BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 66
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 21, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
SB
66 (Leyva) - As Amended January 14, 2016
[Note: This bill is doubled referred to the Assembly Business
and Professions Committee and will be heard as it relates to
issues under its jurisdiction.]
SENATE VOTE: 38-0
SUBJECT: Career technical education.
SUMMARY: Requires the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) to
make licensure information available to the California Community
Colleges (CCC) Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) to enable the
colleges to measure and improve student outcomes of career
technical education (CTE) programs offered; and, aligns
performance accountability outcome measures for the Economic and
Workforce Development Program (EWDP) to the federal Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Specifically, this bill:
1)States and declares that the Legislatures finds, among others,
the following:
SB 66
Page 2
a) The pathway out of poverty for millions of California
residents is the attainment of industry-valued, "middle
skill credentials," which is defined as a job requiring a
certificate, associate's degree, or third-party credential
that is less advanced than a bachelor's degree, but more
advanced than a high school diploma;
b) Middle skill credentials serve as the gateway for a
large number of careers in the state's prioritized emergent
industry sectors; and,
c) With the enactment of the federal WIOA (Public Law
113-128), California agencies receiving workforce-related
funds have adopted the following, among others, common
program strategies articulated by the California Workforce
Investment Board:
i) Partnering in sector strategies to ensure training
programs are relevant to the economy;
ii) Organizing regionally to benefit from economies of
scale, recognizing gains when labor markets and industry
are organized regionally;
iii) Creating cross-system data capacity to ensure
effective use of resources; and,
iv) Integrating service delivery and braiding of
resources to optimize limited resources and make use of
program specialization to better serve individuals.
2)Requires the DCA to make available any licensure information
SB 66
Page 3
it has in electronic format for its boards, bureaus,
commissions, or programs to the CCCCO to enable the CCC to:
a) Measure employment outcomes of students who participate
in CCC CTE programs; and,
b) Recommend improvements in CCC CTE programs.
3)Authorizes DCA to make available the confidential information
outlined in number two above, only to the extent that such
disclosure is in compliance with state and federal privacy
laws.
4)Requires, to the extent possible, the alignment of performance
accountability outcome measures for the economic and workplace
development program with the performance accountability
measures of the federal WIOA.
5)Deletes existing statutorily prescribed performance measures.
6)Reduces data collection requirements.
EXISTING LAW:
Federal. Reauthorizes the nation's employment, training, adult
education, and vocational rehabilitation programs created under
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and remains the Act as
WIOA; which, among others, requires states to strategically
align workforce development programs, promote accountability and
transparency, and foster regional collaboration (Title 29 United
States Code, Chapter 32, Section 3101, et seq.).
SB 66
Page 4
State.
1)Establishes the EWDP as a primary CCC mission and specifies
the program's mission and goals and an administrative
structure for the program that includes:
a) The California Community Colleges Business Resource
Assistance and Innovation Network Trust Fund;
b) Centers and Regional Collaboratives; and,
c) The Job Development Incentive Training Program.
1)EWDP is administered through the CCCCO, which is required
under current law to implement accountability measures and
annually report specified information to the Governor and the
Legislature (Education Code (EC) Section 88500, et seq.).
2)Requires the CCC Board of Governors to assist economic and
workforce regional development centers and consortia to
improve linkages and CTE pathways between high schools and
CCCs in a manner that improves the quality of career
exploration (EC Section 88532).
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Data sharing: The DCA indicates that workload to provide the
CCC Chancellor's Office licensure information is minor and
absorbable. However, the department will incur one-time
administrative costs of about $100,000 to make the data system
changes necessary to maintain confidentiality of the
information (Special fund).
SB 66
Page 5
2)Outcome measures alignment: The CCC Chancellor's Office
indicates that costs to align the outcome measures are minor
and absorbable.
COMMENTS: Background. California Community Colleges lead the
state and nation in providing postsecondary CTE and training.
Serving more than 2.1 million students, the 113 community
colleges provide workforce training, basic skills education, and
transfer preparation. Students can enroll in associate degree
and certificate programs in 350 fields of study. The colleges
also offer apprenticeship programs, short-term training aligned
to third-party credentials, and incumbent worker training to
upgrade skill sets in various industry sectors.
According to the CCCCO, employers currently struggle to find
workers who possess the necessary skills to fill job openings,
and this skills gap is projected to grow. By 2025, 30 percent
of all job openings in California - or a total of 1.9 million
jobs - will require some form of postsecondary education short
of a four-year degree. California's education pipeline is not
keeping pace with the higher levels of skills and education
required by employers and must significantly increase the number
of individuals with industry-valued, middle-skill degrees,
certificates and credentials.
Task Force on Workforce, Job Creation, and a Strong Economy.
California's community colleges have a strong CTE mission and,
with added emphasis and prioritization, are well positioned to
close this impending skills gap. The CCC Board of Governors
launched the Task Force on Workforce, Job Creation and a Strong
Economy to address the projected shortfall in middle-skill
workers. The task force, comprised of both internal and
SB 66
Page 6
external stakeholders, was convened to recommend a series of
policies and practices to increase the production of
industry-valued degrees and credentials.
The 25 recommendations in the task force's report, released in
August 2015, build upon current college efforts and address
barriers to enhancing the capacity of the CCC to prepare
students for high-value jobs in regions throughout the state.
The recommendations are the culmination of extensive input from
more than 1,200 stakeholders during a nine-month period to
identify actions that can be taken to provide policy guidance,
regulatory review, and legislative and budgetary actions with
the goal of increasing the number of students obtaining career
technical education degrees and certificates - crucial for
closing California's skills gap. The importance of creating
incentives, streamlining processes, and identifying and
showcasing best practices was an overarching theme of the
deliberations and the final recommendations.
This measure comes as a result of some of the policy
recommendations outlined in the report and seeks to ensure the
CCC CTE programs are reaching their intended outcomes and are
aligned to the state's unique workforce needs.
Need for this measure. According to the author, "Currently, it
is very difficult to acquire information on employment outcomes
after students leave the education system. This is especially
true when looking at third party licensure and certification
because a lack of information makes it difficult to determine
how well CTE programs prepared students for these various
fields."
This measure seeks to rectify the situation by requiring, to the
extent the disclosure is in compliance with state and federal
privacy laws, the DCA to make any licensure information
SB 66
Page 7
available to the CCCCO for the purposes of matching students and
evaluating the outcomes of CTE programs.
WIOA and EWDP. Signed into law on July 22, 2014, by President
Obama, WIOA supersedes the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and
amends the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, the
Wagner-Peyser Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The Act will help job seekers and workers access employment,
education, training, and support services to succeed in the
labor market and match employers with skilled workers they need
to compete in the global economy. Among others, at the state
level WIOA aligns establishes unified strategic planning across
"core" programs, which include, Title I Adult, Dislocated Worker
and Youth programs; Adult Education and Literacy programs; the
Wagner-Peyser Employment Service; and Title I of the
Rehabilitation Act programs. Additionally, WIOA aligns the
performance for core programs, and adds new ones related to
services to employers and postsecondary credential attainment.
To note, state performance goals must reflect economic
conditions and participant characteristics; makes available data
on training providers' performance outcomes; and, requires third
party evaluations of programs.
The Act took effect generally, on July 1, 2015. However, the
State Unified Plans and Common Performance Accountability
provisions take effect on July 1, 2016.
The California Community College's EWD Program advances the
economic growth and global competitiveness of California and its
regional economies by providing education, training, and other
services that contribute to continuous workforce improvement,
technology deployment, and business development.
SB 66
Page 8
Alignment. Currently, workforce development program funds for
community college CTE offerings come from the federal Carl
Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, the EWDP, and the
Career Technical Education Pathways Program. According to the
CCCCO, state and national policy changes have made said programs
similar in nature. However, each of these funding streams
requires distinct metrics to be reported, creating duplicative
administrative burdens for both the CCCCO's staff and local data
collectors. With the enactment of the federal WIOA, another
source of funding for workforce development programs, a single
set of common measures has been adopted for programs serving
both adults and youths under the Act.
This measure replaces existing accountability language under the
EWDP with performance accountability outcome measures consistent
to those that are required under WIOA.
Technical amendment. As presently drafted in Section 88650 (a)
of the measure, an incorrect term is referenced. Committee
staff recommends, and the author has agreed to take, the
following amendment:
88650 (a) The chancellor shall implement performance
accountability outcome measures for the economic and workplace
workforce development program that provide the Governor,
Legislature, and general public with information that
quantifies employer and student outcomes for those
participating in the program.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
SB 66
Page 9
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges
(sponsor)
California Chamber of Commerce
California Community College Association for Occupational
Education
California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union
California Conference of Machinists
California Hospital Association
California School Boards Association
California School Employees Association
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Community College League of California
SB 66
Page 10
Engineers & Scientists of California
International Longshore & Warehouse Union
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Los Rios Community College District
Professional & Technical Engineers
Regional Economic Association Leaders Coalition
San Bernardino Community College District
San Diego Community College District
San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
UNITE-HERE, AFL-CIO
Utility Workers Union of America
Opposition
SB 66
Page 11
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960