BILL NUMBER: AB 2211 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 15, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Fuentes
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
An act to amend Section 51760 of, and to add Section
51760.1 Sections 51760.1 and 51760.2 to, the
Education Code, relating to work-based learning, and declaring the
urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2211, as amended, Fuentes. Work-based learning.
Existing law authorizes school districts that maintain high
schools to establish work experience programs for the purpose of
providing pupils with instruction in skills, attitudes, and
understandings necessary for success in employment.
This bill would state the findings of the Legislature regarding
work-based learning, as defined. This bill would authorize school
districts that maintain high schools to establish work-based learning
programs, and to purchase liability insurance for pupils enrolled in
programs of study involving work-based learning, off school grounds.
The bill would authorize partnership academies, regional
occupational programs, and other educational programs
local educational agencies to deliver work-based
learning opportunities for pupils that may include work experience
education, community classrooms, cooperative career technical
education programs, and job shadowing experience, as specified.
The bill would require the Superintendent, in conjunction
with specified education stakeholders, to develop principles and
guidelines for the establishment of work-based learning programs. The
bill would encourage school districts to submit specified
information relating to work-based learning to the department, and
would encourage the State Department of Education to post this
information on its Internet Web site. The bill would
authorize regional and local business organizations, in conjunction
with school districts and community colleges, and any other
representatives deemed appropriate, to develop principles and
guidelines for the establishment of work-based learning programs.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes
no . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Public secondary education prepares pupils for success after
high school, including further education and training without
remediation, productive employment with opportunities for
advancement, and civic participation.
(b) Well-designed education programs intentionally combine
rigorous college preparatory education with demanding career
technical education, both of which are supported by high-quality
work-based learning and necessary support services that promote
success.
(c) Work-based learning is an essential component of any
comprehensive educational program of study. It brings meaning and
relevance to the educational program.
(d) Work-based learning offers opportunities to learn through
real-world experience. Pupils gain access to job shadowing,
mentorships, intensive internships, real or virtual apprenticeships,
and school-based enterprises. These experiences complement classroom
instruction and help sharpen the desire of pupils to increase
knowledge and skills that are relevant to their postsecondary and
career interests.
(e) Work-based learning is currently provided to pupils through
existing programs, including, but not limited to, work experience,
cooperative vocational education, regional occupational programs, and
community classrooms.
(f) High-quality work-based learning includes systematic attention
to the development of 21st century skills, such as communication,
problem solving, teamwork, project planning, and critical thinking.
(g) Furthermore, work-based learning allows pupils to work side by
side with adult professionals who help instill professional
behavior, real-world expectations, a strong work ethic, the need for
ongoing learning, and a desire to achieve.
(h) High-quality work-based learning experiences share the
following characteristics:
(1) Prioritization of learning over work production.
(2) Exposure to a wide range of career areas and worksites in
order to help youth make informed choices about education, training
options, and career pursuits.
(3) Thoughtful placement of pupils into opportunities that are
evaluated for their safety, qualified supervision, and learning
opportunities.
(4) Appropriate sequencing of experiences based upon the pupil's
age and maturity, ranging from site visits and tours, job shadowing,
unpaid and paid internships, and paid work experience.
(5) Explicit aim to supplement, or systematically reinforce,
classroom instruction in technical courses, academic courses, or
both.
(6) A trained workplace mentor who works in collaboration with a
classroom teacher to structure the learning at the worksite.
(7) Built-in regular assessment and feedback.
(8) Involvement of youth in choosing and structuring the
experience.
(9) Clear and measurable learning outcomes.
(i) Work-based learning may take many forms, including, but not
limited to, job shadowing, internships, work experience, community
classrooms, real or virtual apprenticeships, and school-based
enterprises.
SEC. 2. Section 51760 of the Education Code is amended to read:
51760. The governing board of a district maintaining a high
school may do all of the following:
(a) Provide for the instruction of pupils in the skills,
attitudes, and understanding necessary to succeed in employment by
means of courses of work-based learning or work experience education
as provided in this article.
(b) Provide for guidance and supervision procedures designed to
ensure maximum educational benefit to pupils from placement in
suitable work-based learning or work experience education courses.
(c) Provide for arranging, approving, coordinating, and awarding
credit for work-based learning or work experience education courses,
and for those purposes employ instructors, coordinators, and other
necessary personnel.
(d) Provide for the district to purchase liability insurance for
pupils enrolled in programs of study involving work experience, which
may include work-based learning, or vocational education at
locations off school grounds approved by the governing board, or
require pupils to purchase insurance and to pass on all or a portion
of the costs, at the discretion of the governing board, to the
district.
SEC. 3. Section 51760.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:
51760.1. (a) Work-based Consistent with
the most recent state plan on career technical education, work-based
learning opportunities for pupils may be delivered by
partnership academies conducted pursuant to Article 5 (commencing
with Section 54690) of Chapter 9 of Part 29, regional occupational
programs, as defined in Section 52303, and other educational
programs, and may include, but are not programs
established pursuant to Section 88532, and local
educational agencies, and may include, but are not limited to,
work experience education, as defined in Section 51764, community
classrooms, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 52372.1,
cooperative career technical education programs, as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 52372.1, and job shadowing experience, as
defined in subdivision (b) of Section 51769.
(b) School districts and community colleges that receive funding
to provide career technical education programs pursuant to Section
52055.770 may include a work-based learning component in these
programs.
(b)
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, school districts
opting to offer work-based learning opportunities to pupils
enrolled in the district shall ensure that, when applicable,
pupils are afforded the same statutory and regulatory safeguards as
pupils in work experience programs.
(c)
(d) For purposes of this section, "work-based learning"
means an educational approach or instructional methodology that uses
the workplace or real work to provide pupils with the knowledge and
skills that will help them connect school experiences to real-life
work activities and future career opportunities. When feasible,
work-based learning should be an integral part of a more
comprehensive pathway program that integrates challenging
comprehensive program that integrates academic courses and
demanding career technical education.
(d)
(e) High-quality work-based learning may include, but
is not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Emphasis on learning in the workplace.
(2) Exposure to a wide range of career areas and worksites in
order to help youth make informed choices about education, training
options, and career pursuits.
(3) Thoughtful placement of pupils into opportunities that are
evaluated for their safety, qualified supervision, and learning
opportunities.
(4) Appropriate sequencing of experiences based upon the pupil's
age and maturity, ranging from site visits and tours, job shadowing,
unpaid and paid internships, and paid work experience.
(5) Explicit aim to supplement, or systematically reinforce,
classroom instruction in technical courses, academic courses, or
both.
(6) Systematic attention to the development of 21st century
skills, such as communication, problem solving, teamwork, project
planning, and critical thinking.
(7) A trained mentor who structures the learning at the worksite.
(8) Coordination between the classroom teacher and the workplace
mentor or supervisor.
(9) Built-in regular assessment and feedback.
(10) Involvement of youth in choosing and structuring the
experience.
(11) Clear and measurable learning outcomes.
(e) The Superintendent, in conjunction with teachers, chamber
organizations, industry representatives, research centers, parents,
school administrators, representatives of regional occupational
centers and programs, and others deemed appropriate by the
Superintendent, shall develop principles and guidelines for the
establishment of work-based learning programs. In developing these
principles and guidelines for work-based learning, the Superintendent
shall consider existing guidelines or regulations relative to the
programs described in subdivision (a) and the most current academic
and career technical education standards adopted by the state board.
The guidelines shall include specific guidance to schools and school
districts on ensuring that the objective of a pupil's workplace
learning opportunity is linked directly to academic learning
objectives. For purposes of completing these principles and
guidelines the Superintendent may use existing federal and state
funds. If federal or state funds are not available or sufficient, the
Superintendent may apply for and accept grants and receive
donations, or other financial support from public or private sources
for purposes of this subdivision.
(f) In order to maximize existing and proposed public
transportation routes to ensure that high school pupils have greater
access to work-based learning sites, school districts offering
work-based learning are encouraged to provide information to local
transportation agencies about existing schools offering work-based
learning opportunities and participating industry worksites.
(g)
(f) School districts are encouraged to work with local
workforce investment board youth councils and workforce investment
boards to maximize the use of available resources for youth
employment opportunities by coordinating work-based learning
opportunities and facilitating work-based learning regional planning.
(h) School districts offering work-based learning are encouraged
to submit to the department work-based learning best practices and
specific examples of work-based learning offered by the district. The
department is encouraged to post this information on its Internet
Web site for the purpose of informing school districts about
work-based learning.
SEC. 4. Section 51760.2 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
51760.2. Regional and local business organizations, in
conjunction with school districts and community colleges, and any
other representatives deemed appropriate, including, but not limited
to, industry representatives, research centers, and parents, may
develop principles and guidelines for the establishment of work-based
learning programs. If these organizations develop principles and
guidelines pursuant to this section, both of the following shall
occur:
(a) The organizations shall consider existing guidelines or
regulations relative to the programs described in subdivision (a) of
Section 51760.1, the state's most recent career technical education
plan, and the most current academic and career technical education
standards adopted by the state board.
(b) The guidelines shall include specific guidance to school
districts and community colleges on ensuring that a pupil's workplace
learning opportunities are linked directly to academic learning
objectives and provide the necessary skills for the pupil to use in
future employment or postsecondary education opportunities.
SEC. 4. SEC. 5. This act is an
urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of
the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts
constituting the necessity are:
Because of current economic conditions and lack of education
funding, public and private partnerships are necessary for pupils to
learn relevant skills inside and outside the classroom and because
work-based learning has proven to engage pupils very effectively in
preparation for higher education and the workplace, it is necessary
that this act take effect immediately.