For school-to-career connecting activities; provided, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the board of elementary and secondary education, in cooperation with the executive office of labor and workforce development and the state workforce investment board, may establish and support a public-private partnership to link high school students with economic and learning opportunities on the job at a worksite or, if necessary, online, as part of the school-to-career transition program; provided further, that this program may include the award of matching grants to workforce investment boards or other local public-private partnerships involving local community job commitments, worksite or online learning opportunities for students and teacher externships; provided further, that grant criteria shall incorporate the guiding principles and components of high-quality college and career pathways, as developed jointly by the department of elementary and secondary education and the department of higher education and may give priority to applicants working in partnerships with designated innovation pathway programs; provided further, that the grants shall require at least a 200 per cent match in wages for the students from private sector participants; provided further, that the program shall include, but not be limited to, a provision that business leaders commit resources to pay salaries, to provide mentoring and instruction on the job or online, and to work closely with teachers; provided further, that public funds shall pay for the costs of connecting schools and businesses to ensure that students serve productively on the job, including up to $500,000 in supplemental grants to workforce investment boards or other local public-private partnerships that assign personnel to high schools during the school year to work closely with school administrators, staff, and students; provided further, that the program shall partner with the YouthWorks program at the Commonwealth Corporation and the MA STEM@Work program to develop appropriate connections between the three programs; and provided further, that funds may be used to develop and support an online platform for managing and supporting student internships and work-based learning
