BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2063 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 2063 (Gallagher) - As Amended April 13, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Education |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill authorizes a 14 year old student to participate in work experience education (WEE) and receive credit, as specified, if the principal certifies that the student's participation in WEE is necessary for participation in a career technical education (CTE) program. This bill also clarifies that a student may participate in a job shadowing experience for up to 40 hours in one semester, intersession or summer session, if approved by the principal and is determined necessary for participation in a CTE program. FISCAL EFFECT: AB 2063 Page 2 No significant state fiscal impacts. Expansion of WEE to 14 year olds is permissive and there are only 523 schools that offer WEE currently. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, exposing students to work experience at a younger age allows them to explore more career options and gives them the knowledge and experience they need to launch their careers or further their education. This bill would make it easier for high school students to participate in WEE by lowering age for participation in work experience education. 2)Background. Work experience education (WEE) is a course of study that may be established by a governing board of any local education agency (LEA) to provide paid or unpaid on-the-job experiences for high school students through training agreements with employers. WEE includes both paid and non-paid experiences. In recent years, many districts have reduced or eliminated their general work experience programs. While general work experience is important for providing basic workplace skills the state plan for CTE calls for "more readily available vocational work experience that would provide meaningful expansion of learning for students in CTE programs." AB 2063 Page 3 According to the CDE, in the 2014-15 school year, 523 schools offer some type of WEE program, with 2,007 different courses taught. There were 17,439 students enrolled in WEE programs. Compared to the enrollment in other CTE courses, these numbers are relatively low. For example, 1,140 schools offer a CTE program on Arts, Media, and Entertainment, (just one of the 15 CTE industry sectors) with 7,068 courses taught, and a total of 162,093 students enrolled. Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081