BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 509 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 6, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 509 (Perea) - As Amended April 23, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Higher Education |Vote:|13 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill, exempts from regulation under the Private Postsecondary Education Act, an entity offering preapprenticeship training programs that are either: AB 509 Page 2 1)On the California Workforce Investment Board's (WIB's) Eligible Trainer Provider List (ETPL) and meet requirements for continued listing; or 2)Not on the ETPL but has met the requirements for placement on the list. The bill also stipulates that any entity removed from the ETPL for failure to meet performance standards is not exempt from the Act until it meets the standards. FISCAL EFFECT: Any costs to the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) will be minor and absorbable. COMMENTS: 1)Background. The Act provides a variant of specific exemptions from oversight by the BPPE, including for educational programs sponsored by a bona fide trade, business, professional, or fraternal organization, solely for that organization's membership. Construction trades unions registered with the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee of the state Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS), for purposes of their apprentice training, are exempt from the Bureau for purposes of these apprenticeship programs. Under the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), states are required to establish a list of providers eligible to receive AB 509 Page 3 WIA funds for training services provided to WIA clients. In California, this statewide directory is known as the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL), which is under the auspices of the state's WIB. Among other program quality and performance based provisions, WIB requires private postsecondary educational providers to have an Approval to Operate from the Bureau prior to being listed on the ETPL. Alternatively, an institution that is exempt from Bureau oversight, such as the DAS-approved apprenticeship programs, may provide verification that the provider is exempt from the Act. 2)Purpose. According to the author, the Fresno Regional Workforce Investment Board's multi-craft preapprentice training is a consortium of the regional building trades unions. The consortia is not approved by the DAS for purposes of the preapprentice program and, because they are providing preapprenticeship programs to students beyond their own membership, they do not fall under existing exemptions provided in the Act, and are thus required to obtain Bureau approval prior to being placed on the ETPL. The author argues that building trades council organizations are not private postsecondary educational institutions and should not be subject to the provisions of the Act or oversight by the Bureau. This bill, as recently amended, require such preapprenticeship training programs, in order to obtain and maintain exemption from the Ac, to qualify for initial and continued placement on the ETPL. AB 509 Page 4 Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081