K12 Strong Workforce Program (K12 SWP)

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Central Valley Mother Lode Regional Consortium

K12 Strong Workforce Program

In the summer of 2018, the California legislature introduced the K12 Strong Workforce Program (K12 SWP) as an ongoing statewide funding opportunity. It is designed to support K–12 local education agencies (LEAs) in creating, improving, and expanding career technical education (CTE) courses, course sequences, programs of study, and pathways for students transitioning from secondary education to postsecondary education to living-wage employment.

CVML K12 SWP Round 6 Application Resources

If you missed our Zoom session on the grant, we’ve recorded the Q & A that you can view at this link.

Keep up-to-date on the California Community College Chancellor’s Office K12 SWP website here.

k12swp-round-6-rfa-2023-a11y33941 Download

K12 SWP 6 Request for Applications (RFA) (revised 9/07/2023)
Memorandum 08-25-2023 from California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office
APPLICATIONS ARE DUE OCTOBER 6, 2023 in NOVA by 5 pm on Friday.
K12 Strong Workforce Program (SWP K12) | California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (cccco.edu)
Written questions about specifications in the RFA must be received by 5 pm on Thursday, September 21, 2023 via email to K12SWP@cccco.edu.

K12 Selection Committee Criteria

Decisions governing, or relating to, the distribution of fiscal resources for the K–12 component shall be made exclusively by the K–12 Selection Committee, including selection of grant recipients and specific funding amounts for each grant.

The Selection Committee will make decisions based on the merits of the proposed project, proportionality of the request, alignment with the intent of the K12 Strong Workforce legislation, and applications that best meet the priorities of the region as set by the regional plan and local labor market demand. If the total amount requested is higher than the region’s allocation, funding decisions will be made with the following in mind, and a funding formula may be used to allocate excess funds.

The number of requests, size of request/s, number of students/teachers impacted, impact of the project.
How the application addresses a labor demand and identifies/demonstrates a gap in filling the demand.
How the application includes sectors and/or pathways with high wage earning potential and opportunity to reach and/or exceed a living wage.
Objectives and work plan lead to metrics that can be measured through data.
Objectives and work plan describe efforts to close equity gaps by improving access to and completion of high-skill/high-wage CTE opportunities for disproportionately impacted students.
Demonstrates clear outcomes that lead to post secondary and living wage jobs

When determining grant recipients under the K–12 component of the Strong Workforce Program, the K–12 Selection Committee shall consider past performance of grantees before awarding additional funds to those reapplying for grants.

(1) The K–12 Selection Committee shall give positive consideration to each of the following characteristics in an applicant:

(A) Aligned programs serving unduplicated pupils, as defined in Section 42238.02.

(B) Programs that the K–12 Selection Committee, in consultation with the consortium, determines most effectively meet the needs of the local and regional economies.

(C) Programs serving pupil subgroups that have higher than average dropout rates as identified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

(D) Programs located in an area of the state with a high unemployment rate.

(2) When determining grant recipients, the K–12 Selection Committee shall give greatest weight to the applicant characteristics included in this subdivision.

The K–12 Selection Committee shall also give positive consideration to programs to the extent they do any of the following:

(1) Successfully leverage one or both of the following:

(A) Existing structures, requirements, and resources of the federal Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) (Public Law 115-224), the partnership academies program pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 54690) of Chapter 9 of Part 29 of Division 4 of Title 2, or the agricultural career technical education incentive program pursuant to Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 52460) of Chapter 9 of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2.

(B) Contributions from industry, labor, and philanthropic sources.

(2) Make significant investments in career technical education infrastructure, equipment, and facilities.

(3) Operate within rural school districts.

(CA K12 SWP Legislation Sections 88829-88830)