BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 621
AUTHOR: Florez
AMENDED: April 13, 2009
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 29, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill
SUBJECT : Career Technical Education: Individuals with
exceptional needs.
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
in coordinating model curriculum standards for career
technical education to include standards for individuals with
exceptional needs.
BACKGROUND
Existing law establishes various career technical education
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 law requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) to coordinate the development, on a
cyclical basis, model curriculum standards for career
technical education courses.
The State Board of Education (SBE) adopted Model Curriculum
Standards for Career Technical Education (CTE) 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 identify the academic
and technical courses required for different career pathways
in each sector.
Current law requires that the individualized education
program (IEP) for a pupil with exceptional needs, beginning
with the IEP that is in effect when the pupil turns 16 years
of age (or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP
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team), to include:
1) Appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based on
assessments of training, education, employment and
independent living.
2) The transition services, including coursework, needed to
assist the pupil in reaching those goals.
Current law defines "transition services" as a coordinated
set of activities for an individual with exceptional needs
that does, among other things:
1) Is focused on improving the academic and functional
achievement of the pupil to facilitate transition to
postsecondary education, vocational education,
integrated employment, continuing adult education, and
independent living.
2) Includes instruction, related services, community
experiences, the development of employment and other
adult living objectives, and the acquisition of daily
living skills.
Project Workability I, administered by the California
Department of Education (CDE) is a job training and placement
component of transition services for pupils with
disabilities. Workability performs interagency coordination
of services, including a non-financial interagency agreement
between the Employment Development Department, State
Department of Rehabilitation and the CDE.
ANALYSIS
This bill requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
in coordinating standards for a career technical education
course of study, to include model curriculum standards
appropriate for individual with exceptional needs.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) What's the problem ? Current law permits pupils with
special needs to participate in partnership academies,
regional occupational centers and programs (ROC/Ps) or
other career technical education courses or programs.
While the California Legislative Blue Ribbon Commission
on Autism published a report in September of 2007 that
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includes policy recommendations regarding the need for
career technical education pathways specifically
designed to meet the needs of pupils with autism
spectrum disorders, there appears nothing in current law
that would preclude a district from offering an
education pathway specifically designed for students
with special needs.
2) Is this the right strategy ? According to the author's
office, as students with special needs are moving
through the educational system, and as the number of
students with special needs increases, schools can and
should assist them in developing the tools necessary to
become self sufficient adults. To the extent that
career technical education classes help students attain
job related skills, addressing this issue through the
Career Technical Education (CTE) curriculum makes sense.
However, it is not clear whether the state's standards,
which identify what students should know and be able to
do is the right vehicle for specifying how to adapt
learning opportunities so students can access the
curriculum and learn what they need to know.
Since it is the frameworks rather than the standards that are
updated, it may make more sense to focus on how the next
update of the CTE Curriculum Frameworks could
incorporate guidance and strategies for adapting
work-based learning opportunities for special needs
students. To that end, staff recommends amending the
bill to require the SPI to include guidance for adaptive
work-based learning into the next revision of the
California Career Technical Education Curriculum
Frameworks that is submitted to the SBE for approval.
3) Related legislation . SB 682 (Padilla) authorizes each
county office of education to create an educational
program that provides employment-related services to
individuals with autism spectrum disorders and other
disabilities or special needs. SB 426 (Yee), which was
passed by this Committee on a 6-3 vote on April 15,
2009, requires the Curriculum Development and
Supplemental Materials Commission, as part of its
regular process of developing and revising curriculum
frameworks, to consider and vote at least twice a year
on whether to adopt each concurrent resolution passed by
the Legislature that proposes changes to the frameworks.
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SUPPORT
None received.
OPPOSITION
None received.