WHEREAS, the young people of the state of Washington would benefit from an education that exposes them to the world of work, provides opportunities to explore a range of choices for careers, and provides opportunities to develop skills and capacities to increase the education and work choices of young people; and

WHEREAS, such educational practices are known as school-to-work transition programs, many of which are currently in operation in the state, and the state would benefit by increasing the scale of existing efforts, developing an integrated school-to-work system which incorporates existing work into a large statewide effort; and

WHEREAS, the state currently has major strengths in developing a school-to-work system that provides such opportunities for all students in the state, including leadership in education reform, a creative and active education system, substantial commitment and involvement by business and labor in education and workforce development at the state and local levels, initial development of skill standards by industry and education, and local school-to-work and Tech Prep programs currently involving thousands of students; and

WHEREAS, partnerships have been developed at the state level between the common schools, community colleges, business, organized labor, workforce development, and others in support of school-to-work efforts, and such partnerships have also developed at the local level as school-to-work projects have grown; and

WHEREAS, the Governor's Council on School-to-Work Transition in completing its work, has proposed the development of a statewide school-to-work system designed for all the state's young people and has made recommendations to establish the system including establishment of an ongoing task force to oversee the implementation of the Council's recommendations; and

WHEREAS, goals include building school-to-work efforts on the base of education reform, ensuring that all schools and students are involved in school-to-work projects, supporting changes in school-based teaming which includes the development of educational pathways, broadening the development of work-based teaming, enhancing connecting activities at the local and regional level, expanding the development of skill standards, increasing the ability of business and labor to participate in school-to-work activities, addressing the needs of special populations to ensure all students have the opportunity to effectively participate in school-to-work activities, increasing public understanding of and involvement in school-to-work transition efforts, and establishing an accountability system to ensure that school-to-work efforts are effective.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mike Lowry, Governor of the state of Washington, by virtue of the authority vested in me, do hereby establish the Governor's School-to-Work Task Force.

1. The Task Force is charged with overseeing the implementation of the state's school-to-work system and overseeing the implementation of the recommendations of the Governor's Council on School-to-Work Transition and the subsequent Comprehensive Plan.

Responsibilities of the Task Force include:

A. Ensuring that the goals and tasks identified in the Final Report of the Governor's Council for School-to-Work Transition and the subsequent Comprehensive Plan are appropriately assigned to lead agencies or organizations with prime responsibility for implementation and ensuring that partners who need to be involved in these tasks have been identified;

B. Regularly reviewing progress and quality of school-to-work tasks undertaken by the statewide partners under the Comprehensive Plan;

C. Identifying problems that occur in the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan and in the development of the school-to-work system, identifying strategies for responding to them, and directing implementation of those strategies when possible; and

D. Submitting annual reports on the state's progress in implementing school-to-work tasks.

II. The Task Force shall consist of no more than 12 members who shall be appointed by the Governor and shall serve at the Governor's pleasure. Membership of the Task Force shall include representatives of major partners in developing the state's school-to-work system including the directors of agencies and organizations representing the common schools, two-year colleges, business, labor, and workforce development and shall include other members as the Governor shall designate.

III. The Governor shall designate the chair of the Task Force who shall serve at the Governor's pleasure.

IV. The Task Force chair may establish sub-committees and working groups as may be necessary to carry out the work of the Task Force. The chair shall designate a vice chair from the members of the Task Force and shall provide for the recording of activities and actions taken by the Task Force.

V. In the event that the state receives major federal grants for school-to-work implementation, the Task Force shall determine necessary actions, develop agreements with partners to implement them, and review progress annually.

VI. The Office of Financial Management will serve as fiscal agent for the Task Force for federal grants. The Director of the Office of Financial Management shall serve as an ex officio member of the Task Force. In the event that the state receives major federal grants for school-to-work implementation. the Office of Financial Management shall assist the Task Force in implementing its decisions.

VII. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.