BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 848
                                                                  Page  1


          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 848 (Campos)
          As Amended  May 11, 2011
          Majority vote 

           LABOR & EMPLOYMENT    6-0       APPROPRIATIONS      12-5        
           
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          |Ayes:|Swanson, Morrell, Alejo,  |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield,     |
          |     |Allen, Furutani, Yamada   |     |Bradford, Charles         |
          |     |                          |     |Calderon, Campos, Davis,  |
          |     |                          |     |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara,  |
          |     |                          |     |Mitchell, Solorio         |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly,         |
          |     |                          |     |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner    |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :   Requires high schools, school districts, community 
          colleges and other specified entities that receive 
          reimbursements from apprenticeship instruction programs, to 
          report annually, to the Superintendent of Public Instruction 
          (SPI) or the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges 
          (Chancellor), information about the success of the students who 
          participate in apprenticeship programs. Specifically,  this bill  : 
           
                      
          1)Requires the SPI or Chancellor, whichever is appropriate, to 
            require recipients of related and supplemental instructions 
            funding to report annually, prior to receiving reimbursement, 
            information concerning the following:

             a)   The number and percentage of apprentices who have 
               received postsecondary educational credit;

             b)   The amount of credit earned; and,

             c)   The number and percentage of apprentice graduates who 
               have completed a postsecondary degree.

          2)Requires the SPI or Chancellor, whichever is appropriate, to 
            determine the format in which the annual report will covey 
            pupil progress toward degree completion for each participating 








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            institution.

          3)Requires the SPI or Chancellor, whichever is appropriate, to, 
            upon request, provide the information obtained in this annual 
            report the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS).

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   According to the Assembly Appropriations 
          Committee, General Fund administrative costs, likely less than 
          $100,000, to the California Department of Education (CDE) and 
          California Community Colleges (CCCs) to report specified 
          information about building and trade apprenticeship programs, as 
          specified.  Current law requires CDE to collect specified 
          information from apprenticeship programs and CCCs contribute 
          program information to this report.  

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, there is currently no data 
          provided to DAS on the number of CCCs that offer credit for 
          apprenticeship programs.  As a result, DAS is unable to advise 
          apprentices about existing opportunity to purse a postsecondary 
          education during their apprentice training.  The author states 
          this bill is the critical first step in identifying the nature 
          in which each CCC district provides credit for apprenticeship.  
          The author notes that the information collected by this process 
          will be assessed by the state and apprenticeship stakeholders 
          and thereby allow improvements and uniformity in postsecondary 
          credit allocation. 

          According to DAS, apprenticeship is a system of learning while 
          earning, and "learning by doing."  DAS notes that apprenticeship 
          programs combine training on the job with related and 
          supplemental instruction at school.  In addition to training, 
          DAS states that apprentices attend classes to receive technical 
          instruction related to their field. This training usually takes 
          place in a public school and often in a community college 
          setting.  According to DAS, the instruction is meant to 
          supplement the apprentices' on the job training and give 
          apprentices a comprehensive understanding of the theoretical 
          aspects of their work. 

          CDE supports related and supplementary instruction (RSI) in 35 
          regional occupational centers and programs (ROCP) and adult 
          education programs (local education agencies) with over 200 
          apprenticeship programs supporting over 40,000 registered 
          apprentices.  CDE states that funds are appropriated to local 








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          education agencies through the principal apportionment system 
          based on the actual number of hours in RSI coursework.  CDE 
          states that each local education agency is capped on the number 
          of hours of instruction it can claim for reimbursement. 

          According to the Chancellor's Office many employers partner with 
          the CCCs or with the CDE's Regional Occupational Programs and 
          Centers and Adult Schools to provide apprenticeship training to 
          their employees.  The Chancellor's Office states that CCCs have 
          approximately 25,000 apprentices enrolled in over 160 
          apprenticeship programs comprised of a total of 66 trades and 
          crafts titles located on 39 campuses.  

          In a letter expressing sponsorship of this bill, the State 
          Building and Construction Trades Council of California (SBCTCC) 
          states that credit allocation for apprenticeship programs varies 
          among CCC districts and between CCC campuses.  SBCTCC asserts 
          that this bill will help identify how CCC allocate credit for 
          RIS and help provide more uniformity among districts and between 
          campuses. 

          The Associated Builders and Contractors of California (ABC) 
          opposes this bill, arguing that statistics such as these are 
          already reported to the DAS.  Information sought by this bill 
          can already be generated by contacting the DAS and asking for 
          program graduation statistics.  As a result, ABC believes that 
          this bill adds an unnecessary new cost for gathering information 
          that is already accessible.

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Shannon McKinley / L. & E. / (916) 
          319-2091 


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