Amended in Assembly September 11, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 646

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 amended, Cooley. Public education governance: begin delete Regional end delete begin insert regional end insert P-20 begin delete councils. end delete begin insert councils: advisory committee. end insert

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. begin delete The end delete

begin insert The bill would require the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, on or before July 1, 2015, to establish an advisory committee on P-20 councils, with designated membership, to serve as a clearinghouse for ideas of how these councils are working and to identify key statewide education policies and goals that P-20 councils may seek to further. The end insert 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:

begin insert

(1) The Federal Reserve has stated on its Internet Web site that
“[m]ost policymakers estimate the longer-run normal rate of
unemployment is between 5.2 and 6 percent.” The current rate of
unemployment in the United States is 7.4 percent. The
unemployment rates in both the County of Sacramento and
California are higher than the national unemployment rate.
According to a September 2013 brief by the California Budget
Project, “[i]f California’s job market continues to grow as it has
over the past year, the state will not recover the jobs lost due to
the Great Recession until January 2016,” but that this also
“understates how long it will actually take for the job market to
reach pre-recession strength” due to California’s increased
working-age population since 2007.

end insert begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert 2) end insert  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”).

begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert 3) end insert  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.

begin insert

(4) It is increasingly recognized that regions are the units of
economic competition and an essential ingredient of economic
competitiveness is for regions to align educational assets to
prepare students for critical careers within key economic clusters.
The Sacramento region’s Next Economy initiative is one example
of a regional economic development strategy advancing these
objectives.

end insert begin insert

(5) Recent research affirms that aligning regional assets is a
key to advancing economic competitiveness; a Brookings Institution
Metropolitan Policy Program study has noted that “[r]egional
economies are differentiated, complex, and dynamic; improving
their performance entails customized and integrated strategies.”
An educated and suitably prepared workforce is a key element in
private sector job creation and job-related capital investment.

end insert begin insert

(6) Several examples of effective P-20 councils can be found in
California, including the Alliance for Education in San Bernardino
County, which is the Inland Empire’s premier partnership between
the business and education communities. Its objective is “to achieve
the goal of producing an educated and skilled workforce that
ensures the economic well-being for San Bernardino County.”

end insert begin insert

(7) Recent state policy and funding priorities are intended to
promote the development and sustainability of pathways preparing
students across the P-20 spectrum for critical careers in the 21st
century economy.

end insert begin insert

(8) During hearings of the Assembly Select Committee on
Community and Neighborhood Development in July 2013,
witnesses stated that California’s future economic growth would
benefit from a concentrated effort aimed at establishing the
preconditions that support growth in jobs and private sector
investment in California communities. Such an approach would
be analogous to the high degree of regional coordination that is
typical for prioritizing and funding transportation improvements.
State and federal governments already require regional
coordination among local governments to prioritize transportation
funding.

end insert begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert 9) end insert  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.

begin insert

begin insert 10051. end insert   

The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic
Development, on or before July 1, 2015, shall establish an advisory
committee on P-20 councils to serve as a clearinghouse for ideas
of how these councils are working and to identify key statewide
education policies and goals that P-20 councils may seek to further.
The advisory committee shall include representatives of the offices
of the President of the University of California, the Chancellor of
the California State University, the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges, the Employment Development Department,
the State Department of Education, the Department of Industrial
Relations, and representatives of no more than three employer
advisory councils.

end insert

begin delete 10051. end delete
begin insert 10052. end insert   

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert 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. begin delete A end delete

begin insert (b) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A end insert 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. begin delete A end delete

begin insert (c) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A end insert 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. begin delete A end delete

begin insert (d) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert A end insert 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.