BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 515|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 515
Author: Hancock (D)
Amended: 6/30/09
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/22/09
AYES: Romero, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Maldonado, Padilla,
Simitian, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Huff
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEVELOP. COMM. : 9-1,
5/11/09
AYES: Negrete McLeod, Wyland, Corbett, Correa, Florez,
Oropeza, Romero, Walters, Yee
NOES: Aanestad
SENATE FLOOR : 28-9, 5/14/09
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, DeSaulnier,
Ducheny, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Kehoe, Leno, Liu,
Lowenthal, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla,
Pavley, Romero, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Walters,
Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Benoit, Cogdill, Cox, Denham,
Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Career technical education
SOURCE : Author
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DIGEST : This bill requires, starting with 2012-13 fiscal
years, as a condition of receiving federal funds provided
under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology
Education Act of 1998, and to the extent permitted under
federal law, that school districts, regional occupational
centers or programs, and community college districts
demonstrate, 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 or the Labor Market Information Division
(LMID) of the Employment Development Department for the
State of California, for the economic region established by
the state where the regional occupational center or
program, community college district, or school district is
located, or for the county where the regional occupational
center or program, community college district, or school
district is located. The bill encourages school districts,
regional occupational centers or programs, and community
college districts to work with local workforce investment
boards and the LMID in the identification of career sectors
of high priority.
Assembly Amendments include data from the LMID which
provides county specific data as a consideration in
identifying high priority career sectors and encourage
school districts, regional occupational centers and
programs, and community colleges to also work with the LMID
in identifying high priority career sections, and makes
other clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes various career
technical education (CTE) programs for public schools
including but not limited to regional occupational centers
and programs (ROC/P), partnership academies, adult
education programs, and career technical education programs
in secondary and postsecondary institutions.
Existing federal law, the Carl D. Perkins Career and
Technical Education Improvement Act, provides federal funds
to states for the purpose of improving CTE programs,
integrating academic and technical curriculum, serving
special populations and meeting gender equity needs.
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Existing state law establishes various conditions for
receiving funds provided under the Carl D. Perkins Act.
Existing law requires on or before July 1, 2010, the
governing board of each ROC/P to ensure that at least 90
percent of all state-funded courses offered in those
centers or programs, as specified, are part of course
sequences that target comprehensive skills.
Existing law classifies counties on the basis of average
daily attendance. For example, Class One counties have an
average daily attendance of 750,000 and over; Class Eight
counties have average daily attendance of less than 1,000
students.
The California Workforce Investment Board (WIB) was
established by Executive Order in response to mandates of
the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998. The WIB
determines strategic priorities, identifies high-growth
industries, develops a workforce investment budget, and
establishes local workforce investment areas across the
state. California has 50 local Workforce Investment
Boards.
Regional Occupational Centers and Programs
ROC/Ps provide high school students 16 years of age and
older, and also adult students, with valuable career and
technical education so students can (1) enter the workforce
with skills and competencies to be successful, (2) pursue
advanced training in postsecondary educational
institutions; or (3) upgrade existing skills and
competencies.
The California Department of Education (CDE) 2006-07 data
shows that, statewide, California has a 67.6 percent high
school graduation rate and 24.2 percent dropout rate.
Graduation and dropout rates vary among counties and the
same data illustrates the following dropout rate
disparities among ethnic groups:
Ethnicity Graduation
Rate Dropout Rate
White 84.8% 15.2%
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African American 58.4 41.6
American Indian 68.7 31.3
Asian 89.2 10.2
Filipino 88.1 11.9
Hispanic/Latino 69.7 30.3
Pacific Islander 72.1 27.9
Other CDE data on CTE indicates that the number of CTE
classes declined approximately 24 percent between 1997-98
and 2006-07. Recent research by Kenneth C. Gray and Edwin
L. Herr of Pennsylvania State University indicates that
while many high school students matriculate to college,
relatively few go on to both earn a college degree and work
in a job requiring a college degree. Gray and Herr argue
that providing a range of educational coursework, including
opportunities for contextual and applied learning and
rigorous academics, creates more alternatives for high
school students and enables them to make more informed
choices about career pathways following high school.
California Research Bureau's (CRB) Careers Project Report .
Earlier this year, the 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 that preparation and
California's state and regional economies. The report was
done at the request of a bipartisan group of 11 members of
the California Legislature and funding support from the
James Irvine Foundation. The study consisted of three
distinct phases; a statewide survey of middle- and
high-school counselors and principals, an economic analysis
and a survey of representatives of business and industry in
California and school focus groups.
The following are the findings relevant to this
legislation: (a) there are limited resources available to
all students in grades 7 through 12 for career development,
(b) half of all respondents reported that their schools
offered a curriculum for career development, less than half
had developed such a curriculum, and about half had
provided career development to all students. This
indicates that the provision of career development
information for all students regarding the various careers
and industries in the state is not a high priority for
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school districts and schools, (c) of the schools providing
career development services, only 10 percent had evaluated
the effectiveness of their career development activities,
programs or tools. Moreover, of the schools that had
engaged with local businesses, about a fifth had evaluated
the effectiveness of these partnerships, (d) schools not
providing career development to all students or not
engaging with entities in their local community (such as
community colleges, local businesses or other community
organizations) might provide it if they had more staff, and
(e) principals and counselors concurred that students are
interested in receiving more career development
information; since this was the least cited reason for not
providing career development to all students.
On March 23, the Committee on the Senate Business,
Professions and Economic Development held an informational
hearing entitled "The Role of Private Education
Institutions in Preparing California's Diverse Workforce:
Meeting the Challenges of our Workforce and Job Training
Needs." The hearing examined the ability of private
postsecondary institutions to fill the career preparation
needs of California's workforce and evaluate policy options
that allow them to expand their workforce development
programs with the requisite amount of oversight required to
protect students. Automotive, biotech, construction,
health and manufacturing industry representatives were
invited to participate in the hearing and they offered
testimony on their industries' difficulty in hiring
qualified employees. They also provided the Committee with
information on workforce development programs in which they
have engaged to help address those workforce shortages.
This information provided the basis for one of the
hearing's main findings; specifically, that industries are
facing shortages in hiring workers with the minimum skills
needed for entry into the field.
The State Board of Education adopted model curriculum
standards for career technical education in May 2005, and
adopted the curriculum frameworks for those standards in
January 2007. The standards are organized in 15 industry
sectors of interrelated occupations and broad industries.
The standards also identify 58 career pathways and the
academic and technical courses required for each pathway.
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According to the author's office, this bill is needed to
ensure that state and federal CTE funds are spent in a
strategic manner and that local school districts and ROC/Ps
focus their efforts on courses that offer students pathways
to postsecondary and workforce opportunities. The author
states that the State spends $1.2 billion annually on CTE
and while there are general statements about workforce
needs in federally funded programs and ROC/Ps, there aren't
any specific requirements to link curriculum to high
priority workforce needs in the state or in the region.
The author believes there needs to be a more strategic
approach on how career technical education funds are used
in K-12 schools and community colleges.
Related Legislation
This bill is part of a package of bills aimed at linking
the state's public education system to workforce needs in
current and future economies. SB 675 (Steinberg)
establishes a Green Jobs Fund to establish CTE pathway
programs beginning in middle school. SB 471 (Romero and
Steinberg) calls for stem cell biology education to expose
and prepare students for career paths in the field of
regenerative medicine. SB 747 (Romero) creates a pilot
program for CTE curriculum to address the needs of the
aerospace industry; and SB 43 (Alquist) improves data
collection and availability to develop medical profession
pathway programs.
Prior Legislation
SB 2448 (Hancock), Chapter 572, Statutes of 2006 made
various changes to the operation and administration of
ROC/Ps and required that at least 90 percent of
state-funded courses offered by ROC/Ps are part of course
sequences that target high demand occupations. SB 1197
(Alquist), Chapter 519, Statutes of 2008) required ROC/Ps
established and maintained pursuant to a joint powers
agreement receive operating funds directly from the county
office of education in which it is located.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 7/14/09) (Unable to reverify at time
of writing)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
California County Boards of Education
California Federation of Teachers
Legislative Committee of the California Boards of Education
CPM:cm 8/25/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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