Section 110.10  General Purpose

 

There is a need to increase the number of secondary and post secondary students that prepare for and enter high technology occupations in Illinois.  The purpose of the High Technology School-to-Work Program is to increase the number of students exiting secondary and postsecondary schools that enter occupations and advanced educational programs that require advanced skills in the areas of science, mathematics, and advanced technology.  (Sections 5(5) and 15 of the Act)

 

Section 110.20  Definitions

 

"Act" means the High Technology School-to-Work Act [20 ILCS 701].

 

"Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

 

"Director" means the Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

 

"High technology occupations" means scientific, technical, and engineering occupations including, but not limited to, the following occupational groups and detailed occupations:  engineers; life and physical scientists; mathematical specialists; engineering and science technicians; computer specialists; and engineering, scientific, and computer managers.  (Section 10 of the Act)

 

"Local partnership" means a cooperative agreement between one or more employers, including employer associations, and one or more secondary or postsecondary schools established to operate a High Technology School-to-Work project.  The partnerships must be employer-led and designed to respond to the high technology skill requirements of participating employers.  (Section 10 of the Act)

 

"Student Participants" means secondary and post secondary students in 9^th grade or higher.

 

Section 110.30  Legal Requirements

 

a)         Any entity awarded a High Technology School-to-Work Grant shall be required to execute a grant agreement that sets forth the rights and responsibilities of the grantee and the Department.  The Grant Agreement shall reflect all applicable State and federal statutory and administrative requirements, including but not limited to provisions covering the expenditure of grant funds and utilization of property purchased with grant funds.

 

b)         When a grant has been awarded, the grantee and the Department shall execute an Agreement.  The Agreement shall be executed by the grantee and the Director of the Department or the Director's designee on behalf of the Department.  The Agreement shall contain substantive provisions including, but not limited to, the following:

 

1)                  A recitation of legal authority under which the Agreement is made;

 

2)                  An identification of the project scope and schedule and the work or services to be performed or conducted by the grantee;

 

3)                  An identification of the grant amount;

 

4)                  The conditions by, and manner in which, the Department shall pay the grant amount, subject at all times to annual appropriation by the General Assembly;

 

5)                  A promise by the grantee not to assign or transfer any of the rights, duties or obligations of the grantee without the written consent of the Department;

 

6)                  A promise by the grantee not to amend the Agreement without the written consent of the Department.  Failure to do so will result in a cost disallowance.  The project must be completed by the completion date on the notice of grant award unless a written request for an extension is submitted no later than 30 days prior to the award completion date;

 

7)                  A covenant that the grantee shall expend the grant amount and any accrued interest only for the purposes of the project as stated in the Grant Agreement and approved by the Department; and

 

8)         A covenant that the grantee shall refrain from entering into any written or oral agreement or understanding with any party that might be construed as an obligation of the State of Illinois or the Department for the payment of any funds under the program.

 

Section 110.110  Purpose

 

Subject to appropriation, the Department shall make grants to local partnerships that provide students with work experience in high technology occupations combined with related classroom instruction.  Employers and educators must cooperatively adopt or develop, or both, skills standards, curricula, and assessment tools.  Skills standards must be current with high performance workplaces and technology requirements.  (Section 25 of the Act)

 

Section 110.120 Coordination With Economic Development Activities

 

The Department must coordinate the administration of the High Technology School-to-Work Program, including the targeting of projects, with the Department's technology related planning and economic development initiatives administered by the Department's Bureau of Technology and Industrial Competitiveness.  (Section 20 of the Act)

 

Section 110.130  Eligible Applicants

 

Local partnerships are eligible applicants for grants under the High Technology School-to-Work Grant Program.  The program must include a partnership between employers or employer-based intermediary organizations and one or more schools.  Business involvement in the High Technology School-to-Work Program ensures that the training activities are responsive to industry needs and that the skill standards are current with high-performance workplace and technology requirements. 

 

Section 110.140  Authorized Activities

 

In general, authorized activities shall include, but not be limited to, establishing, coordinating and administering High Technology School-to-Work projects.  Grant recipients typically engage in a variety of activities such as:

 

a)         designing in-school and related work-based curricula;

 

b)         training teachers;

 

c)         training work site supervisors and mentors;

 

d)         developing instructional materials;

 

e)         coordinating activities among the partners;

 

f)         outreach and recruitment of students;

 

g)         developing assessment tools;

 

h)         providing vocational counseling to student participants;

 

i)          completing project related administrative activities; and

 

j)          evaluating the project.  (Section 25 of the Act)

 

Section 110.150  Allowable Costs

 

Subject to the limitations in Section 35 of the Act, grant funds shall be used for any reasonable and necessary expenses associated with the planning and operation of a high technology school-to-work project, as agreed to by the Department and as specified in the Grant Agreement.  (Section 30 of the Act)  To be an allowable grant cost, expenses must be for an extraordinary cost incurred due to the High Technology School-to-Work project.  (Section 35 of the Act)  Such costs may include reimbursement for expenses for:

 

a)         personal services;

 

b)         fringe benefits;

 

c)         travel;

 

d)         equipment;

 

e)         supplies;

 

f)         rent/facilities costs;

 

g)         contractual services; and

 

h)         other costs, as agreed upon by the Department and as specified in the Grant Agreement.

 

Section 110.160  Proposal Content

 

Subject to appropriations, the Department shall issue instructions and formats to eligible applicants for the submittal of grant proposals in advance of each funding cycle.  The proposal shall contain sufficient information to clearly explain the nature and potential benefits of the proposed project.  The proposal will generally include the following sections:

 

a)         an executive summary;

 

b)         a description of the targeted industries, occupations and skills that demonstrate that they are high technology in nature as required by Section 110.20 of this Part;

 

c)         a description of the local partnership, including the roles of the employers or employer-associations and the schools in establishing, coordinating, and administering the High Technology School-to-Work project;

 

d)         a detailed description of the secondary and postsecondary students who will be recruited to participate in the High Technology School-to-Work project, including:

 

1)         a description of who will be responsible for recruiting students to participate in the High Technology School-to-Work project;

 

2)         a description of how the students will be chosen to participate in the High Technology School-to-Work project;

 

3)         a description of the applicant's plan to recruit women and minority students to participate in the High Technology School-to-Work project;

 

e)         a description of the school-based and work-based activities proposed by the applicant to be undertaken during the period of performance of the grant;

 

f)         a schedule for the implementation of proposed activities;

 

g)         a description of the measurable outcomes and objectives to be achieved during the period of performance for the grant;

 

h)         a budget requesting grant funds for allowable costs and a justification for all costs requested; and

 

i)          a description of the qualifications and related experience of key project staff.

 

Section 110.170  Review Criteria and Negotiation Procedures

 

Grant proposals shall be reviewed using the criteria outlined in this Section.  Based on the review, applicants shall be selected to enter into negotiations with the Department for a grant.  The purpose of negotiations shall be to arrive at mutually acceptable grant provisions, which will be reflected in the Grant Agreement, including general, budgetary, and scope-of-work provisions.  The final decision to make a grant award will be made by the Director of the Department.  The Department shall use the following criteria when reviewing grant proposals and making awards:

 

a)         the appropriateness of the targeted industries and occupations;

 

b)         the appropriateness of the targeted student population;

 

c)         the efforts to recruit female and minority students into the project;

 

d)         the strength of the local partnership and private sector involvement;

 

e)         the related experience and qualifications of the project staff;

 

f)         the quality of the project work plan;

 

g)         the proposed project costs in relationship to planned outcomes;

 

h)         the relationship of the project to the Department's economic development plans and initiatives;

 

i)          the geographic distribution of grant awards throughout the State; and

 

j)          the quality of presentations made to the Department, if the Department requests information.  (Section 45 of the Act)

 

(Source:  Amended at 30 Ill. Reg. 7741, effective April 10, 2006)

 

Section 110.180  Limitations

 

Grants are subject to the following limitations:

 

a)         Grant funds may not be used for stipends or wages paid to students during the work-based project activities.

 

b)         Grant funds may not be used to pay the wages of teachers working in short-term, part-time, internship, or similar work experience arrangements with private employers designed to provide teachers with experience in an industry.  (Section 35 of the Act)

 

Section 110.190  Reporting

 

An entity receiving a grant shall report financial and programmatic data to the Department on a regular basis using the format provided by the Department.  The Department shall require quarterly reporting of expenditures and program achievements at a level of detail sufficient to provide for program accountability.

 

a)         Expenditures:  Unless otherwise specified in the Grant Agreement, an entity receiving a grant shall report actual expenditures using the expenditure report format supplied by the Department.  Expenditure summaries are to be submitted to the Department by the 15^th day following the end of each fiscal quarter in which any expenditure of grant funds is made.

 

b)         Program Report:  Unless otherwise specified in the Grant Agreement, an entity receiving a grant shall submit a program report in a format provided by the Department.  The program report shall include a narrative describing the entity's progress towards achieving objectives and activities as specified in the Grant Agreement.  Program reports shall be submitted to the Department by the 15^th day following the end of each fiscal quarter.