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2024 SESSION

24104014D
HOUSE BILL NO. 1357
Offered January 14, 2024
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 23.1-3107 and 23.1-3109 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Institute for Advanced Learning and Research; board of trustees; powers and duties; specialized noncredit workforce training.
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Patron-- Marshall
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Referred to Committee on Education
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 23.1-3017 and 23.1-3109 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 23.1-3107. Institute for Advanced Learning and Research established; duties.

A. The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (the Institute) is established in Southside Virginia as a political subdivision of the Commonwealth.

B. The Institute shall:

1. Seek to diversify the economy of the Dan River region by engaging the resources of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partnership with Danville Community College and Averett University and public and private bodies and organizations of the region and Commonwealth;

2. Serve as a catalyst for economic and community transformation by leveraging and brokering resources that support the economic diversity of the Dan River region, particularly within the network economy;

3. Provide a site for the development of the technology and trained workforce necessary for new economic enterprises to flourish in Southside Virginia through the teaching, research, outreach, and technology available from its partner institutions;

4. Expand access to higher education in Southside Virginia by providing for adult and continuing education, workforce training and development, and degree-granting programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs, through partnerships with the Commonwealth's public institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education, the City of Danville, Pittsylvania County, and the public schools and the public and private sectors in the region;

5. Serve as a resource and hub for network-related initiatives at all levels of education and in economic development activities;

6. Assist in regional economic and community development efforts by housing and encouraging research and product-related activities and encouraging high-technology economic development in the region;

7. Encourage and coordinate, as appropriate, the development and delivery of programs offered by the educational institutions serving the region; and

8. Encourage and coordinate the development and delivery of noncredit courses with a focus on statewide and regional critical shortage areas and the needs of industry. Such courses shall include needed adult education and workforce training; and

9. Serve as a resource and referral center by maintaining and disseminating information on existing educational programs, research, and university outreach resources.

§ 23.1-3109. Powers of the board.

A. The board has, in addition to its other powers, all the corporate powers given to corporations by the provisions of Title 13.1, except in those cases where, by the express terms of its provisions, the law is confined to corporations created under that title. The board may accept, execute, and administer any trust in which it may have an interest under the terms of the instrument creating the trust.

B. The board shall oversee the Institute's educational programs and may enter into and administer agreements with public institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education to provide continuing education and instructional programs at the Institute through both traditional and electronic modes of delivery. The board shall seek opportunities to collaborate with local comprehensive community colleges to meet specialized noncredit workforce training needs identified by industry. However, if local comprehensive community colleges are unable to meet identified industry needs, then the board may seek to collaborate with other education providers or other public or private organizations to provide, or itself may provide, specialized noncredit workforce training independent of local comprehensive community colleges.

C. The board may, on behalf of the Institute, apply for, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from public or private sources to enable it to carry out the purposes of this article.

D. The board may request and accept the cooperation of agencies of (i) the Commonwealth or (ii) the local governing bodies in Southside Virginia in the performance of its duties.