Amended in Assembly March 23, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

House Resolution No. 7

Introduced by Assembly Member Lopez

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo, Calderon, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Gomez, Gonzalez, Medina, begin delete and Rendon end delete begin insert Rendon, Achadjian, Travis  end insert begin insert Allen, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gordon, Grove, Hadley, Harper, end insert begin insert Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Low, Maienschein, end insert begin insert Mathis, end insert begin insert Mayes, end insert begin insert McCarty, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, end insert begin insert Obernolte, O end insert begin insert ’Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, and Wood end insert )

February 19, 2015

House Resolution No. 7—Relative to adult education.

WHEREAS, The week of March 22, 2015, to March 28, 2015,
inclusive, is observed as “Adult Education Week,” recognizing
the unique accomplishments of California adult schools; and

WHEREAS, The Assembly of the State of California
acknowledges that adult schools that are provided by K-12 school
districts offer quality programs to meet the ever-changing economic
and workforce development and lifelong learning needs of our
diverse state; and

WHEREAS, The first recorded adult education class in
California was held in the basement of St. Mary’s Cathedral in
San Francisco in 1856. The class was authorized by the San
Francisco Board of Education to teach English to Irish, Italian,
and Chinese immigrants. John Swett, who was the first volunteer
teacher for the class, later became a Superintendent of Public
Instruction; and

WHEREAS, Adult schools, which work in collaboration with
community centers and libraries, are a primary community resource
for the teaching and instruction of adult literacy; and

WHEREAS, Adult schools provide a way for adults to complete
secondary-education studies and obtain a high school diploma at
their own pace and to prepare for and transition to postsecondary
education and career training; and

WHEREAS, Adult schools provide to high-school-aged students
critical opportunities to recover credit and stay on track for
graduation, to prevent dropping out, and to bring recent dropouts
back to school; and

WHEREAS, Adult schools provide instruction to those in the
state who take English as a second language and citizenship courses
and play a key role in immigrant integration and the path to United
States citizenship, which is important for our diverse community
during this time of immigration reform; and

WHEREAS, To break the cycle of illiteracy and to support
educational equity for all our children, we must focus on educating
parents and adult schools provide programs in family literacy at
elementary schools in conjunction with community-based
organizations; and

WHEREAS, Historically, adult schools have been called on to
assist the state as it dealt with significant social, political, and
economic issues, such as providing job training programs during
the Great Depression and training for skilled and underskilled
workers during World War II; and

WHEREAS, Adult schools provide short-term career and
technical training for adults seeking changes or enhancements in
their career pathways; and

WHEREAS, Adult schools offer varied, market-based education
programs to enhance the lifelong learning opportunities in the
state; and

WHEREAS, The California State Assembly applauds Governor
Brown for making adult education a priority by dedicating $500
million in Proposition 98 funds for the Adult Education Block
Grant program; and

WHEREAS, Adult schools in California still face their biggest
challenge, forcing funding that was previously reserved for adult
education to be used in other areas of education, resulting in many
adult schools decreasing in size, and the actual closing of some
adult schools; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the
week of March 22, 2015, to March 28, 2015, inclusive, be
recognized as Adult Education Week, and the teachers,
administrators, classified staff, and students of adult education
programs statewide be honored for their efforts and
accomplishments; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.