These Congressional hearings contain testimony pertinent to passage of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1993, which is a bill designed to create a national framework within which states and localities can develop effective systems for offering U.S. youths access to performance-based education and training programs that will in turn prepare them for a first job in a high-skill, high-wage career and increase their opportunities for further education. The following are among the agencies and organizations whose representatives provided testimony at the hearings: Manpower Demonstration Corporation, National Federation of Teachers, New England Deaconess Hospital, Jobs for the Future, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Education, Center for Law and Education, National Youth Employment Coalition, Wider Opportunities for Women, American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, Hurley Hospital, American Vocational Association, National Education Association, Sullivan College, Louisville Chamber of Commerce, Alternative Schools Network, Association for Community Based Education, American Occupational Therapy Association, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Jobs for Youth, American Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Association for Bilingual Education, National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, National Displaced Homemakers Network, National Urban Coalition, Women's Legal Defense Fund, and National Tooling and Machining Association. The complete text of the bill is included. (MN)

This document records the oral and written given by witnesses at a Congressional hearing on the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1993 held in Fall 1993. Witnesses included Senators, the U.S. Secretary of Education, the U.S. Secretary of Labor, business officials, school officials, and program directors of various local and state programs. The testimony noted that the United States is one of the few Western nations that does not provide a career path for noncollege-bound students. It was suggested that formal programs encompassing the last 2 years of high school and 1-2 years after high school be set up to provide students with skills and certification. Cooperation between school systems and business and industry is essential to set up such programs. Testimony also profiled various successful programs throughout the country, such as "academies" for various industries set up within high schools. Such programs have resulted in students not only gaining job skills but also going on for further training or college education. Also stressed was the need to set and adhere high standards and to have staff encouraging young people to look to their futures. (KC)