Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 11; Title 49, Chapter 7 and Title 50.

This bill:<br /> <br /> (1) Replaces the department of economic and community development with the Tennessee higher education commission as the state agency charged with administering grants related to work-based learning programs;<br /> (2) Revises the present law requirement that an LEA or state institution of higher education that coordinates work-based learning for students maintain liability insurance coverage for all participating students to require "insurance coverage" instead of "liability insurance coverage"; and<br /> (3) Exempts from the Child Labor Act a student learner enrolled in a course of study, training program, or class provided by a recognized state or local educational authority or institution of higher education, or in a substantially similar course of study, training program, or class conducted by a private school. In order for the exemption to apply, the student learner must be enrolled in an approved work-based learning, apprenticeship, or similar school-work program.<br /> <br /> ON MAY 1, 2019, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 740, AS AMENDED.<br /> <br /> AMENDMENT #2 revises various provisions of this bill, including the following:<br /> <br /> (1) Requires the Tennessee higher education commission to submit an annual report to the education committees of the senate and house detailing, for each labor education alignment program, the academic credit attainment of participants and an overview of each program. This replaces a present law requirement that the commission submit an annual report on job placement to the commerce and labor committee of the senate and the consumer and human resources committee of the house;<br /> (2) Removes this bill's provision that would have created an exemption to the Child Labor Act, as described in (3) of the Bill Summary;<br /> (3) Revises this bill and present law regarding liability and insurance coverage, as described in (2) of the Bill Summary. This amendment removes present law that exempts from liability the employer of a student who is participating in work-based learning coordinated through the student's LEA or a state institution of higher education for actions relating to that student unless the employer acted willfully or with gross negligence. This amendment removes present law that authorizes an employer to elect to cover a participating student under a workers' compensation policy, although this amendment does not create any new exception to the coverage requirements under the Workers' Compensation Law. This amendment also removes the present law requirement that a participating student's LEA or higher education institution maintain liability insurance and instead requires each LEA implementing work-based learning to maintain student accident insurance coverage;<br /> (4) Requires the department of education, in coordination with the department of labor and workforce development, the bureau of workers' compensation, and the department of economic and community development, to make information available to employers and LEAs on applicable labor laws and insurance;<br /> (5) Requires a program operator administering a work-based learning program to establish a formal process and deadline for receiving an employer's application to participate in such a program. This replaces the present law annual deadline date of July 15;<br /> (6) Defines "work-based learning" to mean the application of academic and technical knowledge in a work setting that involves actual work experience, for purposes of the qualified work-based learning grant program; and<br /> (7) Redefines "qualified work-based learning student" for purposes of identifying students the acceptance or hiring of which makes an employer eligible to apply for a qualified work-based learning grant. Present law defines "qualified work-based learning student" to mean a student who:<br /> (A) Is enrolled in a secondary or postsecondary work-based learning course coordinated through the student's LEA or a state institution of higher education, including, but not limited to, Tennessee colleges of applied technology;<br /> (B) Is receiving academic credit or credit toward completion of a career and technical education program for the work-based learning course;<br /> (C) Is performing the duties associated with the work-based learning course in this state; and<br /> (D) Is supervised by a teacher, faculty member, or staff member of the LEA or state institution of higher education.<br /> <br /> This amendment defines "qualified work-based learning student" to mean a student who is 16 years of age or older, enrolled in a Tennessee public high school, and participating in a work-based learning course for academic credit or credit toward completion of a career and technical education program.<br /> <br />