BILL NUMBER: AB 1480	CHAPTERED  09/28/05

	CHAPTER  362
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 28, 2005
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  SEPTEMBER 28, 2005
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 8, 2005
	PASSED THE SENATE  SEPTEMBER 7, 2005
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 30, 2005
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 15, 2005
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 15, 2005

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Maze

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2005

   An act to add Article 1.3 (commencing with Section 78017) to
Chapter 1 of Part 48 of the Education Code, relating to agricultural
education.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1480, Maze  Agricultural education: California Community
Colleges.
   Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under
the administration of the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges. Existing law establishes community college
districts throughout the state, and authorizes these districts to
provide instruction at the community college campuses they maintain.

   This bill would express various findings and declarations of the
Legislature with respect to agricultural education in the community
college system. The bill would require the California Community
Colleges Agriculture and Natural Resources Advisory Committee to
identify and develop quality program criteria that may be used to
uniformly evaluate the effectiveness of the agricultural education
programs in community colleges throughout California. The bill would
require that these criteria be developed in consultation with
instructors, administrators, students, industry representatives, and
other interested parties, and build upon the local program evaluation
previously developed by the advisory committee. The bill would
further require that these criteria be submitted, no later than June
30, 2007, in a written report to the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges and the Legislature.
   This bill would require the advisory committee to perform all of
the activities specified in this bill within a prescribed allotment
of federal funding.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Article 1.3 (commencing with Section 78017) is added to
Chapter 1 of Part 48 of the Education Code, to read:

      Article 1.3.  Agricultural Education Program Quality Criteria

   78017.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) Agriculture is one of the most important industries in
California, contributing over sixty-five billion dollars
($65,000,000,000) annually to the state's economic activity.
   (b) Agricultural education programs within the California
Community Colleges system can, and do, play an important role in
providing relevant workforce training as well as college and
university transfer options for students.
   (c) Among the purposes of the California Community Colleges
Agriculture and Natural Resources Advisory Committee is the
development of recommendations for improving and enhancing community
college agricultural education programs on a statewide basis.
   (d) It is in the best interests of the public that programs in
agricultural education that exist within the California Community
Colleges system be measured annually against uniform, objective
quality criteria indicators.
   78017.3.  (a) The California Community Colleges Agriculture and
Natural Resources Advisory Committee shall identify and develop
quality program criteria that may be used to uniformly evaluate the
effectiveness of the agricultural education programs in community
colleges throughout California. These criteria shall be developed in
consultation with instructors, administrators, students, industry
representatives, and other interested parties, and shall build upon
the local program evaluation document previously developed by the
advisory committee. These criteria shall be submitted, no later than
June 30, 2007, in a written report to the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges and the Legislature.
   (b) The California Community Colleges Agriculture and Natural
Resources Advisory Committee shall perform all of the activities
specified in subdivision (a) within the allotment of funding provided
to the advisory committee under the federal Carl D. Perkins
Vocational and Technical Education Act (VTEA). Under no circumstances
shall these activities result in a state operations request for
General Fund support or displace any other VTEA-funded state
operations activities within the office of the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges.