BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2719| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 2719 Page 2 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. AB 2719 Page 3 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 AB 2719 Page 4 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: AB 2719 Page 5 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. AB 2719 Page 6 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. AB 2719 Page 7 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 AB 2719 Page 8 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 **** END ****