BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
2446 (Furutani)
Hearing Date: 08/12/2010 Amended: 08/02/2010
Consultant: Dan Troy Policy Vote: ED 5-1
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 2446 would add career technical education as
an option for fulfilling one course requirement necessary for
high school graduation.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
CTE courses Potential cost pressure
General*
CDE report $150, prior to Jan. 1, 2015
General
*Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding
guarantee
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Among other requirements, current law requires students to
complete the following courses in order to graduate from high
school:
1) 3 courses in English.
2) 2 courses mathematics.
3) 2 courses of science, including biological and
physical science.
4) 3 courses in social studies, including: United
States history and geography, one semester of American
government, and one semester of economics.
5) 1 course in visual or performing arts or foreign
language.
6) 2 courses in physical education, unless exempt by
law.
Additionally, current law requires school districts providing
instruction to pupils in grades 7 through 12 to offer courses
that fulfill requirements for entry into California's public
postsecondary system. The minimum course requirements for
admission to the University of California (UC) and to the
California State University (CSU) are:
a) 2 years of history/social science.
b) 4 years of college preparatory English or
language instruction.
c) 3 years of college preparatory mathematics (4
years recommended).
d) 2 years of laboratory science (3 years
recommended).
e) 2 years of a foreign language (3 years
recommended).
f) 1 year of visual and performing arts.
g) 1 year of college preparatory electives.
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AB 2446 (Furutani)
This bill, as of the 2011-12 school year, would add career
technical education (CTE) as an option to fulfill the existing
graduation requirement to take a course in visual or performing
arts or foreign language. This option would become inoperative
on July 1, 2016.
It is possible that by authorizing CTE courses to replace
existing courses in arts or foreign languages, this bill could
lead to local pressure to add new course offerings in that
subject. Due to factors such as equipment needs, CTE courses
tend to be more expensive than other courses, so districts may
incur costs as a result of this bill. However, as the bill does
not require local education agencies to offer any more courses
than they do under current law, any new costs would be
discretionary on the part of the local districts.
As noted above, the a-g requirements necessary for admission to
CSU and UC include courses in both visual and performing arts
and foreign language. This bill would allow a path to high
school graduation that includes neither. It is possible that
this bill could the path to college for some students.
Author's proposed amendments would restore reporting
requirements that previously existed in the bill.