Amends TCA Title 49.

This bill requires the department of labor and workforce development to establish an adult workforce diploma pilot program to assist adults 19 years of age or older in obtaining a high school diploma and developing employability, career, and technical skills. The department will operate the pilot program for two fiscal years beginning with the 2021-2022 fiscal year. The pilot program will provide payments in amounts ranging from $250 to $1,000 to an approved program provider for outcomes achieved by eligible students enrolled in the approved program provider's program. The department must pay approved program providers within 30 days of receiving an invoice in the order in which invoices are submitted until all funds appropriated for the pilot program for the fiscal year are exhausted. The department will not distribute more than $10 million to approved program providers to fund the pilot program. "Approved program provider" means a public, nonprofit, or other entity selected by the department of labor and workforce development to administer online, in person, or hybrid programs through which eligible students can earn a high school diploma and develop employability and career and technical skills. PROGRAM APPLICATION AND ADMINISTRATION This bill requires the department to issue, by August 15, 2021, and by August 15 of each of the following years in which the pilot program will be in effect, a request on the department's website for applications from program providers interested in participating in the pilot program. A program provider must meet all of the following qualifications: (1) Operate a regionally accredited high school that awards high school diplomas; (2) Have a minimum of two years of experience providing adult dropout recovery services; (3) Not receive federal funding or state funding for, or payments of tuition directly from, students participating in the pilot program; (4) Maintain a course catalog that includes all courses necessary to meet the provider's high school graduation requirements; and (5) Have the ability to provide: (A) An academic skills intake assessment and transcript evaluation for each student; (B) A learning plan for each student that integrates graduation requirements and career goals; (C) Remediation opportunities in literacy and numeracy; (D) An employability skills certification; (E) Career pathways coursework; (F) Preparation for industry-recognized credentials; and (G) Career placement services. The department will approve any program provider that meets all of the above qualifications, unless the program provider was previously removed from the list of approved program providers. Approved program providers may begin enrolling eligible students upon notification of approved provider status. Upon receiving designation as an approved program provider, the approved program provider will remain approved and not be required to reapply annually, unless the provider is removed by the department from the list of approved program providers. REPORTING Under this bill, by August 1, 2022, and by August 1 of each of the following years in the pilot program is in effect, each approved program provider must report to the department the following information for the immediately preceding fiscal year: (1) Total number of students for whom the approved program provider has received payments; (2) Total number of credits earned by students for whom the approved program provider has received payments; (3) Total number of employability skills certifications issued to students for whom the approved program provider has received payments; (4) Total number of industry-recognized credentials issued for each tier of funding to students for whom the approved program provider has received payments; (5) Total number of high school diplomas awarded to students for whom the approved program provider has received payments; and (6) Other information as the department may specify. This bill requires the department to: (1) Submit a report on the pilot program's outcomes to the education committees of the senate and of the house of representatives by October 1, 2023, and by October 1 of each of the following years in which the department receives survey data from an approved program provider pursuant to the provision of this bill requiring surveys; (2) Include in the report a compilation of the data submitted to the department by an approved program provider pursuant to the provisions of this bill relating to the report and the survey; and (3) Submit a final report on the outcomes of the pilot program to these same committees by October 1, 2024. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR PROGRAMS Beginning September 1, 2023, and by every September 1 of each of the following years in which the pilot program is in effect, this bill requires the department to review data received from each approved program provider to ensure that each approved program provider is meeting minimum program performance standards: (1) Maintaining at least a 50 percent graduation rate among students for whom the approved program provider has received payments; and (2) Maintaining an average cost per graduate of $7,000 or less, calculated by dividing total program funding reimbursed to the provider for a fiscal year by the total graduates for that fiscal year, calculated one fiscal year in arrears. If an approved program provider does not meet the above minimum program performance standards, the department must place the approved program provider on probationary status for the remainder of the fiscal year. An approved program provider that does not meet the minimum performance standards for two consecutive fiscal years, including any probationary period, will be removed from the approved program provider list. SURVEYS This bill requires each approved program provider to conduct a survey of the students for whom the approved program provider received funding and who have graduated with a high school diploma from the approved program provider. By August 1, 2023 and August 1 of each of the following years in which an approved program provider conducts a survey, the approved program provider must submit the survey data to the department. Such survey must: (1) Be conducted between six and 12 months after an individual has graduated with a high school diploma from the program of an approved program provider, and after the first survey, an additional survey of the individual must be conducted in each of the following four consecutive years; and (2) Collect the following information about the individual: (A) The individual's employment status, including whether the individual is employed full-time or part-time; (B) The individual's hourly wages or annual salary; (C) If the individual has access to employer-sponsored health care; and (D) The individual's postsecondary enrollment status, including whether the individual has completed a postsecondary certificate or degree program.