BILL NUMBER: AB 646	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Cooley

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2013

   An act to add Chapter 1.3 (commencing with Section 10050) to Part
7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, relating to public
education governance.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 646, as introduced, Cooley. Public education governance:
Regional P-20 councils.
   Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and
secondary schools in this state, and authorizes local educational
agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide
instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive
(K-12). Existing law also establishes a system of public
postsecondary education in the state that consists of 3 segments: the
University of California, the California State University, and the
California Community Colleges.
   This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to affirm
the employer-education partnership model of a regional P-20 council
as a desired structure in California to help align preschool, K-12,
community college, 4-year college, and graduate and professional
education programs and funding to advance strategic educational and
economic outcomes. The bill would authorize a school district,
community college district, or campus of the California State
University or University of California to establish or participate in
a regional P-20 council, and authorize a regional P-20 council to
include representatives of private sector employers. The bill would
require a regional P-20 council established under the bill to
identify educational objectives that are consistent with the
objectives of council members and with statewide education policies
and goals.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Chapter 1.3 (commencing with Section 10050) is added to
Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 1.3.  REGIONAL P-20 COUNCILS


   10050.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) P-16 councils were first established in several states in the
1990s to convene state leaders representing early learning (the "P"
stands for preschool) through the first four years of college (the
"16"). More recently, some states have extended the scope of these
councils to include doctoral and professional schools (the "20").
   (2) According to a 2008 report of the Education Commission of the
States, 38 states had established a P-16 or P-20 council and 11
states had regional P-16 or P-20 councils.
   (3) California will benefit from a system of regional P-20
councils, composed of both employers and educational leaders of
educational entities that provide instruction for all levels from
early childhood learning to doctoral and professional programs, to
help align educational programs, policies, and funding to meet
strategic educational and economic objectives.
   (b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to affirm the
employer-education partnership model of a regional P-20 council as a
desired structure in California to help align preschool, K-12,
community college, four-year college, and graduate and professional
education programs and funding to advance strategic educational and
economic outcomes.
   10051.  A school district, community college district, or campus
of the California State University or University of California may
establish or participate in a regional P-20 council, which may
include representatives of regional private sector employers as well
as public educational entities. A regional P-20 council established
under this section shall identify educational objectives that are
consistent with the objectives of council members and with statewide
education policies and goals. A regional P-20 council shall be
aligned, as much as feasible, with the regional structures in the
State Department of Education, the California Community Colleges, and
the Department of Industrial Relations. A school district or
community college district that participates in a regional P-20
council may establish eligibility for funding under the Career
Technical Education Pathways Program (Part 52 (commencing with
Section 88530) of Division 7 of Title 3), contingent on the district'
s conformity with the standards of that program and the availability
of funds.