Youth Act of 1980

(Measure passed House, amended, roll call #494 (337-51))

Youth Act of 1980 - =Title I: Youth Training and Employment= - Amends the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) to revise the statement of purpose and definitions of title IV (Youth Programs).

Changes the heading of title IV, Part A to "Youth Employment and Training" (formerly, "Youth Employment Demonstration Programs"). Revises the purpose of such part to include the provision of employment experience, skill training, and remedial programs designed to improve the long-term employability of disadvantaged and hard-to-employ youth, emphasizing collaborative agreements, where feasible, among local institutions capable of providing needed services.

Requires that each CETA prime sponsor receiving Youth Employment and Training funds: (1) develop achievement standards, based on recommendations of various groups, to serve as performance indicators, accepted in the community, of youth achievements needed to obtain and retain unsubsidized jobs in the private sector; (2) establish and maintain an individual achievement record for each participating youth; and (3) formulate a personalized employability plan and periodically assess, with educational officials, the appropriateness for each youth of employment, training, and services assisted under Youth Employment and Training.

Defines an eligible youth, for Youth Employment and Training purposes, as one who is economically disadvantaged and aged 16 to 19, inclusive, or aged 20 or 21 if enrolled in high school or in a program leading to a certificate of high school equivalency. Extends eligibility, only for purposes of counseling and related services, to economically disadvantaged youth aged 14 or 15. Permits 20 percent of the funds available for Basic Grants for Youth Employment and Training Programs to be used for youths: (1) who are not economically disadvantaged but have encountered special barriers to employment; or (2) who are participants in a program under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974; or (3) who are of migrant or seasonal farmworker families. Provides that any participant in specified programs for students from disadvantaged backgrounds under the Higher Education Act of 1965 shall be eligible for purposes of CETA Title IV Part A Youth Employment and Training programs.

Defines eligible applicants, for Part A purposes, as prime sponsors and (under special regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Labor) sponsors of Native American or migrant and seasonal farmworker programs.

Establishes a new CETA program of Basic Grants for Youth Employment and Training Programs, designed to make a significant long-term impact on structural youth unemployment problems and to enhance job and career prospects through interrelated employment, training, and education. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to provide assistance to eligible applicants to provide to eligible youth a range of employability development opportunities and supportive and follow-up services to promote the transition to unsubsidized employment.

Sets forth formulas for the allocation of program funds and conditions for receipt of financial assistance.

Establishes a new CETA program of Youth Incentive Entitlement and Supplemental Work Projects. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a program entitling economically disadvantaged youth in selected poverty areas to part-time employment, full-time employment, or other appropriate compensated activity by allowing eligible applicants to pay one-half of the program cost with funds provided under the Basic Grants program and the other half with funds provided under the Youth Incentive program.

Directs the Secretary to enter into arrangements with prime sponsors to provide: (1) part-time entitlement activities (full-time during the summer months) during the school year for eligible youth from selected poverty areas who resume or maintain secondary school attendance to acquire a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; and (2) otherwise unavailable full-time employment for economically disadvantaged youth aged 16 to 21, inclusive, from selected poverty areas who have a high school diploma or certificate. Directs the Secretary to make tentative advance allocations to eligible applicants for such purposes. Sets forth the extent of entitlement activities. Sets forth procedures for applications and Secretarial review. Prohibits the use of funds for employment under the Youth Incentive program to provide public services previously provided by a political subdivision or local education agency in the area served by the project. Sets forth formulas for the allocation of program funds. Authorizes the Secretary to use discretionary funds to provide: (1) supplemental funds for Basic Grants and Youth Incentive applicants to promote specially worthy programs and programs for youths with special employment barriers or from specified categories and to provide additional allocations to areas experiencing significant increases in unemployment; (2) innovative and experimental programs; (3) outreach and public information programs for juvenile offenders; and (4) projects which will employ eligible youth, particularly economically disadvantaged youth aged 16 to 21, in solar energy and other forms of energy conservation and development.

Requires that any regulations issued by the Department of Labor meet the procedural requirements of the General Education Provisions Act.

Amends the Wagner-Peyser Act to establish a new employment services for youth program. Requires that each State desiring to receive funds under such program submit to the Secretary of Labor a supplement to required plans. Authorizes the Secretary to operate such programs in States which do not submit such a supplement. Requires that such supplements provide for specified general employment services for youth and for specified inschool services to assist youth in making a successful transition from school to working life. Requires that such services include the provision of information concerning military and civilian volunteer services opportunities. Limits the Federal share to 80 percent of the cost of such programs. Sets forth formulas for the allocation of funds for such programs. Authorizes appropriations for such program for fiscal year 1981.

Directs the Secretary of Labor to include in the annual CETA report a statement of findings on the progress made in the implementation of CETA provisions relating to the elimination of artificial barriers to employment.

=Title II: Financial Assistance to Meet Basic and Employment Skills Needs of Secondary School Youth= - Sets forth as the purpose of this title the provision of financial assistance to: (1) increase youth employability by promoting mastery of basic and employment skills among disadvantaged youth in grades seven through 12 (and in certain cases grade six) enrolled in school and youth up to age 21 who left school prior to earning a graduation certificate, through locally developed school- and community-based programs; (2) target resources and services on schools with high concentrations of poor or low-achieving students; (3) promote a partnership among educators, employment and training officers, and private sector employers that links education, training, and work experiences for disadvantaged youth; and (4) provide alternative and worksite education programs for students living in areas with high concentrations of poor or low-achieving students.

Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make payments, for grants allotted in accordance with this title, to State educational agencies during fiscal years 1981 through 1985. Sets forth formulas for the allocation of such funds.

Prohibits the use of funds provided under this title to pay the non-Federal share of the cost of specified programs under the Vocational Educational Act of 1963.

Sets forth eligibility standards for basic grants for programs operated by local educational agencies. Bases such eligibility upon the relative numbers of children aged five to 17 in a county: (1) from families below the poverty level; (2) living in non-Federal institutions for neglected or delinquent children, but not counted for purposes of a grant to a State agency under this title; or (3) being supported in foster homes with public funds. Sets forth procedures for determining such numbers.

Provides formulas for determining the amount of grants to which the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is entitled and the amount of grants which each county in a State is eligible to receive, based on such relative numbers of children in the county and average per pupil expenditure in the State.

Provides for payment to the States of the amounts to which counties are entitled and allocation of such amounts by the States to eligible local educational agencies who have submitted a plan to the State educational agency.

Requires that, in the case of an eligible county in which there is an area vocational school not under the administrative control or supervision of local educational agencies, the Secretary shall pay to the State board for vocational education an amount equal to 25 percent of the total amount of the allotments of such county. Requires that such State board use such funds to make grants to local educational agencies and such area vocational schools in such county if such entities apply jointly to administer a joint agreement for youths eligible under this title or under CETA Youth Employment and Training.

Requires that school site councils approve such plans before assistance is given to area vocational schools. Permits local governing boards to alter school site plans. Directs State boards to provide assistance to area vocational schools for at least three years so long as such schools are making progress toward achieving plan objectives.

Makes eligible to receive assistance through local educational agencies only schools which: (1) (a) provide secondary education to youth in grades seven through 12 or (b) are designated as an area vocational school serving youth from ages 11 through 21; and (2) serve a large number or percentage of (a) youth from low-income families, determined in a manner consistent with specified provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 or (b) low achieving youth as determined by a measurement of basic skills designated for such purpose by the State educational agency, consistent with the purposes of this title. Provides for ranking and selection of schools.

Requires that schools, to receive funds under this title, must develop a three-year plan describing the intended use of such funds. Requires that such plans be submitted to the local educational agency and received and commented upon by the school site council. Requires that the chief administrator of the designated school consult with the youth council established under CETA Youth Employment and Training and the appropriate prime sponsor.

Provides that grants for planning and inservice training from local educational agencies be used to assist designated schools.

Requires that State educational agencies set minimum standards for performance goals with which schools receiving assistance must comply.

Requires local educational agencies to allocate funds to designated schools on the basis of ranking and of the quality of plans. Sets minimum grant amounts. Permits local education agencies meeting certain uniform distribution of poverty criteria or engaging in certain desegregation activities to request the State education agency to approve an alternative allocation proposal.

Requires any school receiving planning assistance through the local educational agency to establish a school site council to advise in the development of the plan. Requires schools to focus on those students with the greatest need and to coordinate programs with other existing training programs and facilities. Requires that the chief administrator of a school provide to such council and local educational agency, upon request, a description of the process for selecting students. Requires local education agencies to evaluate each school's progress annually. Sets forth types of activities for which such assistance may be used, including special programs for teenage parents, high-school dropouts, and students who would otherwise be suspended or expelled.

Requires each local educational agency to use at least 25 percent of its grant for vocational education programs. Requires the State board for vocational education to review that portion of the plan and to approve that portion if specified descriptions are provided. Sets forth uses of funds for such vocational education services. Permits funds used for purposes of joint plans by a local educational agency and an area vocational school to be counted toward the minimum allocation for vocational education of such local education agency.

Requires schools, in conducting such planning, to consult with any appropriate federally required local educational advisory council and with other appropriate representatives of the community. Requires each local educational agency receiving funds under this title to consult with any appropriate advisory council established for that district under Federal law on the implementation and operation of programs assisted under this title.

Requires that local educational agencies receiving assistance under this title maintain overall fiscal effort. Requires that schools assisted under this title's programs operated by local educational agencies receive regular non-Federal and special Federal, State, and local funds in amounts equitably comparable to those received by similar schools not receiving funds under this title.

Requires local educational agencies to make provision for including educational services and arrangements in which youth enrolled in private elementary and secondary schools who would otherwise be eligible may participate, to an extent consistent with their number in the district. Requires that expenditures for such services and arrangements be equal (taking into account the number and educational needs of such youth) to those for public school youth. Directs the Secretary to arrange for provision of such services to such youth (in the same manner as provided for educationally deprived youth in private schools under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965), if any local educational agency is prohibited by law or has been determined by the Secretary to have substantially failed to provide for such participation by such youth.

Requires each local educational agency to set aside a minimum amount of funds for joint programs with prime sponsors for youth eligible under this title or CETA Youth Employment and Training.

Establishes programs to be operated by State agencies, including programs for special populations and State supplemental programs.

Entitles a State educational agency or a combination of such agencies, upon application for three fiscal years, to a grant for each of those fiscal years to establish or improve programs for: (1) children of migratory agricultural workers or of migratory fishermen; and (2) children in institutions for neglected or delinquent children or in adult correctional institutions. Bases the amount of such grant to each State on the relative populations of such children and the average per pupil expenditure, within specified limits, in such State.

Requires that such program be at the secondary school level, be designed to improve the basic and employment skills of such children, and meet other specified conditions. Authorizes the Secretary to arrange with other public or nonprofit private agencies for such programs for such children whenever this would be more beneficial to the children, or more economical or efficient, than relying upon State agencies.

Entitles a State educational agency, upon application for a fiscal year, to a grant (for each of the three fiscal years for which the application or any amendment thereto is made) to establish or improve, through local educational agencies, programs designed to develop the basic and employment skills of disadvantaged students in schools which meet specified requirements but are within local educational agencies which do not receive assistance under this title. Provides that State educational agencies make such funds available through local educational agencies. Specifies that an area vocational school that is not part of a local educational agency shall be treated as a local educational agency for purposes of such grants. Bases the amount of such State supplemental program grants upon the relative incidence of children from low-income families in their respective States and upon the average per pupil expenditure, within specified limits, within such States. Requires a similar 25 percent minimum allocation requirement for vocational education under such grants.

Requires States to consult with appropriate advisory councils established at the State level pursuant to Federal education laws and pursuant to CETA in formulating plans and administering such programs.

Directs State educational agencies to make grants to community-based organizations and to local educational agencies in order to conduct programs providing alternative and worksite education which meets specified requirements. Requires such agencies to give preference in making such grants to certain community-based nonprofit organizations. Sets forth the program requirements for organizations receiving such grants.

Requires State education agencies to: (1) coordinate activities funded under this title with employment and training activities conducted in the State; (2) provide technical assistance to local educational agencies, State agencies, and school site councils; (3) disseminate information, including information on occupational demand and supply, to such agencies and councils; and (4) monitor and enforce compliance by local educational agencies with this title, in coordination with monitoring and enforcement under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Requires local educational agencies to resolve complaints from concerned parties. Directs the Secretary to resolve appeals and complaints and to conduct on-site investigations.

Authorizes State educational agencies to arrange for alternative provision of services in cases in which funds are withheld from a local educational agency. Directs the Secretary, upon receipt of an allegation supported by substantial evidence that a local educational agency is failing to carry out specified responsibilities, to: (1) take appropriate enforcement action; or (2) refer the allegation to the State educational agency for resolution within a specified period.

Authorizes the Secretary to make payments to State education agencies for State administration of such programs, with at least 25 percent of such funds to be shared with State boards of vocational education.

Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Labor to develop a common data and reporting system for activities assisted under this title and under CETA Youth Employment and Training making full use of the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee established under the Vocational Education Act of 1963.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) obtain from the Bureau of the Census 1980 decennial census data on the number of students aged 11 through 17 who would be counted under specified provisions of this title; and (2) analyze and report to Congress on such data for allocation purposes.

Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to public and private nonprofit entities for development and demonstration activities.

Directs the Secretary to make payments for basic and employment skill improvement programs for disadvantaged youth run by: (1) local educational agencies in Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands; and (2) the Secretary of Interior, on behalf of disadvantaged Indian youth.

=Title III: General Provisions= - Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1981 to carry out: (1) CETA Youth Employment and Training; and (2) the program of grants for planning and inservice training from local educational agencies to schools under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1982 through 1985 to carry out CETA Youth Employment and Training, according to a formula under which specified excess funds are available to carry out title II of this Act. Authorizes such appropriations to be included in the appropriation Act for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which such appropriations are available for obligation.

Authorizes the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Labor to require, by joint regulation, that the percentage of funds required to be used for joint programs between prime sponsors and local education agencies be increased by three percent for each fiscal year beginning after September 30, 1982. Directs the Secretaries to notify Congress prior to promulgating such regulations and to report to Congress if they determine not to issue any such regulation for any fiscal year.

Sets forth transition provisions.