2009 WISCONSIN ACT 271 Relating to: requiring the Center on Education and Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to establish a career conversations program.

Date of enactment: May 10, 2010
2009 Senate Bill 121 Date of publication*: May 24, 2010

* Section 991.11, Wisconsin Statutes 2007-08 : Effective date of acts. "Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor's partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication as designated" by the secretary of state [the date of publication may not be more than 10 working days after the date of enactment].

2009 WISCONSIN ACT 271

An Act to create 36.25 (49) of the statutes; relating to: requiring the Center on Education and Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to establish a career conversations program.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1 . 36.25 (49) of the statutes is created to read:

36.25 (49) Career conversations program. (a) In this subsection:

1. "Center" means the Center on Education and Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

2. "Pilot period" means the period beginning on the date that the program is established and ending on May 15, 2011.

3. "Program" means the program established under par. (b).

(b) The center shall establish a program for students enrolled in grades 7 to 12 to engage in webcam conversations about careers with individuals in this state who have careers in math, science, agricultural education, technology education, or information technology. The center shall develop criteria for choosing the classrooms that may participate in the program during the pilot period. The program shall satisfy all of the following:

1. The program shall select individuals for conversations who have careers that the center determines are in the greatest demand in this state.

2. The program shall use student discussion guides developed by the center to facilitate the conversations.

3. The program shall allow for recording the conversations for future viewing, at schools or over the Internet, by interested parties, including parents of students.

4. The program shall include requirements for promoting participation in the conversations among students, parents, and the business community; measuring student participation in the conversations; notifying parents and the business community after conversations take place; and tracking the study plans of students who participate in the conversations.

(c) The center shall evaluate the effectiveness of the program during the pilot period in promoting careers in math, science, agricultural education, technology education, and information technology. If, based on the results of the evaluation, the center determines that the program has been effective in promoting such careers, the center may continue the program after the pilot period and may expand the program by allowing participation by additional classrooms. The center shall prepare a report regarding the evaluation and describing whether the center has continued or expanded the program, and submit the report to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3), the department of public instruction, the department of workforce development, and the department of commerce.