepare themselves to make career choices.
13 Therefore, the legislature declares that students interested in
14 exploring opportunities related to their specific career interests be
15 eligible for internships and deserve recognition that exemplifies the
16 students' scholastic achievement.
17 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new article 12-B to read
18 as follows:
19 ARTICLE 12-B
20 EMPIRE STATE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
21 Section 565. Short title.
22 566. Definitions.
23 567. Administration.
24 568. Work-based learning coordination.
25 569. Program components.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02290-01-9
A. 5344 2
1 570. Reporting and evaluation.
2 571. Rules and regulations.
3 § 565. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as
4 the "empire state internship program".
5 § 566. Definitions. For the purpose of this article the following
6 terms shall have the following meanings:
7 1. "internship" shall mean an activity that places a student in a
8 learning environment, other than the classroom, providing a worksite
9 assignment designed to help students utilize and apply principles and
10 theories taught in the classroom to the workplace;
11 2. "employer" shall mean public, private and not-for-profit employers;
12 3. "stipend" shall mean a grant of such funds as may be available from
13 federal, state or local sources awarded to a participating student as
14 part of a workplace experience;
15 4. "mentor" shall mean an individual designated by the employer in the
16 workplace to instruct and critique the performance of the student, chal-
17 lenge the student to perform well, work in consultation with the work-
18 based learning coordinator and the employer, and shall possess the
19 skills and knowledge to be mastered by a student at the workplace;
20 5. "eligible student" shall mean any student sixteen years or older
21 enrolled in a public or nonpublic secondary institution as a junior in
22 the year preceding the award;
23 6. "work-based learning coordinator" shall mean an individual who
24 holds certification from the department as a diversified cooperative
25 education coordinator as established in subdivision (f) of section
26 80-2.5 of the New York state codes, rules and regulations or has
27 completed course work or in-service training pursuant to section five
28 hundred sixty-eight of this article.
29 § 567. Administration. 1. The commissioner shall establish an empire
30 state internship program hereafter known as "the program". Such program
31 shall include components developed pursuant to section five hundred
32 sixty-nine of this article.
33 2. The commissioner shall:
34 (a) consult with state agencies including but not limited to the
35 department of labor for the purpose of developing the program; and
36 (b) coordinate with public and private institutions of higher educa-
37 tion to ensure that they are able to assess and evaluate the internship
38 as part of an application for admission into a post secondary educa-
39 tional or training program.
40 3. The department shall:
41 (a) provide technical assistance to schools interested in establishing
42 and maintaining such program; and
43 (b) develop guidelines for the program subject to the commissioner's
44 rules and regulations pursuant to section five hundred seventy-one of
45 this article. Guidelines shall, at a minimum, include:
46 (i) statement of program objectives;
47 (ii) duties and responsibilities of work-based learning coordinators;
48 (iii) duties and responsibilities of the school and employer includ-
49 ing, but not limited to mentoring the student;
50 (iv) procedures for establishing internship opportunities for eligible
51 students including, but not limited to: (1) definition of the position
52 available; (2) description of the tasks involved in each position; and
53 (3) explanation of the skills needed to perform those tasks;
54 (v) statement of the manner in which program components pursuant to
55 section five hundred sixty-nine of this article shall be integrated with
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1 academic curricula supporting efforts of students to meet the state's
2 higher learning standards;
3 (vi) strategies for schools to ensure student participation;
4 (vii) procedures for student applications including, but not limited
5 to:
6 (1) a schedule for dates for application, such that the internship can
7 begin no later than October first of the student's senior year;
8 (2) criteria for student selection including, but not limited to: (A)
9 student career interest; (B) academic performance; and (C) an interview
10 with a work-based learning coordinator;
11 (viii) performance standards for participating in the internship
12 including, but not limited to: (1) attendance; (2) participation
13 requirements for students; (3) completion of a final project pursuant to
14 subdivision two of section five hundred sixty-nine of this article; and
15 (4) completion of all other academic courses; and
16 (ix) procedures for schools to evaluate and assess each internship for
17 the purpose of awarding academic credits.
18 § 568. Work-based learning coordination. Each participating school
19 shall in a manner consistent with guidelines coordinate students and
20 employers participating in such program by:
21 1. identifying appropriate certified staff within the school such as a
22 guidance counselor or other staff within nonpublic schools whom either
23 has experience or has received in-service training enabling him or her
24 to coordinate internship activities; or
25 2. entering into a cooperative shared service agreement with a board
26 of cooperative education services (BOCES) to secure the services of a
27 work-based learning coordinator.
28 § 569. Program components. The program shall include, but is not
29 limited to the following components: 1. Workplace experiences. Workplace
30 experiences offered by employers shall:
31 (a) take place in the private sector or in any public or private not-
32 for-profit agency other than the school district;
33 (b) be for a duration of not less than three months and include a
34 minimum of one hundred hours;
35 (c) conform with the required New York state labor laws;
36 (d) involve the direct application of skills learned in the classroom;
37 (e) include the assignment of a workplace mentor;
38 (f) carry academic credit pursuant to departmental guidelines devel-
39 oped in section five hundred sixty-seven of this article; and
40 (g) may include a stipend, at local discretion, provided that such
41 award shall not be counted as income for the purpose of determining
42 eligibility for public assistance and care as defined in subdivision
43 eighteen of section two of the social services law and that the student
44 is not simultaneously employed by the employer providing the workplace
45 experience.
46 2. Final project. The internship shall include a final project which
47 may be either a written or oral presentation connected with the work
48 experience.
49 3. Certificate. Upon completion of meeting the requirements of the
50 internship the student shall be awarded the empire state internship
51 certificate which shall be noted on the student's transcript.
52 § 570. Reporting and evaluation. On or before October first, two thou-
53 sand twelve and every October first thereafter, the department shall
54 report to the speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the
55 senate, the chair of the assembly education committee, the chair of the
56 senate education committee and the chair of the legislative commission
A. 5344 4
1 on skills development and career education on the program. Such report
2 shall include, but not be limited to the following:
3 1. identification of participating schools in each district;
4 2. number of students in each school participating in the program;
5 3. number and type of businesses participating in the program; and
6 4. description of the types of internships.
7 § 571. Rules and regulations. The commissioner shall promulgate rules
8 and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this article.
9 § 3. This act shall take effect September 1, 2011.
