FISCAL NOTE

House Bill 241 as introduced creates the 24-member Alabama Workforce Council Committee on Credential Quality and Transparency to advise the Alabama Committee on Credentialing and Career Pathways (ACCCP) and make credential and competency data publicly available through the Alabama Credential Registry. This bill requires by June 30, 2023, and every June 30th thereafter, the committee will: (1) provide to the ACCCP, an annual, up-to-date list of credentials of value for each of the industry sectors; (2) review each credential at least annually that is published to the Alabama Credential Registry, against the quality assurance criteria as determined by the ACCCP; and (3) classify each credential registered to the Alabama Credential Registry using the Alabama Occupational Ontology.

Additionally, this bill would create the P-20W Council, which will have at least 8 members, plus additional members from each partner agency that signs a memorandum of understanding to share data with the Alabama Terminal on Linking and Analyzing Statistics (ATLAS) on Career Pathways System. Members of the P-20W Council shall receive no salary or per diem allowance but will be reimbursed by the Alabama Department of Commerce, which will increase the obligations of the department depending on the expenses incurred.

In addition, commencing with the 2023-2024 school year, this bill could increase the obligations of local boards of education to: (1) track and report on students that earn certain college or career readiness indicators before graduation; and (2) implement the career preparedness courses required for graduation from public K-12 schools pursuant to the provisions of this bill.

Further, this bill will increase the obligations of the Department of Commerce to create the Office of Education and Workforce Statistics, and to hire a director and any necessary support staff to manage the Alabama Credential Registry and the ATLAS system. The Governor’s FY 2023 Recommended Education Trust Fund budget includes: (1) an appropriation of $600,000 to the Department of Commerce to manage the Alabama Credential Registry; and (2) an appropriation of $1 million to the Alabama Community College System (ACCS) to support the work of the ACCCP.