§ 6101. — Findings.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 20USC6101]
TITLE 20--EDUCATION
CHAPTER 69--SCHOOL-TO-WORK OPPORTUNITIES
Sec. 6101. Findings
Congress finds that--
(1) three-fourths of high school students in the United States
enter the workforce without baccalaureate degrees, and many do not
possess the academic and entry-level occupational skills necessary
to succeed in the changing United States workplace;
(2) a substantial number of youths in the United States,
especially disadvantaged students, students of diverse racial,
ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, and students with disabilities, do
not complete high school;
(3) unemployment among youths in the United States is
intolerably high, and earnings of high school graduates have been
falling relative to earnings of individuals with more education;
(4) the workplace in the United States is changing in response
to heightened international competition and new technologies, and
such forces, which are ultimately beneficial to the Nation, are
shrinking the demand for and undermining the earning power of
unskilled labor;
(5) the United States lacks a comprehensive and coherent system
to help its youths acquire the knowledge, skills, abilities, and
information about and access to the labor market necessary to make
an effective transition from school to career-oriented work or to
further education and training;
(6) students in the United States can achieve high academic and
occupational standards, and many learn better and retain more when
the students learn in context, rather than in the abstract;
(7) while many students in the United States have part-time
jobs, there is infrequent linkage between--
(A) such jobs; and
(B) the career planning or exploration, or the school-based
learning, of such students;
(8) the work-based learning approach, which is modeled after the
time-honored apprenticeship concept, integrates theoretical
instruction with structured on-the-job training, and this approach,
combined with school-based learning, can be very effective in
engaging student interest, enhancing skill acquisition, developing
positive work attitudes, and preparing youths for high-skill, high-
wage careers;
(9) Federal resources currently fund a series of categorical,
work-related education and training programs, many of which serve
disadvantaged youths, that are not administered as a coherent whole;
and
(10) in 1992 approximately 3,400,000 individuals in the United
States age 16 through 24 had not completed high school and were not
currently enrolled in school, a number representing approximately 11
percent of all individuals in this age group, which indicates that
these young persons are particularly unprepared for the demands of a
21st century workforce.
(Pub. L. 103-239, Sec. 2, May 4, 1994, 108 Stat. 569.)
Effective Date
Section 801 of Pub. L. 103-239 provided that: ``This Act [see Short
Title note below] shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act
[May 4, 1994].''
Short Title
Section 1(a) of Pub. L. 103-239 provided that: ``This Act [enacting
this chapter, amending sections 2394b, 2394c, and 4441 of this title,
section 1699 of Title 29, Labor, and sections 11449 and 11450 of Title
42, The Public Health and Welfare, and enacting provisions set out as
notes under this section and section 4401 of this title] may be cited as
the `School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994'.''
