BILL NUMBER: AB 345	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Torlakson

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2009

   An act to amend Section 52302.8 of the Education Code, relating to
regional occupational centers or programs.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 345, as introduced, Torlakson. Regional occupational centers or
programs: emancipated foster youth.
   Existing law requires that, for the 2011-12 fiscal year and every
fiscal year thereafter, a regional occupational center or program may
claim no more than 10% of the state-funded average daily attendance
for which the center or program is eligible, for services provided to
students who are not enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, and up
to an additional 5% for CalWORKs, Temporary Assistance Program, or
Job Corps participants and participants under the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998.
   This bill would exempt services provided by a regional
occupational center or program to emancipated foster youth from the
cap imposed by this provision.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 52302.8 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
   52302.8.  (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that
vocational training resources that are provided through regional
occupational centers and programs are an essential component of the
state's secondary school system and the local system of providing
occupational skills training to high school pupils. For this reason,
the Legislature finds and declares that these resources should be
focused primarily on the needs of pupils enrolled in high school.
   (b) For the 2008-09 fiscal year, a regional occupational center or
program may claim no more than 50 percent of the state-funded
average daily attendance for which the center or program is eligible,
for services provided to students who are not enrolled in grades 9
to 12, inclusive.
   (c) For the 2009-10 fiscal year, a regional occupational center or
program may claim no more than 30 percent of the state-funded
average daily attendance for which the center or program is eligible,
for services provided to students who are not enrolled in grades 9
to 12, inclusive.
   (d) For the 2011-12 fiscal year and every fiscal year thereafter,
a regional occupational center or program may claim no more than 10
percent of the state-funded average daily attendance for which the
center or program is eligible, for services provided to students who
are not enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, and up to an
additional 5 percent for CalWORKs, Temporary Assistance Program, or
Job Corps participants and participants under the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2810 et seq.) who are enrolled
in Intensive Training services.  The cap imposed by this
subdivision shall not apply to services provided to emancipated
foster youth. 
   (e) Pupils who are CalWORKs, Temporary Assistance Program, or Job
Corps participants shall have priority for service within the
percentage limits established under subdivision (d).
   (f) Notwithstanding subdivision (d), a regional occupational
center or program may claim more than 15 percent of its average daily
attendance for students who are not enrolled in grades 9 to 12,
inclusive, if all of the students who are not enrolled in grades 9 to
12, inclusive, are CalWORKs, Temporary Assistance Program, or Job
Corps participants, and if the governing board of the regional
occupational center or program does all of the following:
   (1) Meets with local human services directors, and representatives
of adult education programs, community colleges and other
institutions of higher education, to assess the needs of CalWORKs,
Temporary Assistance Program, or, Job Corps and federal Workforce
Investment Act participants to identify alternative ways to meet the
needs of these adult students.
   (2) Enters into a transition plan, approved by the Superintendent,
to become in compliance with subdivision (d) in accordance with
benchmarks and timelines established in the transition plan.
Transition plans shall be established pursuant to guidelines issued
by the department, in consultation with the State Department of
Social Services, and shall be resubmitted and reviewed annually.
   (g) Notwithstanding subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), a regional
occupational center or program that claims more than 40 percent of
its students are not enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, on
January 1, 2007, shall submit a letter to the Superintendent by July
1 of each year until it complies with this subdivision, outlining the
goals of the regional occupational center or program to reduce the
number of adult students in order to comply with subdivision (d) on
or before July 1, 2013.
   (h) Regional occupational centers and programs operated in a rural
county of the sixth, seventh, or eighth class may exceed the number
of adults by an additional 10 percent of the limits established in
subdivisions (b), (c), and (d).
   (i) For purposes of this calculation, adult average daily
attendance attributable to continuously enrolled grade 12 pupils who
have not passed the high school exit examination pursuant to Section
60851 is excluded from the calculation under this section. Amounts
that may become available from reductions resulting from the
enactment of this section shall be redirected to other regional
occupational centers or programs to serve additional secondary
pupils.
   (j) The governing boards of a community college district and a
regional occupational center or program may enter into contractual
agreements under which the center or program provides services to
adult students of the community college district affected by this
section if both of the following are satisfied:
   (1) The agreements conform to state regulations and audit
requirements jointly developed by the Chancellor of the Office of the
California Community Colleges and the State Department of Education,
in consultation with, and subject to approval by, the Department of
Finance.
   (2) A course offered for adults pursuant to an agreement entered
into pursuant to this subdivision is limited to the same cost per
student to the state as if the course were offered at the regional
occupational center or program. This subdivision does not authorize
the apportionment of funds for community colleges for adult students
in excess of the revenue limit for regional occupational centers or
programs if a course is deemed eligible for college credit.
   (k) A regional occupational center or program that fails to meet a
timeline established under subdivision (d) or (g) shall meet with
the community college, adult education program, or other adult
service to identify alternative means of meeting the needs of adult
students and shall enter into a corrective action plan administered
by the department. The corrective action plan shall be established
pursuant to guidelines issued by the department and shall be
submitted to the department annually for review.