BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 275|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 275
Author: Hancock (D)
Amended: 5/31/11
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 10-0, 05/04/11
AYES: Lowenthal, Runner, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock, Huff,
Liu, Price, Simitian, Vargas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-0, 5/26/11
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Lieu, Pavley,
Price, Runner, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Career technical education: funding
SOURCE : California Association of Regional Occupational
Centers
and Programs
DIGEST : This bill creates a career technical education
block grant program, beginning in 2015-16 fiscal year, that
contains funding dedicated for Regional Occupational
Centers and Programs, partnership academies, specialized
secondary programs, and agricultural career technical
education incentive programs. This bill allows for limited
flexibility for 10 percent between programs, allows the
Superintendent of Public Instruction to allow up to a 25
percent flexibility under specified conditions, provides
for a regional process for administrative collaboration,
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and requires the California Department of Education to
develop program quality accountability measures, as
specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes and funds categorical
programs that focus resources and/or compliance
requirements on specific classes of students or schools, or
specific uses of funds, identified by the Legislature as
priorities.
Regional Occupational Centers and Programs . Existing law
establishes various career technical education (CTE)
programs for public schools, including Regional
Occupational Centers and Programs (ROCPs) that allow
students from multiple schools or districts to participate
in career technical training programs regardless of the
geographical location of their residence in a county or
region. Existing law authorizes the following types of
ROCPs operational models:
1. County ROCP . Existing law authorizes county
superintendents, with the consent of the State Board of
Education (SBE) to establish and maintain a ROCP to
provide education and training in career technical
courses.
2. Joint Powers Agency ROCP . Existing law authorizes two or
more school districts to form a joint powers agency for
the purpose of establishing and maintaining a ROCP for
students who are enrolled in those districts.
3. Single District ROCP . Existing law authorizes certain
very large districts, who do not wish to be part of a
county ROCP, to apply to the SBE through their county
superintendent for permission to establish and maintain a
ROCP for students enrolled in the district. The county
superintendent may supervise the establishment of the
ROCP.
Partnership Academies . The Partnership Academy model is a
three-year program, for grades ten through twelve,
structured as a school-within-a-school and incorporates (1)
rigorous integrated academics with a career focus, (2)
business partnerships that provide support through
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curriculum resources, classroom speakers, field trips,
mentors, and internships, and (3) teachers who work as a
team in preparing students for careers and postsecondary
education.
Specialized Secondary Programs . Specialized Secondary
Programs is a four-year program to provide opportunities
for students to obtain advanced instruction, in addition to
core course work, and skills in technology appropriate to
the curriculum. California comprehensive high schools may
use the grant funds for programs that provide students with
advanced learning opportunities in a variety of subjects,
including but not limited to, English-language arts,
mathematics, science, history and social science, foreign
language, and the visual performing arts. The acquisition
of technology skills and the use of technology as a tool
for instruction and learning are also emphasized in these
programs. Frequently, specialized secondary programs are
established as a smaller learning community or a
school-within-a-school.
Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive Program .
The Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive
program provides local educational agencies (LEAs) with
funds to improve the quality of their agricultural
vocational education programs. The goal is to maintain a
high-quality comprehensive agricultural vocational program
in California's public school system to ensure a constant
source of employable, trained, and skilled individuals.
This bill:
1.Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI),
beginning in 2015-16, and each year thereafter, to
apportion funds appropriated for (a) ROCPs, (b)
specialized secondary program grants, (c) partnership
academies, and (d) agricultural career technical
education incentive program to each county office of
education based on the same relative proportion that LEAs
within that particular county received funding for these
programs in 2007-08.
2.Requires each county office of education to allocate the
funding of ROCPs, school districts, and county offices of
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education a portion of the total funds based on the
proportion that these entities received in 2007-08.
3.Requires, as a condition of receiving funds, the
governing board of each ROCP, in collaboration with
individuals representing school districts within each
region, partnership academies, agricultural vocational
education programs, and other career technical education
programs to develop a plan for establishing a sequence of
courses, as specified, and certify to the California
Department of Education that the sequence of course has
been developed.
4.Specifies that funds allocated for ROCPs, specialized
secondary program grants, and partnership academies can
only be expended for the purposes of the programs for
which they were appropriated, except that up to 10
percent of the funds from each identified program, upon
agreement between the school district and the ROCP, may
be used to support any combination of the programs for
the duration of each of the following time periods:
A. Three years for any direct career technical
education courses or long-term instructional
supports, including, but not limited to, the
development of a sequence of courses, career
counseling, and employer of work experiences.
B. One year for one-time items, including, but not
limited to, field trips and equipment.
Specifies that any funds made pursuant to A & B above are
renewable thereafter with the agreement of both governing
boards.
5.Allows the SPI to approve requests to increase to up to
25 percent the flexibility, provided both of the
following occur:
A. The request is approved by the affected governing
boards.
B. The purpose of the request is to support
implementation of a new program of study that
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consists of a planned sequence of courses that
integrates high-quality-core academic knowledge with
technical and occupational skills and knowledge, for
the purpose of providing pupils in secondary school
who are enrolled in career technical education
courses with a pathway to postsecondary career
technical education and career goals.
6.Specifies that as a condition of receiving funds
consistent with this bill, programs that receive funding
shall collect and report data as required by the CDE to
prepare and update specialized accountability measures.
7.Requires the SPI to align the accountability measures for
the four programs into a uniform accountability metric
based on any career ready standards adopted pursuant to
the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act and 11
program quality indicators in the California State Plan
for Career Technical Education, including, but not
limited to:
A. High quality curriculum and instruction aligned
with state standards.
B. System alignment and coherence, including
postsecondary education.
C. Reflection of labor market demands, and provision
of current equipment.
D. Skilled faculty and professional development.
E. Data-based pupil evaluation, accountability, and
continuous improvement.
F. Pupil support and leadership development.
G. Industry partnerships and advisory committees.
8.Requires accountability measures to also include, but not
necessarily be limited to:
A. The number of pupils completing high school.
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B. The number of pupils earning an
industry-recognized certification or licensure or
other measures of technical skill attainment.
C. The number of pupils completing career technical
education courses and completing a career technical
education program of study, consisting of a sequence
of two or more career technical courses.
D. The number of pupils employed and the types of
businesses in which they are employed.
E. The number of pupils enrolled in postsecondary
education or apprenticeship programs, or serving in
the Armed Forces.
Comments
Categorical Program Funding Reductions and Flexibility
Given to Assist School Districts and Provide Greater Local
Decision-Making . SBX3 4 (Ducheny), Chapter 12, Statutes of
2009, Third Extraordinary Session, and extended by SB 70
(Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter 7,
Statutes of 2011, authorizes LEAs, through the 2014-15
fiscal year, tou se funding for approximately 40
categorical programs (totaling $4.5 billion statewide) for
any educational purpose to the extent permitted by federal
laws. ROCPs and specialized secondary programs were part
of the 40 categorical programs impacted. These measures
also deem LEAs to be in compliance with program and funding
requirements related to the 40 categorical programs, and
requires LEA governing boards to make flexible expenditure
decisions in a regularly scheduled public meeting. The
flexibility granted under SB 4 (Ducheny) and SB 70 (Senate
Budget and Fiscal Review Committee) came as a result of
funding the categorical programs approximately 20 percent
lower for the 2008-09 through the 2014-15 fiscal years, as
well as reductions to school district and county office of
education revenue limits (the basic general purpose money
allocated to districts).
The Legislature stopped short of including all categorical
programs within the "Tier 3" flexibility (reduction and
flex), and decided that certain programs, including
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partnership academies and agricultural career technical
education, were of such high priority that no flexibility
or limited flexibility would be provided.
Need for the Bill. Currently, ROCPs are subject to
flexibility (described above) and as such are subject to
the possibility of funds shifted to non-career technical
education purposes. Partnership academies and agricultural
career technical education were reduced by 20 percent
(however, not available for flexibility purposes). The
Legislative Analyst has suggested both of these programs be
shifted to flexibility in the absence of a block grant
approach. This bill stops the erosion of funding for these
particular programs, while providing consistency in
sequence requirements across the programs.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/26/11)
Calif. Association of Regional Occupational Centers and
Programs (source)
California Agricultural Teachers Association
California Association of Leaders for Career Preparation
California Business Education Association
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
Coastline ROP (Orange County coastal cities)
Metro - Ed Regional Occupational Center
North Orange County ROP
Sutter County Superintendent of Schools
Tri-County ROP (Colusa, Sutter and Yuba Counties)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"The current funding mechanism has not been updated in many
years resulting in an inequitable formula - and one which
does not recognize student population shifts. While this
incremental approach to equalization will take time and is
dependent upon appropriations in the state budget for
growth, it sets the course for the future."
CPM:cm 5/31/11 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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