(1) The workforce education investment accountability and oversight board is established. The board consists of 18 members, as provided in this subsection:
(a) Four members of the legislature consisting of the chairs and ranking minority members of the respective higher education and workforce development committees of the senate and house of representatives, ex officio; and
(b) The following members appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate:
(i) Five members representing the businesses described in RCW
82.04.299 or subject to the tax rate under RCW
82.04.290(2)(a)(i);
(ii) Two members representing labor organizations, one of which must have expertise in registered apprenticeships and training a high-demand workforce and one of which must represent faculty at the four-year institutions of higher education;
(iii) Two members representing the institutions of higher education, as defined in RCW
28B.10.016, one of which must be from the four-year sector and one of which must be from the community and technical college sector;
(iv) Two members representing students, one of which must be a community and technical college student;
(v) One member representing the independent, not-for-profit higher education institutions;
(vi) One member representing the workforce training and education coordinating board created under RCW
28C.18.020; and
(vii) One member representing the student achievement council, established under this chapter.
(2) Except for ex officio and student members, board members shall hold their offices for a term of three years until their successors are appointed. Student board members shall hold one-year terms.
(3) The board shall have two cochairs. One cochair shall be one of the chairs of the respective higher education and workforce development committees of the legislature and the other cochair shall be one of the board members representing the businesses described in RCW
82.04.299 or subject to the tax rate under RCW
82.04.290(2)(a)(i). The cochairs shall hold the position for a one-year term. The board members shall elect the cochairs annually.
(4) Nine voting members of the board constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The board shall meet four times a year.
(5) Staff support for the board shall be provided by the student achievement council established in this chapter.
(6) The purposes of the board are to:
(a) Provide guidance and recommendations to the legislature on what workforce education priorities should be funded with the workforce education investment account; and
(b) Ensure accountability that the workforce education investments funded with the workforce education investment account are producing the intended results and are effectively increasing student success and career readiness, such as by increasing retention, completion, and job placement rates.
(7) The board shall consult data from the education data center established under RCW
43.41.400 and the workforce training and education coordinating board established under this chapter when reviewing and determining whether workforce education investments funded from the workforce education investment account are effectively increasing student success and career readiness. The workforce training and education coordinating board shall maintain the workforce education investment accountability and oversight board data dashboard on a public-facing portal and work with the board to update and modify the data dashboard as new performance metrics are identified.
(8) The board shall report its recommendations to the appropriate committees of the legislature by August 1st of each year.
(9) For the purposes of this section, "board" means the workforce education investment accountability and oversight board established in this section.
