BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|6/4SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 540|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 540
Author: Wyland (R)
Amended: 6/4/13
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 5/1/13
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Correa, Hancock, Hueso, Huff,
Jackson, Monning
SENATE FLOOR : 34-0, 5/9/13 (Consent)
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Block, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett,
Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines,
Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson,
Knight, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Nielsen, Padilla, Roth,
Steinberg, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Lara, Pavley, Price, Vacancy,
Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 6/20/13 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Career technical education: recognition
certificates
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows school districts and county offices
of education to award pupils a career technical education (CTE)
certificate if specified requirements are met. This bill
provides that the award of a CTE certificate shall in no way be
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construed as equivalent to the award of a high school diploma or
as a change to the requirements in existing law regarding
compulsory education and high school graduation, as specified.
Assembly Amendments make technical and clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes various CTE programs for
public schools including but not limited to regional
occupational centers and programs, partnership academies, adult
education programs, and career technical education programs in
high schools and community colleges.
The State Board of Education (SBE) adopted model curriculum
standards for CTE in May 2005 and adopted the curriculum
frameworks for those standards in January 2007. The standards
are organized in 15 industry sectors and identify the academic
and technical requirements for different career pathways within
each sector.
Existing law requires any business, trade or professional
association, union, or state or local governmental agency that
operates, under the auspices of the local school district, a
career preparatory program to award program completers a
certificate of completion that supplements a high school
diploma.
Existing law requires each school district maintaining any of
grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer to all otherwise qualified
pupils courses of study that (1) fulfill the requirements and
prerequisites for admission to California public institutions of
postsecondary education and (2) provide an opportunity for
pupils to attain entry-level employment skills in business or
industry upon graduation from high school. Current law permits
districts to fulfill their responsibility, pursuant to number 2)
by adopting a required curriculum that meets or exceeds the
model standards CTE adopted by the SBE.
Existing law requires each person between the ages of 6 and 18,
unless otherwise exempted, to be subject to compulsory full-time
education.
This bill allows school districts and county offices of
education to award pupils a career technical education
certificate if all of the following requirements are met:
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1.The pupil has satisfactorily completed the equivalent of four
semester-long career technical education courses. To the
extent possible, the courses shall be within the same industry
sector as identified in the California Career Technical
Education Model Curriculum standards adopted by the SBE.
2.The pupil has satisfactorily participated in a structured
work-based learning experience related to the career technical
education courses.
3.The pupil has satisfactorily completed a culminating project
related to the CTE courses.
This bill provides that the award of a CTE certificate shall in
no way be construed as equivalent to the award of a high school
diploma or as a change to the requirements in existing law
regarding compulsory education and high school graduation, as
specified.
Prior Legislation
SB 253 (Wyland, 2009), similar to this bill, proposed to
authorize school districts and county offices of education to
offer pupils a CTE certificate upon meeting specified
requirements. This bill died in the Assembly Rules Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/20/13)
Association of California School Administrators
California Teachers Association
School for Integrated Academics and Technologies
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, there
are currently ten states that have specialized high school
endorsements that are awarded to students who complete
additional coursework or complete differentiated coursework in
certain subject areas, complete a series of units in a technical
field, or obtain technical certification before the end of high
school. By enabling students to earn a supplemental certificate
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to their high school diploma, this bill could encourage more
students to take CTE classes while in high school. According to
the author's office, CTE provides students with the critical
skills necessary to compete in today's economy, whether they go
on to college, post-high school workforce training, or directly
enter the workforce.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 06/20/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell,
Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson,
Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas,
Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski,
Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
PQ:nl 6/21/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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