BILL NUMBER: SJR 32	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senators DeSaulnier and Wyland

                        MAY 18, 2010

   Relative to career technical education.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SJR 32, as introduced, DeSaulnier. Technical education.
   This measure would urge the United States Congress and the
President of the United States to include career technical education
coursework and programs in the reauthorization of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, The United States Congress and the President of the
United States are beginning the process of reauthorizing the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act by overhauling the No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.); and
   WHEREAS, The President of the United States has focused his
reauthorization priorities on the need to make the next generation of
Americans more competitive in the global economy by ensuring all
pupils are prepared for both college and career; and
   WHEREAS, The 20th century American workforce had been educated in
vocational education programs that led to the United States becoming
the most technologically advanced nation on earth; and
   WHEREAS, The 21st century technical skills needed to sustain the
American middle class and keep our nation globally competitive rely
heavily on the education and training provided in career technical
education programs of today; and
   WHEREAS, Successful career technical education programs provide a
coherent sequence of courses that begin with career exposure in
elementary grades and continue through hands-on, industry-specific
secondary school courses, with many of these career technical
education pathways proceeding on to more technical training
opportunities provided by institutions of higher learning, including
apprenticeships, vocational schools, community colleges, and in some
instances four-year colleges; and
   WHEREAS, The original No Child Left Behind Act largely ignored the
relevance and priority of career technical education coursework and
programs in its measurement and accountability system; now,
therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California
calls upon the United States Congress and the President of the United
States to clearly and expressly include career technical education
coursework and programs in the reauthorization of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act, including providing benchmarks and
measurement requirements for states' career technical education
delivery models, so that such career preparatory coursework and
programs are accessible to all pupils before they graduate from
secondary schools; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority
Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from
California in the Congress of the United States.