Commission Meeting Materials January 19, 2016 1:00 P.M. - Comments for Submission in Response

Texas Workforce Commission Comments on

Required Elements for Submission of the Unified or Combined State Planand Plan Modifications under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

Draft 12/09/2015

OMB Control Number 1205-0522

1) State Plan Submission Requirements– Information Collection Request Supporting Statement

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) agrees with the general required elements for submission of the Unified or Combined State Plan (Plan), as published in the Information Collection Request (ICR) drafts07/27/2015 and 12/09/2015. TWC disagrees with the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education (Departments) requirement that states submit their state plans through the web-based portal, as stated in the ICR Supporting Statement.

In order for states to develop a meaningful vision and strategic plan to achieve WIOA’s purposes, WIOA seeks to facilitate conversations among workforce agencies, their partners and stakeholders, and most importantly, the employers and jobseekers they serve. This integrative process may not be supported by a web-based portal if it requires state plans to be uploaded in piecemeal sections that follow a rigid structure.

TWC requests that the Departments give states latitude to organize and structure the layout and format of their responses within the major content areas of the strategic and operational planning elements.

The Departments should consider implementing the proposed regulations as particular to each state. While this system may have worked previously for Title IV, other programs—such as Title I, with its unique state and local program and service-delivery responsibilities—are likely less homogenous between states. Linkages between the regulations may vary by state and differ programmatically within the state, discussion of which may be hampered by a web portal. For example, states may need to provide additional information about the assumptions that went into developing target proposals that the Appendix 1 template and/or web portal’s general design would not allow.

Texas developed its Plan in plain language, striving to make it relevant for Texans and easy to read, understand, and use. The Plan’s organization and structure best convey the state’s planning across programs and promote a shared understanding of the unique workforce needs coupled with a strategy for addressing those needs. As such, Texas objects to a web-based portal that may undermine the Plan’s purposes.

2) Proposed Required Elements for Submission – Appendix 1

TWC also has comments regarding Appendix 1,which provides that states are to propose performance targets for many of the statutorily required performance measures.

TWC supports that the Plan designate some measures as baseline measures that will not carry specific targets in Program Year 2016 (PY’16) and PY’17. However, that support is conditional, based on the Departments not substituting or otherwise extending any of the pre-WIOA measures in place of the WIOA measures that are in a baseline status in PY’16 and PY’17, either jointly or individually.

In addition, TWC does not believe that states have adequate data to make determinations regarding Measureable Skills Gain and Credential Rate Attainment within the Title IV Vocational Rehabilitation program, and recommends that these measures be designated as baseline measures for PY’16 and PY’17.

In the first state plan ICR, Appendix 1 was a blank table with no additional guidance. In this second plan ICR, Appendix 1, the Departments proposed using flexibility allowed under WIOA §503(a) to designate some performance measures as “baseline” measures,for which states would not propose targets. The Departments identified measures as being baseline based on the likelihood of a state having adequate data on which to make a reasonable determination of an expected level of performance, and noted that such a designation would vary across the core programs.

There are substantial differences between the WIOA and pre-WIOA performance accountability systems. These differences go well beyond the shift of the focus of measure from the 1st and 3rd quarters post Exit to the 2nd and 4th quarters. The proposed regulations change who is considered a Participant, how/when the individual Exits, and potentially the allowableness of using “Common Periods of Participation.” Operating some measures/programs using the WIOA system while operating others using the pre-WIOA systems will create unnecessary cost and make the WIOA transition more difficult. As such, TWC conditionally supports that the Plan designate some measures as baseline measures that will not carry specific targets in Program Year 2016 (PY’16) and PY’17.

While TWC supports that the Plan designate some measures as baseline, TWC does not understand some of the specific decisions. The Departments’ stated methodology in identifying measures as baseline or not baseline was whether a state should have adequate data on which to make a reasonable determination of an expected level of performance. As such, TWC does not believe that states have adequate data to make such determinations regarding Measureable Skills Gain and Credential Rate Attainment within the Title IV Vocational Rehabilitation program.

Measureable Skills Gain is a complicated measure nearly entirely new for WIOA. Under the proposed regulations, Participants can demonstrate achievement of a gain one of six ways:

1)Use pre- and post-tests thatshow a gain of at least one educational functioning level;

2)Attain a high school diploma or its equivalent;

3)Attain a postcard or transcript for secondary or postsecondary education showing achievement;

4)Exhibit satisfactory progress toward established milestones from an employer providing training;

5)Successfullycomplete an exam required for a particular occupation, or progress in attaining technical or occupational skills as evidenced by trade-related benchmarks such as knowledge-based exams; or

6)Achieve measurable, observable performance based on industry standards.

The Title II Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) program has long tracked pre- and post-testing as the basis of a pre-WIOA measure, and this is likely the most common method by whichAEFLA students will demonstrate gains. Therefore, TWC supports the Departments asking states to propose targets for PY’16 and PY’17 for Title II Measureable Skills Gain.

However, neither Title I nor Title IV has historically required information on participants to be tracked, even those in training. The Departments seemingly recognized this in proposing that Measureable Skills Gain would be a baseline measure for Title I programs but came to a different conclusion regarding Title IV.

The Credential Attainment Rate measure is a less complicated measure than Measureable Skills Gain because it is only reported after Exit rather than multiple times during a long Period of Participation. However, it is still not clear that states have been required to capture the full information needed to report this measure for the Title IV program.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has long required states to submit an annual file called the RSA911, which includes individual-level data on all Participants who Exit the program during the prior program year. TWC spent considerable time working with the last five Texas RSA911 files, attempting to determine how ED expected states to use this data to prepare targets for the Title IV Measurable Skills Gain and Credential Attainment Rate measures. Unable to map the RSA911 data to the new measure requirements, TWC staff contacted ED asking for the methodology it was using with this data but received no reply.

Comments to WIOA State Plan Requirements 1.13.16 (Notebook) 1