NY Educ L § 3032 (2021)
2021 New York Laws EDN - Education Title 4 - Teachers and Pupils Article 61 - Teachers and Supervisory and Administrative Staff 3032 - Teacher Summer Business Training and Employment Program; and Employer Specific Skill Training Grant Program.

§ 3032. Teacher  summer  business training and employment program; and employer specific skill training  grant  program.  1.  Definitions.  (a) "Regions"  for the purposes of this section means regions as established by the  commissioner  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  the  vocational education act.  (b)  "Local education agencies" for the purposes of this section means school districts, boards of cooperative educational services,  community colleges,  agricultural  and technical colleges, state university of New York  college  of  technology  and  centers  for   advanced   technology designated  pursuant  to section three thousand one hundred two-a of the public authorities law, and  other  postsecondary  providers  of  career education  as  set  forth  annually  by  the  commissioner  as  eligible recipients under  the  federal  vocational  education  act  of  nineteen hundred eighty-four.  (c)  "Total  employment  cost"  means salary or wages paid directly to each teacher participating and associated fringe benefits  which  accrue to  each  teacher in the teacher summer business training and employment program.   2. Allocations. The commissioner shall allocate the  lesser  of  forty thousand  dollars  or  one  percent  of  the total appropriation for the purposes of this section to each region for administering and conducting employer  specific  skill  training  and  employment  programs  and  the remainder  of  such  appropriation shall be allocated to each region for the administration and support of teacher summer business  training  and employment  programs  based on the proportion of the base year full time teachers in the public schools of all school  districts  and  boards  of cooperative  educational services within the region to the total of such teachers in the state, provided however, that each region shall  receive at  least  five percent of the allocation for such purposes and provided further that the cost due  to  such  five  percent  allowance  shall  be proportionally  borne  by  the regions not so affected. Use of funds for administration of the summer business training and  employment  programs shall not exceed six percent of the allocation to a region.   3. Teacher summer business training and employment program. (a) In any case  in  which  a  business  or  industry within the state shall employ during  the  months  of  July  and  August  a  teacher  of  mathematics, chemistry,  biology,  earth  science,  physics, computer science, career education or an elementary specialist in  the  area  of  mathematics  or science  or  commencing  July  first,  nineteen  hundred  eighty-five, a teacher of other subject areas as the commissioner may deem appropriate, the state will assist employers with costs associated with approved work experience for such teachers. Such business or  industry  shall  request that the chief administrative officer of the school district or board of cooperative  educational services employing such teacher during the same school year as such business or industry employment occurs,  certify  to the  commissioner that the summer work experience involved will directly benefit the individual's effectiveness  as  a  teacher  of  mathematics, chemistry,  biology,  earth  science,  physics, computer science, career education,  or  other  subject  areas  as  the  commissioner  may   deem appropriate.  If  such  chief  administrative officer so certifies, then such officer shall also file the request with the local education agency designated by the commissioner for pre-approval for funding  under  this program in the applicable region. The commissioner shall not approve any requests  for  approval  that would result in the maximum allocation for the applicable region being exceeded. No approval shall be given  except for  the lesser of thirty per centum of the total employment cost or one thousand dollars per employed teacher. The remainder of such costs shall be borne by  the  business  employer  involved.  Participation  in  this  program  shall  be  at  the  option  of each school district or board of cooperative educational services.  (b)  Such  requests  for pre-approval and certifications shall be on a form prescribed by the commissioner. Such form shall include but not  be limited  to certification of the employer regarding work to be performed by the teacher,  wages,  hours,  and  the  certification  of  the  chief administrative  officer  of  the school district or board of cooperative educational  services  as  the  case  may  be,  as  prescribed  in  this subdivision.  (c) The local education agency designated by the commissioner shall be authorized  to submit a claim to the commissioner for an amount of money equal to eighty percent of the anticipated expenditure, based  upon  the requests   for   pre-approval   and   certification   received.  If  the commissioner approves, he shall pay that amount to such local  education agency within thirty days of the receipt of such claim.  (d)  Upon completion of such employment, the participating business or industry shall certify to the local education agency designated  by  the commissioner  the identity of the employee, the wages actually paid, the hours worked and the period in which such hours were  worked  and  shall assess  such local education agency for thirty per centum of such salary and wage not to exceed one thousand dollars per employed teacher. If the commissioner approves, he shall reimburse such  local  education  agency upon  receipt of a claim pursuant to this section as provided by law the amount of money equal to the difference between the monies paid  to  the local education agency pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision and the  actual  approved  expenditure.  If  the  monies  paid  to the local education agency pursuant to paragraph (c) of this  subdivision  exceeds the  actual  approved  expenditure,  the  local  education  agency shall reimburse that difference to the commissioner.  (e)  The  commissioner  shall  monitor  implementation  of   programs, evaluate  progress, and require reports. Any funds allocated to a region but not committed for the purposes  of  this  subdivision  by  September fifteenth  of  the current year shall be reallocated by the commissioner for the purposes of subdivision four of this section.   4. Employer specific  skill  training  grant  programs.  (a)  Employer specific  skill  training  grant  programs shall be designed to support, supplement and contribute  to  the  expansion  and  maintenance  of  the economy  of  the  state.  Local  education  agencies  shall apply to the commissioner for grants for conducting employer specific skill  training programs. Application for funds by local education agencies for training programs  shall  be  in a manner consistent with the application process for  business  and  industry  specific  training  programs   under   the vocational  education  act of 1963 and the job training partnership act; the sum of such grants per region  shall  not  exceed  the  total  funds allocated  or reallocated to the region for such purposes. Such programs shall  provide  retraining  and  upgrading  to  existing  or   potential personnel  in  order  to improve technology, quality control, production efficiency, or to adapt to other changes in  the  labor  market,  or  to provide  unique  training  programs  to  meet  the  emerging  needs  and occupations of the state's business and industry or  providing  training to  individuals to promote the successful management and/or operation of a worker owned cooperative  or  an  employee  stock  ownership  plan  or employee-owned  enterprises,  as  defined in subdivision five of section eighteen hundred thirty-six-b of the public  authorities  law,  by  such employees.  No  grant shall exceed fifty per centum of the total program cost. Eligible program cost may  include  employer  wages  paid  to  the employee  for  time  spent  in  the training program. Applications for a  grant by local education agencies shall be in a form prescribed  by  the commissioner.  (b)  By  October  first, nineteen hundred eighty-six the department of education,  the  department  of  commerce,  and  the  urban  development corporation  shall  enter  into  cooperative  agreements to promote more effective coordination  of  employer  specific  training  programs  with regional  economic development strategies and other activities conducted by the department of commerce, the  urban  development  corporation  and other  state,  regional, and local agencies intended to promote economic development.  In  preparing  these  agreements  the   parties   to   the cooperative agreements shall solicit comments from the regional economic development councils, regional education center for economic development coordinating   committees,   technology  development  councils,  private industry councils and other appropriate entities within the  regions  as identified  by  the  commissioner,  the commissioner of commerce, or the chairman  of  the  urban  development  corporation.   Such   cooperative agreements shall be reviewed and revised annually.  (c)   The  commissioner  shall  monitor  implementation  of  programs, evaluate progress, and require reports as needed.  (d) If any funds allocated to a  region  are  not  committed  for  the purposes of this subdivision by November fifteenth, the commissioner may reallocate some or all of such funds to another region.   5. Additional employer specific skills training grants. The additional appropriation for the purposes of this subdivision for administering and conducting employer specific skills training programs shall be allocated as  follows:  (a)  thirty  percent  shall be allocated equally among the regions; and (b) seventy percent shall be allocated  among  the  regions based upon the proportion of unemployed persons within the region to the total  number  of  unemployed  persons  in the state for the most recent calendar year as determined by the state department of labor  using  the civilian  non-instructional  population  sixteen  years  of age or older labor series. Not less than twenty percent of the additional  allocation to  each  region  pursuant  to  this  paragraph  shall  be available for training programs which will provide  placements  for  persons  who  are economically  disadvantaged or dislocated workers as defined pursuant to the federal job training partnership act. If any money  allocated  to  a region  pursuant  to  this  paragraph is not committed by March first of each year or is committed prior to March first and is subsequently found to  be  unnecessary  for  expenditure  to  meet   existing   contractual obligations,  the  commissioner  shall reallocate such funds to approved programs including  but  not  limited  to  those  programs  which  serve economically  disadvantaged  or  dislocated  workers in regions eligible pursuant to this paragraph.   6. Annual report. Annually, on or before January first of  each  year, the  commissioner  shall report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and speaker  of  the  assembly  and  chairpersons  of  the appropriate  committees on the impact of this program. Such report shall include but not be limited to:  (a) The allocation of funding  among  the  regions  pursuant  to  this section.  (b)  The  amount of funding that was made available by each region for reallocation  pursuant  to  this  section.  Such  amount  shall  include separately  the  amount  made available due to the region's inability to encumber available funds and  the  amount  made  available  due  to  the overestimation of projected program costs.  (c)  The  amount  of  funding  that  was  expended  by each region for administrative activities.  (d) The allocation of funding among the regions providing for employer specific skills training grant programs which are  administered  by  the department  and  funded through other sources including, but not limited to, the federal vocational education act and the  federal  job  training partnership act and the extent to which such funds are combined with the funds  appropriated  pursuant  to  this  section  to provide funding for individual projects.  (e) The participation, completion, and placement rate  of  individuals enrolled   in   employer   specific   skills   training  grant  programs administered by the department and funded pursuant to this  section  and through  other available sources of funding, with particular emphasis on the  rates  for  individuals  who  are  economically  disadvantaged   or dislocated workers.  (f)  A  description  and evaluation of programs undertaken pursuant to the cooperative agreements required under this section.   7. The commissioner shall adopt rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this section. Rules and regulations governing the employer specific skills training program established pursuant  to  this  section shall  be  promulgated by the commissioner, assisted by the commissioner of economic development and  in  consultation  with  the  department  of economic  development.  Such  rules  and regulations shall be consistent with the program plan required by subdivision nineteen  of  section  one hundred of the economic development law.