BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 640
AUTHOR: Hancock
AMENDED: May 4, 2009
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: May 6, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill
SUBJECT : Regional Occupational Centers and Programs
SUMMARY:
This bill requires Regional Occupational Centers and Program
employer advisory boards to recommend appropriate methods for
evaluating pupils enrolled in the program and allows centers
and programs under corrective action a longer timeline to
reduce adult average daily attendance (ADA).
BACKGROUND
Existing law establishes various state technical education
programs for public schools including Regional Occupational
Centers and Programs (ROC/Ps) for the purpose of enabling
students from multiple schools or districts to attend career
technical training programs regardless of the geographic
location of their residence in a county or region.
Existing law provides for the phased reduction of adult
pupils in ROC/Ps by limiting the funding for ROC/P attendance
(ADA) that is not generated by pupils who are enrolled in
grades 9-12:
a) For the 2008-09 fiscal year, no more than 50%
of ADA may be generated by pupils who are not
enrolled in grades 9-12.
b) For the 2009-10 fiscal year, no more than 30%
of ADA may be generated by pupils who are not
enrolled in grades 9-12.
c) For the 2011-12 fiscal year and every year
thereafter, no more than 10% of ADA may be
generated by pupils who are not enrolled in grades
9-12.
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Existing law requires the governing board of each ROC/P to
establish and maintain an employer advisory board or boards
to evaluate the program curriculum, validate whether there
are employment opportunities in the training area, and make
suggestions regarding program operation.
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Specifies that ROC/P advisory boards shall recommend,
rather than approve, measures, criteria, and methods to
evaluate whether pupils in the program have met the
skills and knowledge goals established for the program.
2) Requires ROC/P advisory boards to assist in the
identification and creation of college scholarships for
pupils in the program.
3) Allows an ROC/P that has a high adult student population
to continue to receive adult Average Daily Attendance
(ADA) provided the program is working under a corrective
action plan to achieve the AB 2448 threshold.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Earlier reform . According to the California
Department of Education (CDE), there are 74 ROC/Ps
serving approximately 460,000 K-12 pupils and adult
students through 100 career pathways and programs. AB
2448 (Hancock, Chapter 572, 2006) established high
school students as the primary population to be served
in ROC/Ps. The legislation implemented clear timeframes
for reducing the adult population to 10% by July 1,
2011, allowing an additional 5% for programs whose adult
students are CalWorks, Job Corps, or Workforce
Investment Act participants. A program may claim more
than 15% adult ADA if all of the adult students are
enrolled in those assistance programs and the program
develops a plan to transition these students to
community college or adult education programs so that
the ROC/P can become in compliance with the minimum
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threshold established by AB 2448. Programs that claim
more than 40% of its students as adults were given until
July 1, 2013 to reduce their adult ADA.
2) Corrective action . Programs that fail to meet the
minimum threshold by the deadlines specified in AB 2448
are required to enter into a corrective action agreement
with CDE that identifies alternative means of meeting
the needs of adult students and specifies a timeframe
for coming into compliance with the adult enrollment
limits. This bill essentially clarifies the intent of
AB 2448 to allow a program that is under corrective
action to continue to receive funding for its adult
students as long as the program is making a good faith
effort to meet the secondary participation goals.
SUPPORT
California Teachers Association
OPPOSITION
None received.