Provides for the Learn and Earn Act. (gov sig) (RE INCREASE LF EX See Note)

SB 376 enacts a new statutory framework called the Learn and Earn Act by adding Section (8) to R.S. 17:81(A) and creating an entirely new Chapter 47 of Title 17 (R.S. 17:4201 through 4212). The legislation authorizes local school boards to establish, operate, or enter into cooperative endeavor agreements for the operation of career practicums on Louisiana public high school campuses. A career practicum is defined as a limited-scope educational franchise operation where students enrolled in work-based learning courses earn academic credit while working as compensated employees of a business partner in activities aligned with BESE-approved career pathways. The core mechanism requires all practicums to operate exclusively within a defined instructional scope, comply with the Cabela's constitutional test for public-private partnerships, and operate under written cooperative endeavor agreements that specify fair market value of public assets provided and reciprocal benefits from business partners that meet or exceed that valuation.

Local school boards, students, business partners, and the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education are the primary actors affected by this legislation. Student participants must be paid at or above minimum wage, receive academic credit, and maintain employee status with the business partner for wage and workers' compensation purposes, while being protected from hazardous occupations barred for minors and required to complete safety training. Business partners must provide reciprocity meeting or exceeding fair market value of school assets used and fulfill all educational obligations outlined in agreements. Local school boards retain full supervisory authority, regulate campus access, and oversee program operations while receiving compensation that must be deposited into a restricted Career Practicum Fund used solely for work-based learning equipment or educational purposes. BESE must promulgate rules establishing permissible operating hours, fair market value valuation methodology, and annual recertification requirements while expressly prohibited from waiving or narrowing statutory protections for students or the fair market value reciprocity requirements.

The legislation operates within Louisiana's constitutional framework for cooperative endeavor agreements established in Article VII, Section 14 of the Louisiana Constitution, requiring compliance with the Cabela's test as defined in Board of Directors of Industrial Development Board of City of Gonzales v. All Tax Payers (938 So.2d 11). The statute exempts compliant career practicums from classification as trade or commerce activities under R.S. 51:1401 et seq. and as proprietary schools under R.S. 17:3140.1 et seq., treating them instead as instructional functions of school boards. Charter schools may participate under their charter contracts and applicable charter law. Existing on-campus business operations and work-based learning programs operating before the effective date may continue if they serve an educational purpose and comply with constitutional requirements, but must achieve full compliance with all chapter provisions by the 2029-2030 school year. The statute is silent regarding any potential federal labor law implications, though cooperative endeavor agreements must comply with applicable federal and state child labor, workplace safety, and data privacy laws.