In January 1994, Washington's governor asked 28 representatives of business, labor, education, government, and the public (parents and students) to participate in the Governor's Council on School-to-Work Transition. The council spent 9 months examining the issue of school-to-work transition and formulating an action plan for establishing a statewide system of school-to-work transition. After identifying obstacles to the creation of a school-to-work system, the council developed a vision of a transition system that extends from career awareness activities (in grades K-10) through career preparation and specialization (in grades 11-12). Among the 10 recommendations formulated by the council were the following: broaden development of work-based learning that is coordinated with what students are learning in school; expand/accelerate development of industry-defined skill standards; encourage development of educational pathways customizing high school students' courses of study and integrating academic and occupational education; increase the ability of business and labor to participate in developing/implementing school-to-work transition activities; address the needs of special populations; and create a sustained, coordinated public information campaign to raise public awareness of the need for a school-to-work transition system. (Appended is a school-to-work transition best practices template.) (MN)