§ 676.130 What is the development, submission, and approval process of the Unified State Plan?

(a) The Unified State Plan described in § 676.105 must be submitted in accordance with WIOA sec. 102(c), as explained in joint planning guidelines issued jointly by the Secretaries of Labor and Education. (b) A State must submit its Unified State Plan to the Secretary of Labor pursuant to a process identified by the Secretary. (1) The initial Unified State Plan must be submitted no later than 120 days prior to the commencement of the second full program year of WIOA. (2) Subsequent Unified State Plans must be submitted no later than 120 days prior to the end of the 4-year period covered by a preceding Unified State Plan. (3) For purposes of paragraph (b) of this section, “program year” means July 1 through June 30 of any year. (c) The Unified State Plan must be developed with the assistance of the State WDB, as required by § 679.130(a) of this chapter and WIOA sec. 101(d), and must be developed in coordination with administrators with optimum policy-making authority for the core programs and required one-stop partners. (d) The State must provide an opportunity for public comment on and input into the development of the Unified State Plan prior to its submission. (1) The opportunity for public comment must include an opportunity for comment by representatives of Local WDBs and chief elected officials, businesses, representatives of labor organizations, community-based organizations, adult education providers, institutions of higher education, other stakeholders with an interest in the services provided by the six core programs, and the general public, including individuals with disabilities. (2) Consistent with the “Sunshine Provision” of WIOA in sec. 101(g), the State WDB must make information regarding the Unified State Plan available to the public through electronic means and regularly occurring open meetings in accordance with State law. The Unified State Plan must describe the State's process and timeline for ensuring a meaningful opportunity for public comment. (e) Upon receipt of the Unified State Plan from the State, the Secretary of Labor will ensure that the entire Unified State Plan is submitted to the Secretary of Education pursuant to a process developed by the Secretaries. (f) The Unified State Plan is subject to the approval of both the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education. (g) Before the Secretaries of Labor and Education approve the Unified State Plan, the vocational rehabilitation services portion of the Unified State Plan described in WIOA sec. 102(b)(2)(D)(iii) must be approved by the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration. (h) The Secretaries of Labor and Education will review and approve the Unified State Plan within 90 days of receipt by the Secretary of Labor, unless the Secretary of Labor or the Secretary of Education determines in writing within that period that: (1) The plan is inconsistent with a core program's requirements; (2) The Unified State Plan is inconsistent with any requirement of sec. 102 of WIOA; or (3) The plan is incomplete or otherwise insufficient to determine whether it is consistent with a core program's requirements or other requirements of WIOA. (i) If neither the Secretary of Labor nor the Secretary of Education makes the written determination described in paragraph (h) of this section within 90 days of the receipt by the Secretaries, the Unified State Plan will be considered approved.