BILL ANALYSIS
SB 515
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 17, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
SB 515 (Hancock) - As Amended: April 20, 2009
SENATE VOTE : 28-9
SUBJECT : Career technical education
SUMMARY : Requires school districts, regional occupational
centers or programs (ROC/Ps), and community college districts
that receive specified federal funds to demonstrate that at
least half of the course sequences are linked to state or
regional high priority workforce needs. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires, as a condition of receiving federal funds provided
under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology
Education Act of 1998 (Perkins Act), and to the extent
permitted under federal law, school districts, ROC/Ps, and
community college districts demonstrate on or before July 1,
2013, that at least one-half of the course sequences offered
are linked to high priority workforce needs in the career
sectors identified by the Labor and Workforce Development
Agency for the State of California or for the economic region
established by the state where the ROC/P, community college
district, or school district is located.
2)Encourages school districts, ROC/Ps, and community college
districts to work with local workforce investment boards (WIB)
in the identification of career sectors of high priority.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires on or before July 1, 2010, the governing board of
each ROC/P to ensure that at least 90% of all state-funded
courses offered by the center or program, as specified, are
part of course sequences that target comprehensive skills.
2)Authorizes the county superintendent of schools of each
county, with the consent of the State Board of Education
(SBE), to establish and maintain at least one ROC/P in the
county to provide education in career technical education
courses.
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3)States the intent of the Legislature that ROC/Ps provide
career technical and occupational instruction related to the
attainment of skills so that trainees are prepared for gainful
employment in the area for which training was provided.
4)Requires the governing board of each ROC/P to establish and
maintain an employer advisory board or boards and requires the
advisory boards to, amongst various duties, review the
specific occupational sequences offered by the ROC/P to train
pupils for jobs that are in demand and offer high beginning
salaries or the potential for significant wage increase after
several years on the job.
5)Requires employer advisory boards be composed of
representatives of trade organizations and businesses or
government agencies that hire a significant number of
employees each year and require the skills and knowledge that
are taught in the course sequence or sequences in that
occupational area, as well as at least one representative from
a school district career technical educational advisory
committee.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : The Perkins Act provides federal funds to states for
the purpose of improving career technical education (CTE)
programs, integrating academic and technical curriculum, serving
special populations and meeting gender equity needs. To receive
federal funds provided under the Perkins Act, existing state law
requires school districts, ROC/Ps and community college
districts to develop course sequences that meet specified
conditions, and provide pupils participating in vocational
sequences with information and experiences designed to increase
their postgraduation work and school options.
The objective of ROC/Ps is to provide work-based learning
opportunities for pupils that will prepare them to enter the
workforce. ROC/Ps teach specific occupational skills and
general employment skills in 15 industry sectors, as outlined in
the CTE standards adopted by the SBE. ROC/Ps are established as
regional programs or centers that have a link to business and
industry through advisory committees. Existing law requires
governing boards of ROC/Ps to have employer advisory boards
composed of representatives of trade organizations and
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businesses or government agencies that hire a significant number
of employees each year to help in identifying the skills and
knowledge that pupils completing an occupational course sequence
are expected to acquire upon completing the sequence. However,
there is no specific requirement for school districts and ROC/Ps
to demonstrate a link between career technical education courses
and regional/state workforce needs.
This bill requires a linkage between CTE courses and "high
priority workforce needs" in careers identified by the Labor and
Workforce Development Agency. The author's intent is for
districts, community colleges, and ROC/Ps to use data to design
CTE programs that will lead to jobs that are in high demand.
The California Economic Strategy Panel has identified nine
economic regions in the state. These regions were created by
reviewing various factors that determine regional
characteristics such as considering economic, demographic and
geographic characteristics of each county in the state. The
nine regions are: Northern California, Northern Sacramento
Valley, Greater Sacramento, Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley,
Central Sierra, Central Coast, Southern California, and the
Southern Border. The Regional Economies Project provides state
and local economic and workforce development organizations with
information about the economy and labor market for each region
and for California through a statewide and nine regional base
reports and profiles. The economic base reports analyze the
patterns of employment, business establishments, wages,
population, unemployment rate and other key factors. This bill
would require this information be used for purposes of
determining high priority workforce needs.
The Employment Development Department's (EDD) Labor Market
Information Division (LMID) prepares short-term (two-year)
employment projections annually, as well as long-term (10-year)
employment projections biennially, following the biennial
production of the national employment projections. The most
current available short-term projections cover 2005-07, and the
most current available long-term projections cover the period
2004-2014.
Earlier this year, the California Research Bureau's (CRB)
released its Careers Project report which examined the
preparation all students in public- and middle-high schools
receive to explore career options and the relationship between
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that preparation and California's state and regional economies.
The study was conducted at the request of a bipartisan group of
11 members of the California Legislature.
According to the report, "School surveys revealed that less than
half of the responding principals and counselors provide
information about the state or regional economies to their
students. School counselors credentialed in California have a
background in career development (in addition to academic and
personal/social). However, we found that this is not their
primary function when hired by school districts. During the
school focus group study phase, we found that information about
the state or regional economies may be provided to students only
on a limited basis." The report further suggests, "The
California Employment Development Department has within its
Labor Market Information Division local labor market consultants
assigned to each county in the state that could be enlisted to
augment schools' capacity to provide labor market information to
all students. The Legislature may consider establishing
'partnership' funding to local area consultants, whose expertise
and focus on industry and employment data would make them a
natural partner to collaborate with middle and high schools.
They could make bi-annual visits (once each school semester) to
provide information related to changes in the state and their
regional economies, opportunities for career options, job
salaries, educational requirements, and working conditions."
An argument could be made that by requiring the identification
of careers sectors of high priority solely using data from the
local WIBs for the economic regions, that some of the jobs that
are in high demand in a smaller area within one of the economic
regions could potentially not be identified in that regional
data. Staff recommends the bill be amended to include data from
the LMID which provides county specific data as a consideration
in identifying high priority career sectors and encourage school
districts, ROC/Ps and community colleges to also work with the
LMID in identifying high priority career sectors.
Other suggested amendments : It has been previously argued that
the use of the term "on or before" followed by a date is
ambiguous. ROC/Ps are required to demonstrate that course
sequences are linked to high priority careers on or before July
1, 2013. The use of this language could be interpreted one of
two ways: "On" to mean fiscal year 2013-2014 or "before" to mean
fiscal year 2012-2013. Staff recommends : the bill be amended to
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clarify that this requirement is to take place starting with the
2012-2013 fiscal year by deleting on page 5, line 21, "On or
before July 1, 2013" and instead inserting "Starting with fiscal
year 2012-2013."
Categorical flexibility : The enactment of SB 4 3X (Ducheny),
Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009, gives districts flexibility in the
use of ROC/P and other program funds starting with the 2008-09
fiscal year through the 2012-13 fiscal year. Essentially, local
educational agencies (LEAs) have the option to allocate funds
from ROC/P and other programs for any educational purpose during
those five years and LEAs that use the flexibility provisions
are deemed to be in compliance with program and funding
requirements contained in statutory, regulatory, and provisional
language, applicable to ROC/Ps and all other programs whether
the LEAs comply with the provisions or not.
Currently there are 74 ROC/Ps operating in the state and
according to the California Department of Education,
approximately 460,000 students enroll in ROC/Ps each year. The
courses are open to secondary and adult students, but students
sixteen to eighteen years in grades eleven and twelve have
priority for enrollment.
According to the author, "Existing law requires ROPs and
community colleges to consider workforce needs when developing
CTE programs but does not require them to offer classes in high
priority - high need areas. Often the classes in high schools
are based upon teacher availability and popularity, not
necessarily linked to job availability or even post-secondary
opportunities. SB 515 would require districts, ROPs, and
community colleges receiving federal Carl Perkins funds or ROP
funds to look at Dept. [Department] of Labor and Workforce Dev.
[Development] data for their region or the state and link class
offerings."
Related Legislation : SB 640 (Hancock) requires ROC/P employer
advisory boards to recommend appropriate methods for evaluating
pupils enrolled in the program and authorizes ROC/Ps under
corrective action to receive full funding for their adult
average daily attendance (ADA) above the specified limits.
SB 471 (Romero and Steinberg) establishes the Stem Cell and
Biotechnology Education and Workforce Development Act of 2009,
and requires the Department of Education, in consultation with
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California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and
representatives of the biotechnology industry, to promote stem
cell and biotechnology education and workforce development in
the science curriculum frameworks, the California Partnership
Academies, the California Resource Network, and other existing
programs
SB 747 (Romero) establishes a pilot pre-apprenticeship program,
to be implemented by the California Community Colleges for the
purpose of preparing high school pupils to work in the aerospace
industry, as specified.
Previous legislation: AB 2448 (Hancock), Chapter 572, Statutes
of 2006, implements several reforms to the ROC/P delivery system
and shifts the targeted student population for ROC/Ps from
adults to high school students. Requires that at least 90
percent of state-funded courses offered by ROC/Ps are part of
course sequences that target high demand occupations. The goal
of AB 2448 is to reduce, by the 2011-12 fiscal year, adult
student participation to 10% of each ROC/P's total enrollment.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Federation of Teachers
Legislative Committee of the California County Boards of
Education
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi?a / ED. / (916) 319-2087