ACTE's National Work-Based Learning Conference

In 2021, the report Working to Learn and Learning to Work provided a state-by-state analysis of work-based learning (WBL) policies. While that report captured policies and funding streams at a moment in time, it also noted where states were actively working on their WBL policies. Several states had newly passed or recently proposed legislation, in-process strategic planning processes, or planned research studies related to WBL. Four years later, and largely on the other side of the pandemic, a new report is revisiting these states to understand how their WBL plans have evolved and what factors have influenced that progress. State examples to be highlighted may include:
• The Illinois Work-Based Learning Innovation Network (I-WIN), a free, virtual community where staff from school districts, postsecondary institutions, employers, and community-based organizations can receive professional development, participate in communities of practice, share ideas and resources, and build relationships with other leaders.
• How West Virginia built a customized data system that allows state leaders to understand the breadth and quality of work-based learning across the state, better tell its story, and tie data to funding.
• Findings from a Maryland research study that focused on testing and evaluating promising school-to-work transition practices for students with disabilities.