(a) Findings and intent. — The Legislature finds that the Governor, the Legislature, the state board and the people of West Virginia established goals for education through an education summit and series of town meetings in the summer of the year 1990, and that these goals were codified in section four, article one of this chapter during the third extraordinary session of the Legislature of that year. Among these goals is the goal that high school graduates will be prepared fully for college, other post-secondary education or gainful employment and that the number of high school graduates entering post-secondary education will increase by fifty percent. The Legislature finds that this goal reflects a fundamental belief that the result of a thorough and efficient system of free schools is that the youth of the state exit the system equipped with the skills, competencies and attributes necessary to succeed, to continue learning throughout their lifetimes and to attain economic self-sufficiency.
The Legislature further finds that the full preparation of youth as indicated in these findings cannot be accomplished by the school system alone, but requires the full and active partnership with parents and people from business, labor, higher education, economic development and other organizations and entities in the community that have an interest in providing quality education. Therefore, the intent of this section is to establish a policy framework and strategy for the state board in fulfilling its responsibility for the general supervision of free schools in order to encourage and utilize actively involved partnerships in the formulation of rules and practices to achieve the goal that high school graduates will be prepared fully for college, other post-secondary education or gainful employment, particularly in the delivery of programs that provide work-based learning opportunities for students within the school or at the workplace. The Legislature recognizes that many skilled jobs require education beyond the high school level, that the goals of West Virginia include increased post-secondary attendance and that the goals for post-secondary education as set forth in section one-a, article one, chapter eighteen-b of this code include an increased focus within higher education on relevancy, responsiveness to business, industry, labor and community needs, and on the current and future work force needs of the state. Therefore, it is further the intent of this section to enhance the linkages between secondary and post-secondary education.
(b) Comprehensive goals for jobs through education. — The Legislature hereby establishes the following goals to be accomplished by the year 2001 for all students in all schools:
(1) The elimination of student grouping or tracking systems that result in high school students completing a general curriculum that does not prepare them fully for college, other post-secondary education or gainful employment;