BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2719|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2719
Author: Eduardo Garcia (D), et al.
Amended: 6/23/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 5-0, 6/22/16
AYES: Mendoza, Stone, Jackson, Leno, Mitchell
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/19/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Workforce development: out-of-school youth
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill makes out-of-school youth a state workforce
development priority and therefore makes services accessible for
this group through funds available under the federal Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act.
ANALYSIS:
Existing federal law:
1)Establishes the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA) of 2014 in order to help job seekers access employment,
education, training, and support services to succeed in the
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labor market and to match employers with skilled workers. WIOA
coordinates employment and training services for adults,
dislocated workers, and youth through grants to states that
are implemented at the state and local level.
2)Requires that WIOA, among other things:
a) Increase employment, education, training, and support
services for individuals who face barriers to employment
(also known as individuals with employment barriers, as
defined above).
b) Provide workforce investment activities, through
statewide and local workforce development systems, that
increase the employment, retention, and earnings of
participants, and increase the attainment of recognized
postsecondary credentials by participants, and as a result,
improve the quality of the workforce, reduce welfare
dependency, increase economic self-sufficiency.
3)Defines "out-of-school youth" as an individual who is not
attending any school (as defined under state law), is 16 to 24
years of age; and is one or more of the following:
a) A school dropout.
b) A youth who is within the age of compulsory school
attendance, but has not attended school for at least the
most recent complete school year calendar quarter.
c) A recipient of a secondary school diploma or its
recognized equivalent who is a low-income individual and is
basic skills deficient or an English language learner.
d) An individual who is subject to the juvenile or adult
justice system.
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e) A homeless individual, a homeless child or youth, a
runaway, in foster care or has/aged out of the foster care
system, a child eligible for assistance under §677 of Title
42 of the United States Code, or in an out-of-home
placement.
f) An individual who is pregnant or parenting.
g) A youth who is an individual with a disability.
h) A low-income individual who requires additional
assistance to enter or complete an educational program or
to secure or hold employment.
[United States Code, Title 29, §3164 (a)(1)(B)]
4)Intends through WIOA, to prepare vulnerable youth and other
job seekers for successful employment through the use of
proven service models services.
5)Requires local areas statewide to increase the percentage of
youth formula funds used to serve out-of-school youth to 75
percent from 30 percent under existing law.
6)Requires federal funds dedicated to youth activities be used
for tutoring, study skills training, and instruction leading
to secondary school completion.
Existing state law:
1)Establishes the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB),
whose members are appointed by the Governor and are
representative of the areas of business, labor, public
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education, higher education, economic development, youth
activities, employment and training, as well as the
Legislature (Unemployment Insurance Code §14011 and §14012).
2)Provides that the CWDB assists the Governor in the
development, oversight, and continuous improvement of
California's workforce investment system, including its
alignment to the needs of the economy and the workforce
(Unemployment Insurance Code §14010).
3)Requires the CWDB to assist the Governor in supporting the use
of career pathways to provide individuals, including those
with barriers to employment, with workforce investment
activities, education, and supportive services in order to
enter or retain employment (Unemployment Insurance Code
§14013).
4)Defines an "individual with employment barriers" as one with
any characteristic that substantially limits their ability to
obtain employment, including indicators of poor work history,
lack of work experience, or access to employment in
non-traditional occupations, long-term unemployment, lack of
educational or occupational skills attainment, dislocation
from high-wage and high-benefit employment, low levels of
literacy or English proficiency, disability status, or welfare
dependency (Unemployment Insurance Code §14005).
This bill includes "out-of-school youth" as individuals with
barriers to employment (IBEs) and thus match federal WIOA
standards by making them a workforce development priority. In
order to address the IBEs requirement, local workforce
development boards would be required to lead efforts to develop
and implement career pathways emphasizing education for these
youth, with the assistance of certain secondary and
postsecondary education programs.
Specifically this bill, among other things:
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1)Identifies and defines "out-of-school youth" as IBEs.
2)Defines a "school operating in partnership with United States
Department of Labor programs" as a school that serves
out-of-school youth through a partnership that includes, but
is not limited to the CWDB or local workforce development
board.
3)Charges the CWDB with developing strategies for providing
effective outreach to IBEs and improving access to the
workforce development system.
4)Stipulates that the required CWDB status report on credential
attainment include among others, degree attainment, such as
high school diplomas. Also requires the CWDB to request an
opportunity to present relevant portions of the credential
attainment report to the State Board of Education and the
California Community College Board at least once every
calendar year.
5)Identifies serving out-of-school youth as one of the metrics
that a workforce development board will be evaluated on when
determining whether they met or exceed their performance goal
when designating high-performing boards.
6)Requires that the local plan of the workforce development
board include out-of-school youth as a target group within the
analysis of programs available to provide education and
training in the region to address the education and skill
needs of the employers.
7)Establishes, to the extent permitted by federal law, the
eligibility of school districts, county offices of education,
and schools operating in partnership with Department of Labor
programs to apply to local workforce development boards in
order to provide skills and training to help out-of-school
youth earn a secondary school diploma.
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8)States that when considering appropriate education providers
for the out-of-school youth services mentioned above, the
local workforce development boards shall include for
consideration, but not be limited to, programs at schools
accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
Background
WIOA and California's Workforce Development System. The federal
WIOA provides funds and sets priorities for workforce
development activities but leaves room for implementation
decisions to be made at the state and local levels. California's
federal workforce funds are overseen by the CWDB. The CWDB
provides guidance to local workforce boards and is charged with
developing a unified, strategic plan to coordinate various
education, training, and employment programs with the goal of
fostering an integrated workforce development system that
supports economic development. At the local and regional level
there are 49 local workforce development boards that plan for
and oversee the workforce system in their areas. By federal
requirement, business community representatives make up the
majority of local workforce board membership. With respect to
the provisions of this bill, California law allows schools
partnering with DOL programs to help youth over 19 years of age
earn a high school diploma which is considered to be beneficial
to workforce development.
Comments
Need for this bill? According to the author, high school diploma
attainment is a primary indicator of employment potential and
performance for out-of-school youth and for dislocated workers.
Following the lead of the federal WIOA, this bill intends to
strengthen the state's implementation of its workforce program
by aligning California's workforce development system with
schools serving out-of-school youth. While services to
out-of-school youth are treated as a priority under the federal
WIOA, they are not mentioned specifically under current state
law.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/2/16)
California Association of Local Conservation Corps
California Charter Schools Association Advocates
California School Boards Association
California Teachers Association
California Urban Partnership
John Muir Charter Schools
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools
SIA Tech California
YouthBuild Charter School of California
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/2/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Proponents state that out-of-school
youth face many challenges, especially in access to employment.
They argue that employment rates and salaries are higher for
young adults who have completed high school as opposed to those
who have not. Those youth who have dropped out of high school
are more likely to live in poverty and face incarceration.
Proponents state that AB 2719 updates the state WIOA programs to
identify "out-of-school youth" specifically as a population that
faces barriers to employment. In doing so, AB 2719 elevates the
needs of California's out-of-school youth to a level consistent
with federal law. Youth who have not completed a traditional
high school route often enroll in WIOA programs and receive job
training and education. AB 2719 creates a pathway for increasing
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educational and vocational credentials available to
out-of-school youth. Proponents believe that by adding this
population to California's workforce development priorities, the
state will recognize their unique needs, and will be better able
to assist them in community re-engagement and attaining
self-sufficiency and economic stability.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/19/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chang, Mathis, McCarty, Williams
Prepared by:Brandon Seto / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556
8/3/16 19:38:12
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