BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          SB 618 (Pavley) - Educational apprenticeships: grant program.
          
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          |Version: February 27, 2015      |Policy Vote: ED. 7 - 1          |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: No                     |
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          |Hearing Date: May 11, 2015      |Consultant: Jillian Kissee      |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.


          Bill  
          Summary:  This bill establishes a statewide competitive grant  
          program for educational apprenticeship programs to be  
          administered by the Superintendent of Public Instruction,  
          contingent upon funding made available in the annual Budget Act.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
           Cost pressure: This bill results in a significant Proposition  
            98 General Fund cost pressure to fund the competitive grant  
            program in the tens of millions.  The 2015-16 Governor's  
            Budget proposes $37 million for existing apprenticeships.

           State operations costs: The California Department of Education  
            (CDE) estimates a need of about 1.5 positions at a cost of  
            $222,000 General Fund to administer this program.  This  
            estimate could change, depending on the amount that may be  
            available in the Budget Act and how many entities would apply.








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          Background:  The state authorizes and funds various workforce education and  
          training initiatives.  Existing law establishes apprenticeship  
          training programs which are comprehensive plans that contain,  
          among other things, apprenticeship program standards, program  
          regulations, related and supplemental instruction course  
          outlines, and policy statements for the effective administration  
          of that apprenticeship training program.   State funds provided  
          for apprenticeships are appropriated to the Chancellor's Office  
          of the California Community Colleges (CCC) and passed through to  
          local education agencies that provide the instruction.   
          Apprenticeships are paid education work programs that pair adult  
          students with skilled workers for supervised, hands-on learning.  
           Apprenticeships programs are commonly sponsored by business or  
          labor unions that help design and support the programs.  Program  
          sponsors must partner with a school district or community  
          college and be approved by the Department of Industrial  
          Relations' Division of Apprenticeship Standards to qualify for  
          related supplemental instruction funding. (Education Code §  
          79140 et. seq.)

          Existing law establishes various career technical education  
          (CTE) programs for public schools including Regional  
          Occupational Center Programs (ROCP) that allow students from  
          multiple schools or districts to participate in career technical  
          training programs regardless of the geographical location of  
          their residence in a county or region.  Existing law authorizes  
          the following types of ROCP operational models: county ROCP,  
          joint powers agency ROCP, and single district ROCP. (Education  
          Code § 52301 et. seq.)

          AB 86 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 48, Statutes of 2013,  
          created the California Career Pathways Trust which provided  
          one-time competitive grants to school districts, county  
          superintendents of school, charter schools, and community  
          college districts.  The 2013 and 2014 budgets provided a total  
          of $500 million in Proposition 98 General Fund for K-14 career  
          pathways programs to support such things as funding specialists  
          in work-based learning to establish or enhance locally defined  
          career pathways programs connecting education entities with  
          business entities, and establishing regional collaborative  
          relationships with business entities, community organizations,  
          and local institutions of postsecondary education.









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          Proposed Law:  
           This bill establishes a statewide grant program for educational  
          apprenticeship programs, contingent upon funding made available  
          in the annual Budget Act.  This bill requires that California  
          Department of Education (CDE) allocate an unspecified grant  
          amount to be distributed on a competitive basis.  At a minimum,  
          CDE must apply the following two criteria in determining the  
          competitive value of an application: (1) the program is new and  
          provides an innovative curriculum for its students; and (2) the  
          program provides opportunities for gainful employment in  
          emerging industries that are relevant to the local economy.


          Related  
          Legislation: SB 923 (Pavley, 2014) proposed to establish the  
          Educational Apprenticeship Innovation Act whereby competitive  
          grants would be awarded to applicant school districts, county  
          offices of education, charter schools, and community colleges  
          for purposes of promoting apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships,  
          and career pathways. This bill was vetoed with a message  
          indicating that the bill creates a new and duplicative program  
          that does not have an appropriation.

          Chapter 48, Statutes of 2013 (AB 86, Committee on Budget)  
          established the California Career Pathways Trust and  
          appropriated $250 million in one-time competitive grants for its  
          purposes. 

          Chapter 433, Statutes of 2012 (SB 1070, Steinberg) established  
          the Career Technical Education Pathways Program to improve  
          linkages and career technical education pathways between high  
          schools and community colleges.


          Staff  
          Comments:  This bill results in a significant Proposition 98  
          General Fund cost pressure to fund the statewide competitive  
          apprenticeship program.  

          The Governor's Budget proposes a total of $37 million for  
          existing apprenticeships, an increase of $14 million over the  
          Budget Act of 2014.  In addition, it proposes $15 million to  
          support the development of apprenticeships in high-demand  
          occupations, including healthcare, advanced manufacturing,  








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          information technology, and jobs in renewable energy.  Unlike  
          the existing apprenticeship funds, the Governor's Budget  
          proposes that these funds be used for purposes other than  
          reimbursing providers for related supplemental instruction, such  
          as aligning coursework and conducting studies to determine  
          regional needs for apprentices.

          The author's office indicates that this bill is modeled after  
          the Governor's Budget proposal.