BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 790
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 790 (Furutani and Carter)
As Amended May 27, 2011
Majority vote
EDUCATION 7-3 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Buchanan, Butler, Carter, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Eng, Williams | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| | | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Norby, Halderman, Wagner |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Establishes the Multiple Pathway Pilot Program (MPPP)
to be administered by the California Department of Education
(CDE) according to specified requirements for the purpose of
implementing district-wide multiple pathway programs in all
participating school districts. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the pilot program to be administered by the CDE and
to contain all of the following requirements:
a) Small-sized schools and smaller groupings of pupils
within new and existing high schools;
b) Rigorous multiple pathway programs of study that guide
pupils through course sequences leading to mastery of
standards, high school graduation, and transition to
postsecondary education or employment, including career
technical education (CTE) courses as defined by the
California State Plan for Career Technical Education;
c) Policies and agreements adopted by participating school
districts that promote concurrent enrollment and dual
credit with community colleges and universities;
d) Problem-based instructional methodologies, inquiry
learning approaches, and applied learning strategies within
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all subject areas;
e) A requirement that pupil progress through high school is
determined by mastery of grade-level standards-based
performance benchmarks developed by the participating
school district;
f) Multiple pathway programs that are implemented by
participating school districts within the district's
existing state and local resources; and,
g) Involvement of local business, labor, parent, and
community partners to advise the district on the
development, implementation, and ongoing evaluation of the
MPPP.
2)Authorizes a school district that maintains grades 9 to 12,
inclusive, to apply to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to operate a pilot program, and authorizes
the SPI to develop regulations necessary to implement the
provisions of this bill.
3)Requires CDE to review the applications and the SPI to
initially approve no more than 20 applications, and specifies
that the review and approval of applications shall be
conducted on a competitive basis and consideration shall be
given to factors related to the geographic diversity, type,
and size of a school district, and the extent to which a
school district's pilot program would receive financial and
in-kind support from the business and civic community or
funding from government or foundation grants.
4)Requires on or before September 30, 2016, the SPI to transmit
a report to the Legislature and the Governor that documents an
evaluation that includes the specified information.
5)Requires the SPI to use existing state and federal funds to
implement this bill and repeals the provisions of this bill on
July 1, 2017.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)General Fund/Proposition 98 (GF/98) cost pressure, likely
between $100,000 and $200,000, to school districts to
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implement the MPPP. This bill requires school districts to
use existing state and federal resources to implement this
program.
2)The 2010 Budget Act allocated approximately $500 million for
CTE purposes, including $135 million in federal Carl Perkins
program funding and $353 million GF/98 for the Regional
Occupational Centers Program (ROC/P), which is one of the main
funding sources for school district CTE programs. Under
current law, school districts may use ROC/P funding for any
educational purpose it deems appropriate until 2015.
3)GF administrative costs to CDE, likely between $100,000 and
$200,000 to administer and provide a report that includes an
independent evaluation of the MPPP. The bill requires SDE to
administer this pilot program within existing resources.
COMMENTS : This bill establishes a multiple pathways pilot
program for purposes of implementing district-wide multiple
pathway approaches in participating school districts and
specifies that multiple pathway programs shall be implemented
within the participating district's existing state and local
resources.
Multiple pathway programs are high school programs that seek to
make core academic subjects more relevant and engaging for
pupils and are designed to provide access to academic and
technical study that is based on a broad theme or an industry
sector. The idea behind multiple pathways is to integrate
career based themes and content across all academic subject
areas in order to give students the opportunity to access both
core academic content and CTE without having to choose one over
the other. Multiple pathway programs are found in several
districts across the state in various forms; for example some
districts have implemented California Partnership Academies
(CPAs), small learning communities, or other career-themed small
schools. In most cases, these programs are found at one or a
few schools in one particular district however this bill would
require implementation of these programs in all high schools of
the MPPP participating school districts.
A previously enacted measure, AB 2648 (Bass, Carter and
Furutani), Chapter 681, Statutes of 2008, required the SPI to
develop, in conjunction with specified individuals, a report to
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explore the feasibility of expanding and establishing career
multiple pathway programs. According to the author, this bill
"Is a direct response to the Multiple Pathways to Student
Success report that the California Department of Education
released in 2010, pursuant to AB 2648 - Chapter 681, Statutes of
2008." The author further states, "In particular, the multiple
pathways approach has been identified as one of the most
promising models for high school transformation. Research has
shown multiple pathways-like programs have helped to turn around
high school achievement, graduation and job placement rates for
high school students matriculating through multiple
pathways-like programs. The pilot program established by AB 790
would build off that success and resolve issues that make it
challenging for multiple pathways to thrive as a model of school
improvement."
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avina / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0000941