ARS § 41-5421

41-5421 - Adult workforce diploma program; fund; program providers list; reporting requirements; review; definitions 41-5421. Adult workforce diploma program; fund; program providers list; reporting requirements; review; definitions A. The adult workforce diploma program is established in the office of economic opportunity to assist individuals who are at least twenty-one years of age in earning high school diplomas and developing critical employability and career and technical skills to prepare the individuals for employment. The office shall administer the program. The program may be delivered in a campus-based, online or blended modality. B. The adult workforce diploma program fund is established consisting of legislative appropriations, gifts, grants and other donations. The office shall administer the fund and use monies in the fund to pay participating program providers as prescribed in subsection E of this section. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations. The office may use not more than five percent of the monies in the fund for the costs of administering the adult workforce diploma program. C. On or before August 15 of each year, each program provider that seeks to participate in the program shall submit to the office on a form that is developed by the office information showing that the program provider meets all of the following requirements: 1. Is operating a regionally accredited high school diploma-granting entity. 2. Is able to develop a learning plan for each student that integrates graduation requirements and career goals. 3. Provides a course catalog that includes all courses that are necessary to meet graduation requirements. 4. Is able to provide all of the following: (a) Remediation opportunities in literacy and numeracy. (b) Career pathways coursework. (c) Preparation for industry-recognized credentials and stackable credentials. (d) Career placement services. (e) Academic skills intake assessments and transcript evaluations. D. On or before October 15 of each year, the office shall place all qualified program providers that submit a form pursuant to subsection C of this section on a program providers list. Participating program providers shall begin enrolling students on or before November 15 of each year. A program provider may be removed from the program providers list only if the program provider's authorization to participate in the program is revoked pursuant to subsection J of this section. E. The office shall pay participating program providers the following amounts for each student who completes the following milestones: 1. $250 for each completed half unit of high school credit. 2. $250 for each completed employability skills certification. 3. $250 for each earned industry-recognized credential or stackable credential that requires not more than fifty hours of training. 4. $500 for each earned industry-recognized credential or stackable credential that requires more than fifty hours but not more than one hundred hours of training. 5. $750 for each earned industry-recognized credential or stackable credential that requires more than one hundred hours of training. 6. $1,000 for each earned high school diploma. F. Participating program providers shall submit monthly invoices to the office not later than the tenth calendar day of each month for milestones met in the previous calendar month. Participating program providers shall report the number of currently enrolled students for whom invoices have been submitted and the number of currently enrolled students for whom invoices have not yet been submitted together with the monthly invoices submitted pursuant to this subsection. The office shall pay participating program providers in the order in which invoices are submitted until all available monies are spent. The office shall provide a written update to the program providers on or before the last calendar day of each month that includes all of the following: 1. The aggregate total dollars that have been paid to program providers for the program year. 2. The aggregate number of currently enrolled students in this state for whom one or more invoices have been submitted. 3. The aggregate number of currently enrolled students for whom invoices have not yet been submitted. 4. The estimated number of enrollments still available for the program year. G. On or before October 30 of each year, each participating program provider shall report the following to the office: 1. The total number of students who were funded through the program. 2. The total number of earned credits. 3. The total number of earned industry-recognized credentials or stackable credentials earned for each tier of funding. 4. The total number of students who graduated through the program. 5. Information required for the performance measures adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 15-217. H. The office shall compile the reports received from program providers pursuant to subsection G of this section and, on or before December 15 of each year, shall provide an annual report to the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the state board of education and shall provide a copy of the report to the secretary of state. I. Beginning fiscal year 2027-2028, the office shall review data from each participating program provider to ensure that the program provider is achieving minimum program performance standards, including: 1. A graduation rate of at least fifty percent. 2. An average cost per graduate of $7,000 or less. J. The office may develop a process to bring a program provider into compliance. The office shall revoke a program provider's authorization to participate in the program if the program provider does not comply with the requirements of this section within two years. K. For the purposes of this section: 1. "Academic skills intake assessment" means a criterion-referenced assessment of numeracy and literacy skills with high reliability and validity that is determined by third-party research and that may be administered in person or online. 2. "Accredited provider" means an entity that is currently accredited by one of the seven regional accreditation organizations or any successor entity. 3. "Average cost per graduate" means the total program funding disbursed to a participating program provider divided by the total number of graduates for a cohort calculated twelve months after the close of the cohort. 4. "Career pathways coursework" means one or more courses that align with the skill needs of industries in the economy of this state or region and that assist students to enter or advance within a specific occupation or occupational cluster. 5. "Career placement services" means services that are designed to assist students in obtaining employment, including career interest self-assessments, job search skills, résumé development and mock interviews. 6. "Cohort" means the students who enter the program between July 1 and June 30 of each program year. 7. "Employability skills certification" means a certificate earned by demonstrating professional nontechnical skills through assessment and must include the program standards of the United States department of labor's "skills to pay the bills: mastering soft skills for workplace success". 8. "Graduate" means a student who has successfully completed all state and program provider requirements to earn a high school diploma. 9. "Graduation rate" means the total number of graduates from a cohort divided by the total number of students from the same cohort calculated twelve months after the close of the cohort. 10. "Graduation requirements" means course and credit requirements needed to earn a high school diploma from a program provider. 11. "High school diploma" means a diploma that is issued by an accredited provider and that is recognized as a secondary school diploma by this state. 12. "Industry-recognized credential" means an education-related or work-related credential that verifies an individual's qualification or competence and that is issued by a third party with the relevant authority to issue the credential. 13. "Learning plan" means a documented plan that both: (a) Is designed to prepare a student to succeed in the program and the student's future endeavors. (b) Identifies the courses and credits that are needed for a student to complete the program and that are graduation requirements. 14. "Milestones" means objective measures of progress for which payment is made to a program provider under this section, including earned units of high school credit, earned industry-recognized credentials and earned high school diplomas. 15. "Program" means the adult workforce diploma program. 16. "Program provider" means a public, nonprofit or other entity that meets the requirements of this section and that does not receive federal or state funding or private tuition for a student who is funded through the program. 17. "Stackable credential" means a third-party credential that is part of a sequence of credentials that can be accumulated over time to build up an individual's qualifications to advance along a career pathway. 18. "Student" means a participant in the program who is at least twenty-one years of age, who is a resident of this state and who has not earned a high school diploma. 19. "Transcript evaluation" means a documented summary of credits that students earned in previous public or private accredited high schools compared with program and program provider graduation requirements. 20. "Unit of high school credit" means a credit that is awarded based on a student's demonstration that the student has successfully met the content expectations for the credit area as defined by subject area standards, expectations or guidelines.