Workforce Training and Education Consolidation Act

Miss. Code Ann. tit. 37, ch. 153
in effect

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-1 Short title [Repealed effective July 1, 2023].

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Comprehensive Workforce Training and Education Consolidation Act of 2004.”

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-3 Legislative intent [Repealed effective July 1, 2023].

It is the intent of the Legislature by the passage of Chapter 572, Laws of 2004, to establish one (1) comprehensive workforce development system in the State of Mississippi that is focused on achieving results, using resources efficiently and ensuring that workers and employers can easily access needed services. This system shall reflect a consolidation of the Mississippi Workforce Development Advisory Council and the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Act Board. The purpose of Chapter 572, Laws of 2004, is to provide workforce activities, through a statewide system that maximizes cooperation among state agencies, that increase the employment, retention and earnings of participants, and increase occupational skill attainment by participants and as a result, improve the quality of the workforce, reduce welfare dependency and enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the State of Mississippi.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-5 Definitions [Repealed effective July 1, 2023].

For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: “State board” means the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board; “District councils” means the Local Workforce Development Councils; “Local workforce investment board” means the board that oversees the workforce development activities of local workforce areas under the federal Workforce Investment Act.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-7 Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board created; duties; membership; staff and administration [Repealed effective July 1, 2023].

There is created the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board. The Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board shall be composed of forty-one (41) voting members, of which a majority shall be representatives of business and industry in accordance with the federal Workforce Investment Act. The Governor shall appoint the following members of the board to serve a term of four (4) years: The Executive Director of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, or his/her designee; The Executive Director of the Mississippi Municipal League; One (1) elected mayor; One (1) representative of an apprenticeship program in the state; One (1) representative of labor organizations, who has been nominated by state labor federations; One (1) representative of individuals and organizations that has experience with respect to youth activities; One (1) representative of the Mississippi Association of Planning and Development Districts; One (1) representative from each of the four (4) workforce areas in the state, who has been nominated by the community colleges in each respective area, with the consent of the elected county supervisors within the respective workforce area; The chair of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges; and Twenty-one (21) representatives of business owners nominated by business and industry organizations, which may include representatives of the various planning and development districts in Mississippi. The following state officials shall be members of the board: The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security; The Executive Director of the Department of Rehabilitation Services; The State Superintendent of Public Education; The Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority; The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services; The Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board; and The Commissioner of the Institutions of Higher Learning. The Governor, or his designee, shall serve as a member. Four (4) legislators, who shall serve in a nonvoting capacity, two (2) of whom shall be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor from the membership of the Mississippi Senate, and two (2) of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House from the membership of the Mississippi House of Representatives. The membership of the board shall reflect the diversity of the State of Mississippi. The Governor shall designate the Chairman of the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board from among the voting members of the board, and a quorum of the board shall consist of a majority of the voting members of the board. The voting members of the board who are not state employees shall be entitled to reimbursement of their reasonable expenses incurred in carrying out their duties under this chapter, from any funds available for that purpose. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security shall establish limits on administrative costs for each portion of Mississippi’s workforce development system consistent with the federal Workforce Investment Act or any future federal workforce legislation. The Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board shall have the following duties: Develop and submit to the Governor a strategic plan for an integrated state workforce development system that aligns resources and structures the system to more effectively and efficiently meet the demands of Mississippi’s employers and job seekers. This plan will comply with the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as amended, the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 and amendments and successor legislation to these acts; Assist the Governor in the development and continuous improvement of the statewide workforce investment system that shall include: Development of linkages in order to assure coordination and nonduplication among programs and activities; and Review local workforce development plans that reflect the use of funds from the federal Workforce Investment Act, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the Wagner-Peyser Act and the amendment or successor legislation to the acts, and the Mississippi Comprehensive Workforce Training and Education Consolidation Act; Recommend the designation of local workforce investment areas as required in Section 116 of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014. There shall be four (4) workforce investment areas that are generally aligned with the planning and development district structure in Mississippi. Planning and development districts will serve as the fiscal agents to manage Workforce Investment Act funds, oversee and support the local workforce investment boards aligned with the area and the local programs and activities as delivered by the one-stop employment and training system. The planning and development districts will perform this function through the provisions of the county cooperative service districts created under Sections 19-3-101 through 19-3-115; however, planning and development districts currently performing this function under the Interlocal Cooperation Act of 1974, Sections 17-13-1 through 17-13-17, may continue to do so; Assist the Governor in the development of an allocation formula for the distribution of funds for adult employment and training activities and youth activities to local workforce investment areas; Recommend comprehensive, results-oriented measures that shall be applied to all of Mississippi’s workforce development system programs; Assist the Governor in the establishment and management of a one-stop employment and training system conforming to the requirements of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, as amended, recommending policy for implementing the Governor’s approved plan for employment and training activities and services within the state. In developing this one-stop career operating system, the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board, in conjunction with local workforce investment boards, shall: Design broad guidelines for the delivery of workforce development programs; Identify all existing delivery agencies and other resources; Define appropriate roles of the various agencies to include an analysis of service providers’ strengths and weaknesses; Determine the best way to utilize the various agencies to deliver services to recipients; and Develop a financial plan to support the delivery system that shall, at a minimum, include an accountability system; Assist the Governor in reducing duplication of services by urging the local workforce investment boards to designate the local community/junior college as the operator of the WIN Job Center. Incentive grants of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) from federal Workforce Investment Act funds may be awarded to the local workforce boards where the community/junior college district is designated as the WIN Job Center. These grants must be provided to the community and junior colleges for the extraordinary costs of coordinating with the Workforce Investment Act, advanced technology centers and advanced skills centers. In no case shall these funds be used to supplant state resources being used for operation of workforce development programs; To provide authority, in accordance with any executive order of the Governor, for developing the necessary collaboration among state agencies at the highest level for accomplishing the purposes of this chapter; To monitor the effectiveness of the workforce development centers and WIN job centers; To advise the Governor, public schools, community/junior colleges and institutions of higher learning on effective school-to-work transition policies and programs that link students moving from high school to higher education and students moving between community colleges and four-year institutions in pursuit of academic and technical skills training; To work with industry to identify barriers that inhibit the delivery of quality workforce education and the responsiveness of educational institutions to the needs of industry; To provide periodic assessments on effectiveness and results of the overall Mississippi comprehensive workforce development system and district councils; and To assist the Governor in carrying out any other responsibility required by the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, as amended and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, successor legislation and amendments. The Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board shall coordinate all training programs and funds in the State of Mississippi. Each state agency director responsible for workforce training activities shall advise the Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board of appropriate federal and state requirements. Each such state agency director shall remain responsible for the actions of his agency; however, each state agency and director shall work cooperatively, and shall be individually and collectively responsible to the Governor for the successful implementation of the statewide workforce investment system. The Governor, as the Chief Executive Officer of the state, shall have complete authority to enforce cooperation among all entities within the state that utilize federal or state funding for the conduct of workforce development activities. The State Workforce Investment Board shall establish a Rules Committee. The Rules Committee, in consultation with the full board, shall be designated as the body with the sole authority to promulgate rules and regulations for distribution of Mississippi Works Funds created in Section 71-5-353. The State Workforce Investment Board Rules Committee shall develop and submit rules and regulations in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Act, within sixty (60) days of March 21, 2016. The State Workforce Investment Board Rules Committee shall consist of the following State Workforce Investment Board members: The Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority; The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security; The Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board; The Chair of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges; The Chair of the State Workforce Investment Board; A representative from the workforce areas selected by the Mississippi Association of Workforce Areas, Inc.; A business representative currently serving on the board, selected by the Chairman of the State Workforce Investment Board; and Two (2) legislators, who shall serve in a nonvoting capacity, one (1) of whom shall be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor from the membership of the Mississippi Senate and one (1) of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from the membership of the Mississippi House of Representatives. The Mississippi State Workforce Investment Board shall create and implement performance metrics for the Mississippi Works Fund to determine the added value to the local and state economy and the contribution to the future growth of the state economy. A report on the performance of the fund shall be made to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House of Representatives annually, throughout the life of the fund.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-9 District work force development councils created; duties; membership [Repealed effective July 1, 2023].

In accordance with the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, there shall be established, for each of the four (4) state workforce areas prescribed in Section 37-153-3 (2)(c), a local workforce investment board to set policy for the portion of the state workforce investment system within the local area and carry out the provisions of the Workforce Investment Act. Each community college district shall have an affiliated District Workforce Development Council. The district council shall be composed of a diverse group of fifteen (15) persons appointed by the board of trustees of the affiliated public community or junior college. The members of each district council shall be selected from persons recommended by the chambers of commerce, employee groups, industrial foundations, community organizations and local governments located in the community college district of the affiliated community college with one (1) appointee being involved in basic literacy training. However, at least eight (8) members of each district council shall be chief executive officers, plant managers that are representatives of employers in that district or service sector executives. The District Workforce Development Council affiliated with each respective community or junior college shall advise the president of the community or junior college on the operation of its workforce development center/one-stop center. The Workforce Development Council shall have the following advisory duties: To develop an integrated and coordinated district workforce investment strategic plan that: Identifies workforce investment needs through job and employee assessments of local business and industry; Sets short-term and long-term goals for industry-specific training and upgrading and for general development of the workforce; and Provides for coordination of all training programs, including ABE/High School Equivalency Diploma, Skills Enhancement and Industrial Services, and shall work collaboratively with the State Literacy Resource Center; To coordinate and integrate delivery of training as provided by the workforce development plan; To assist business and industry management in the transition to a high-powered, quality organization; To encourage continuous improvement through evaluation and assessment; and To oversee development of an extensive marketing plan to the employer community.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-11 One-Stop Career Centers; staff and organization; duties [Repealed effective July 1, 2023].

There are created workforce development centers to provide assessment, training and placement services to individuals needing retraining, training and upgrading for small business and local industry. Each workforce development center shall be affiliated with a separate public community or junior college district. Each workforce development center shall be staffed and organized locally by the affiliated community college. The workforce development center shall serve as staff to the affiliated district council. Each workforce development center, working in concert with its affiliated district council, shall offer and arrange services to accomplish the purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, the following: For individuals needing training and retraining: Recruiting, assessing, counseling and referring to training or jobs; Preemployment training for those with no experience in the private enterprise system; Basic literacy skills training and high school equivalency education; Vocational and technical training, full-time or part-time; and Short-term skills training for educationally and economically disadvantaged adults in cooperation with federally established employment and training programs; For specific small businesses, industries or firms within the district: Job analysis, testing and curriculum development; Development of specific long-range training plans; Industry or firm-related preemployment training; Workplace basic skills and literacy training; Customized skills training; Assistance in developing the capacity for total quality management training; Technology transfer information and referral services to business of local applications of new research in cooperation with the University Research Center, the state’s universities and other laboratories; and Development of business plans; For public schools within the district technical assistance to secondary schools in curriculum coordination, development of tech prep programs, instructional development and resource coordination; and For economic development, a local forum and resource center for all local industrial development groups to meet and promote regional economic development. Each workforce development center shall compile and make accessible to the Mississippi Workforce Investment Board necessary information for use in evaluating outcomes of its efforts and in improving the quality of programs at each community college, and shall include information on literacy initiatives. Each workforce development center shall, through an interagency management information system, maintain records on new small businesses, placement, length of time on the job after placement and wage rates of those placed in a form containing such information as established by the state council. The Mississippi Community College Board is authorized to designate one or more workforce development centers at the request of affiliated community or junior colleges to provide skills training to individuals to enhance their ability to be employed in the motion picture industry in this state.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-13 Mississippi Community College Board to be primary support agency for the career centers and district councils; powers [Repealed effective July 1, 2023].

The Mississippi Community College Board is designated as the primary support agency to the workforce development centers. The Mississippi Community College Board may exercise the following powers: To provide the workforce development centers the assistance necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter; To provide the workforce development centers consistent standards and benchmarks to guide development of the local workforce development system and to provide a means by which the outcomes of local services can be measured; To develop the staff capacity to provide, broker or contract for the provision of technical assistance to the workforce development centers, including, but not limited to: Training local staff in methods of recruiting, assessment and career counseling; Establishing rigorous and comprehensive local preemployment training programs; Developing local institutional capacity to deliver total quality management training; Developing local institutional capacity to transfer new technologists into the marketplace; Expanding the Skills Enhancement Program and improving the quality of adult literacy programs; and Developing data for strategic planning; To collaborate with the Mississippi Development Authority and other economic development organizations to increase the community college systems’ economic development potential; To administer presented and approved certification programs by the community colleges for tax credits and partnership funding for corporate training; To create and maintain an evaluation team that examines which kinds of curricula and programs and what forms of quality control of training are most productive so that the knowledge developed at one (1) institution of education can be transferred to others; To develop internal capacity to provide services and to contract for services from universities and other providers directly to local institutions; To develop and administer an incentive certification program; To develop and hire staff and purchase equipment necessary to accomplish the goals set forth in this section; and To collaborate, partner and contract for services with community-based organizations and disadvantaged businesses in the delivery of workforce training and career information especially to youth, as defined by the federal Workforce Investment Act, and to those adults who are in low income jobs or whose individual skill levels are so low as to be unable initially to be aided by a workforce development center. Community-based organizations and disadvantaged businesses must meet performance-based certification requirements set by the Mississippi Community College Board.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-153-15 Career and technical education incentive grant to public schools for each student earning qualifying industry certification; use of grants.

As used in this chapter: The words “industry certification” mean a voluntary process through which students are assessed by an independent, third-party certifying entity using predetermined standards for knowledge, skills and competencies, resulting in the award of a credential that is nationally recognized and must be at least one (1) of the following: Within an industry that addresses a critical local, regional or statewide economic need; Linked to an occupation that is included in the State Department of Employment Security’s occupations in high-demand list; or Linked to an occupation that is identified as emerging. The words “qualifying industry certification” mean an industry certification that is linked to an occupation with wages of at least seventy percent (70%) of the average annual wage in this state unless the industry certification is stackable to another postsecondary or professional credential which is linked to an occupation which meets the wage criterion. The State Workforce Investment Board shall provide the State Board of Education annually with a list of qualifying industry certifications. If the occupations identified in the list are not substantially the same as those occupations identified in the prior year, the State Board of Education shall provide reasonable notice of the changes to school districts. Beginning in fiscal year 2019-2020 and subject to available funding, the Department of Education shall pay a career and technical education incentive grant to the public school for each student enrolled in the public school who earns a qualifying industry certification. The amount per student for the career and technical education incentive grant shall be Six Hundred Dollars ($600.00). If the statewide sum of the career and technical education incentive grants awarded pursuant to this section exceeds the amount of available funds appropriated for the grants, the grants per student shall be reduced proportionately to cover all eligible grants under this section. The grants may be used for qualifying industry certification examination fees, professional development for teachers in career and technical education programs under this section, student instructional support for programs that lead to qualifying industry certifications, or to increase access to qualifying industry certifications. Any grants awarded under this section may not be used to supplant funds provided for the basic operation of the career and technical education programs. On or before July 1 of each year, the Department of Education shall submit a report to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chairmen of the House and Senate Education Committees, the Chairman of the House Workforce Development Committee and the Chairman of the Senate Labor Committee on the following: The number of students who enrolled in a career and technical education course or program that leads to a qualifying industry certification. The number of students who earned a qualifying industry certification by certification. The amount of career and technical education incentive grants awarded by the school. The amount of career and technical education incentive grants awarded per student. Aggregated demographic data on the students who earned a qualifying industry certification, including the qualifying industry certifications earned by rural and urban students.

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