Amended in Assembly March 17, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2412

Introduced by Assembly Member Chang

February 19, 2016

An act begin insert to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 78050) to Chapter 1 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, end insert relating to community colleges.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2412, as amended, Chang. Community colleges: begin delete career technical education. end delete begin insert incentive grant program for completion of industry-recognized credentials. end insert

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, and authorizes them to operate campuses and provide instruction to students. Existing law establishes various career technical education programs, including regional occupational centers and programs, specialized secondary programs, partnership academies, and agricultural career technical education programs.

This bill begin delete would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to workforce development and career technical education programs offered at campuses of the California Community Colleges. end delete begin insert would, commencing with the 2017-18 academic year, establish an incentive grant program for the completion of industry-recognized credentials, as defined, in specified occupational areas by students enrolled at participating campuses of the California Community Colleges. The bill would provide for the administration of this program, and the distribution of the incentive grant awards, by the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. end insert

begin insert The bill would require a community college campus that receives an incentive grant award under this bill to use the funds to improve its workforce development and career technical education programs, as specified. The bill would list criteria to be prioritized in the selection of industry-recognized credentials that would be eligible for funding under the program. end insert

begin insert

The bill would require the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to submit a report to the Legislature containing specified information about the program on or before December 1, 2018, and on or before December 1 every 3 years thereafter.

end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Article 4 (commencing with Section 78050) is
added to Chapter 1 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

 

Article begin insert 4. end insert   Incentive Grant Program for Completion of
Industry-Recognized Credentials

 

begin insert 78050. end insert   

(a) An incentive grant program is established, to be
administered by the Office of the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges, for the completion of industry-recognized
credentials in specified occupational areas by students enrolled
at participating campuses of the California Community Colleges.
These grants shall be awarded by the chancellor’s office beginning
in the 2017-18 academic year and for each academic year
thereafter.

(b)  The Office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges shall provide each campus of the California Community
Colleges that participates in the program with one thousand dollars
($1,000) in grants for each eligible industry-recognized credential
in specified occupational areas earned by a community college
student.

(c) As used in this article, “industry-recognized credential”
means a certification that a student receives from an independent,
third-party, certifying entity using predetermined standards for
knowledge, skills, and competencies, resulting in the award of a
credential that is nationally recognized and addresses a critical
local or statewide economic need.

begin insert 78051. end insert   

(a) Each campus of the California Community Colleges
that participates in the program created under this article shall
maintain documentation of student attainment of
industry-recognized credentials that are eligible for incentive
grants, and report that data to the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges. The Office of the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges shall verify compliance with this requirement
on an annual basis. If it is found that a participating campus failed
to comply with the documentation requirement or intentionally
provided incorrect data regarding the amount of credentials
earned, all incentive grant funds received by that campus for that
academic year shall be refunded to the state.

(b) The Office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges shall distribute the grants and establish procedures and
timelines for participating campuses to report earned credentials.

begin insert 78052. end insert   

(a) A campus of the California Community Colleges
that receives incentive grants under this article shall use those
funds to improve its workforce development and career technical
education programs. Funds may be used for equipment upgrades,
supply purchases, program expansion, or any other use that would
improve campus workforce education and career technical
education programs. Incentive grant funds shall not be used to
fund the salaries or benefits of personnel in these departments in
which students are earning industry-recognized credentials.

(b) The Office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges shall work with local workforce boards, businesses,
industry, the Employment Development Department, and the
California Workforce Development Board to identify
industry-recognized credentials that are in high demand based on
regional and statewide needs and employment projections. The
chancellor’s office and this working group shall prioritize all of
the following criteria when selecting industry-recognized
credentials that shall be eligible for funding under this article:

(1) The relevance of the certificate to the labor market needs
of the state and relevant region’s competitive industry sectors and
industry clusters.

(2) The relevance to the state’s need to fill skills gaps and skills
shortages in the economy, including those at the state and regional
level.

(3) The projected wages and rates of employment placement
for students entering the labor market.

(c) The criteria referenced in subdivision (b) shall be prioritized
by the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges annually and updated each year thereafter to reflect
changing and new workforce needs. The updated criteria shall be
posted on the Internet Web site of the chancellor’s office and
distributed to instructors and students in career technical education
classes.

begin insert 78053. end insert   

The Office of the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges shall submit, pursuant to Section 9795 of the
Government Code, a report to the Legislature on or before
December 1, 2018, and on or before December 1 every three years
thereafter. The report required by this section shall include, but
not necessarily be limited to, the amount of funds allocated through
under this article and a list of the industries for which the funds
were allocated.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation relating to workforce development and career technical
education programs offered at campuses of the California
Community Colleges.

end delete