BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                           2211 (Fuentes)
          
          Hearing Date:  08/02/2010           Amended: 07/15/2010
          Consultant:  Dan Troy           Policy Vote: ED 7-0
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          ____
          BILL SUMMARY:   AB 2211, an urgency measure, would require the  
          Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop principles and  
          guidelines for the establishment of work-based learning programs  
          and authorize school districts to provide these programs, as  
          specified.  
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          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2010-11      2011-12       2012-13     Fund
                                                                  
          Guidelines                        $150 to $200                  
          General
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          STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the  
          Suspense File.
          
          Current law authorizes school districts maintaining a high  
          school to establish "work experience education" programs to  
          provide students with instruction in skills, attitudes, and  
          understandings necessary for success in the workplace, including  
          guidance and supervision, arranging credit for work experience  
          education courses, and authorizing the district to purchase  
          liability insurance for students enrolled in programs of study  
          involving work experience or vocational education at locations  
          off school grounds.  

          Current law also authorizes several avenues to provide career  
          technical education (CTE), such as Regional Occupational Centers  
          and Programs and Partnership Academies for the purpose of  
          integrating academic and vocational education and motivating  
          students to stay in school and graduate with the skills  
          necessary to advance into postsecondary education, advanced  
          workforce training, or the workforce.











          This bill would define work-based learning as an educational  
          approach or instructional methodology that uses the workplace or  
          real work to provide pupils with knowledge and skills that will  
          help them connect school experiences to real-life work  
          activities and future career opportunities.  These programs  
          could be delivered by partnership academies, regional  
          occupational programs, and other educational programs and may  
          include but are not limited to work experience education,  
          community classrooms, cooperative career technical education  
          programs, and job shadowing.  The bill would require districts  
          that offer work-based learning to provide the same statutory and  
          regulatory safeguards as pupils in work experience programs.   
          Districts would also be authorized to purchase liability  
          insurance for participating pupils.

          Further, the bill would require the Superintendent of Public  
          Instruction to develop principles and guidelines, in conjunction  
          with stakeholders, for the establishment of work-based learning  
          and require consideration of existing guidelines or regulations 

          Page 2
          AB 2211 (Fuentes)

          relative to work-based learning or work experience programs  
          including the most current academic and CTE standards.  

          By requiring the SPI to develop guidelines and principles to  
          implement work-based learning, this bill would result in  
          workload at the Department of Education of approximately  
          $150,000 to $200,000.  The bill authorizes the Department to use  
          existing federal or state funds for these purposes, though it  
          appears that no such funds are available.  The bill further  
          authorizes the Department to apply for and receive grants,  
          donations, and other forms of public and private resources to  
          complete the task.   

          A similar bill, AB 323 (Fuentes, 2009), was vetoed by the  
          Governor, whose veto message cited concerns that students would  
          be placed in work opportunities that did not have significant  
          academic content.