BILL ANALYSIS
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 675
Author: Steinberg (D), et al
Amended: 8/30/10
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/1/09
AYES: Romero, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Maldonado, Padilla,
Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Huff, Wyland
SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEVEL. COMMITTEE : 8-1, 4/27/09
AYES: Negrete McLeod, Wyland, Corbett, Correa, Florez,
Oropeza, Romero, Yee
NOES: Aanestad
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-3, 1/21/10
AYES: Kehoe, Corbett, Leno, Liu, Price, Yee
NOES: Cox, Denham, Walters
SENATE FLOOR : 26-9, 1/28/10
AYES: Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, DeSaulnier,
Ducheny, Florez, Hancock, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal,
Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla, Pavley,
Price, Romero, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Wiggins,
Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Cogdill, Cox, Denham, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Runner, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alquist, Dutton, Huff, Wyland, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
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SUBJECT : Partnership academies: Clean Technology and
Renewable
Job Training Center Technical Education and
Dropout
Prevention Program
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes the Clean Technology and
Renewable Energy Job Training, Career Technical Education,
and Dropout Prevention Program by creating a grant program
for California Partnership Academies that focus on clean
technology and renewable energy businesses, as specified.
Assembly Amendments delete the Senate version of the bill
relating to energy job training and inserted language
relating to partnership academies and the Clean Technology
and Renewable Energy Job Training Career Technical
Education, and Dropout Prevention Program.
ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
1.Establishes the partnership academies program as a
school-business partnership program to provide
occupational training to educationally disadvantaged high
school pupils. Under existing law, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction is required to award grants to school
districts maintaining high schools to plan, establish,
and maintain these partnership academies.
2.Establishes the Green Technology Partnership Academies
and the Goods Movement Partnership Academies, commencing
with the 2009-10 school year, and requires, when funds
become available for additional partnership academies,
the SPI to issue grants for the establishment of such
partnership academies in each of the nine economic
regions established by the state.
This bill establishes the Clean Technology and Renewable
Energy Job Training, Career Technical Education, and
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Dropout Prevention Program by creating a grant program for
California Partnership Academies (CPAs) that focus on clean
technology and renewable energy. Specifically, this bill:
1.Makes findings and declarations regarding renewable
energy, energy conservation, clean technology and
climate change policies, with a focus on California's
leadership in those areas, the need to use renewable
energy and the technologies it requires to reduce high
school dropout and joblessness rates for the state's
young people and to develop the state's renewable energy
resources.
2.States legislative intent to stimulate the state's
economy by creating CPAs that will lead to the creation
of good paying jobs in industries and businesses that
are in compliance with the state's environmental
protection laws and regulations, and to prepare young
people and adults to work in clean, green industries and
professions.
3.Declares that the State Energy Resources and
Conservation Development Commission, known as the
California Energy Commission (CEC), is currently
authorized to increase the amount of the existing
surcharge imposed on the consumption of electrical
energy and states that if the CEC takes this authorized
action, $8 million of the resulting funds will be
available to fund the program established by this bill.
4.Defines "clean technology business" and "renewable
energy business" as specified.
5.Requires the State Controller to annually allocate $8
million from the Energy Resources Program Account
(ERPA), upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) for
expenditure in the form of local grants to school
districts to be allocated using the same criteria for
allocation of CPA funds, except as specified.
6.Provides that a school district applying for a grant
under this bill shall meet the existing CPA requirements
and shall propose to implement or maintain a CPA that
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focuses on employment in clean technology or renewable
energy business and provides skilled workforces for the
products and services for energy or water conservation,
or both, renewable energy, pollution reduction, or other
technologies that improve the environment in furtherance
of state environmental laws.
7. Requires the SPI to review grant applications with the
CEC and that both entities review ongoing programs to
ensure those programs are consistent with state energy
policies and priorities.
8.Requires the CEC, in consultation with the CDE, to
develop guidelines that would be exempted from the
Administrative Procedure Act, to ensure that programs
receiving grants reflect current state energy policies
and priorities, as well as provide skills and education
linked to the needs of relevant industries.
9.Requires the SPI in awarding the grants to give first
priority to school districts that propose to establish a
CPA at school sites that do not currently participate in
the CPA program, and second priority to school districts
that would establish a CPA at school sites that do not
participate in the green CPA program.
10.Specifies the allowable grant amounts for the clean
technology and renewable energy CPAs as follows:
A. $1,000 per year for each qualified student
enrolled in grade 9 during the first year of
operation and limits the total grant amount for the
first y ear to no more than $45,000.
B. $1,000 per year for each qualified student
enrolled in grade 9 or 10 during the second year of
operation and limits the total grant for the second
year to no more than $80,000.
C. $1,000 per year for each qualified student
enrolled in any of grades 9 to 11, inclusive, during
the third year of operation and limits the total
grant amount to no more than $120,000.
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D. $1,000 per year for each qualified student
enrolled in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, during
the fourth and following years of operation and
limits the total grant amount for that fiscal year to
no more than $150,000.
11.Stipulates that a "qualified student" has the same
meaning as described in provisions governing the CPA
program and shall also include a 9th grade student who
meets the at-risk criteria specified in the CPA program
and other specified criteria.
12.Authorizes the SPI to provide a grant to a school
district that has received a grant under the existing
CPA program subject to the provisions of this bill and
the availability of funds.
14.Requires the SPI to encourage a school district that
receives a grant pursuant to this bill to work and
coordinate with regional occupational centers and
programs for the required career technical education
sequence of courses and authorizes up to four percent of
the funds transferred to the SPI pursuant to this bill
to be expended to pay for administrative costs of the
program.
15.Requires, commencing in 2012 and not later than January
1 of each year, the SPI, in consultation with the CEC,
to provide a report to the Legislature that includes,
but is not limited to, a description of the curriculum
and substance of the programs funded by grants awarded
as well as pupil participation and other specified data.
A. Requires the first annual report to include the
identification of gaps in available curricula
relating to clean technology and renewable energy
that are consistent with the current state energy and
priorities.
B. Requires, beginning in 2013, the report to include
pupil participation data and data collected for
purposes of academy certification, as specified.
16.Makes the provisions of this bill inoperative on June
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30, 2016, and repeals them as of January 1, 2017, unless
a later enacted statute that becomes operative on or
before January 1, 2017 deletes or extends this date.
Comments
A CPA is a three-year program in grades 10-12, structured
as a school-within-a-school. CPAs serve at-risk pupils ad
the program requires that no less than one half of each new
class must meet the specified at-risk criteria. The
criteria used for student eligibility includes irregular
attendance, past record of underachievement, low motivation
or disinterest in the regular academic program, and
economical disadvantages. The curriculum of CPAs is
focused on a career theme and is coordinated with related
academic classes. The career technical focus for a CPA is
determined in an analysis of the local labor market and
fields that have companies willing to support the program.
According to the California Department of Education (CDE),
there are 475 CPAs currently operating in the state.
AB 2855 (Hancock), Chapter 685, Statutes of 2008,
established, commencing with the 2009-10 school year, the
Green Technology Partnership Academies as a new category of
CPAs, and AB 519 (Assembly Budget Committee), Chapter 757,
Statutes of 2008, appropriated $12.5 million from the
Public Interest Research Development and Demonstration Fund
to fund 61 new CPAs that focus on clean technology,
renewable energy, pollution reduction, and other "green"
environmental technologies. AB 519, however, only provides
this additional funding for three years and the funding
will sunset in 2011-12. According to CDE, there are
currently 58 green technology CPAs operating in California
high schools.
This bill provides $8 million from the ERPA under the
jurisdiction of the CDE, to fund clean technology and
renewable energy CPAs. The SPI is required to consult with
the CEC to ensure the grantee programs are consistent with
state energy policies and priorities. The CEC, established
in 1974 and comprised of five individuals appointed by the
Governor and the Senate, is responsible for developing and
implementing the state's energy policies, forecasting
statewide energy needs, siting and licensing thermal power
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plants, promoting energy conservation programs, and
conducting energy-related research and development
programs.
The CEC is primarily funded through a surcharge on
customers at a rate determined by the CEC annually, but not
more than $.0003 per kilowatt-hour. The Governor's
proposed 2010-11 budget contains $70.370 million in Energy
Resources Program Account, of which, $60.886 million is
derived from this surcharge. Because the AB 519 funding
will sunset in 2011-12, this bill may allow for continued
funding of existing green CPAs. Program requirements for
green CPAs that already exist in statute are very similar
to those created by this bill, and thus this bill appears
to create a duplicate program.
There has been much interest in the issue of reforming high
schools and increasing CTE opportunities for pupils in
California schools as an approach to provide access to a
relevant curriculum for pupils who may be disengaged and at
risk of dropping out. The California Dropout Research
Project released a report entitled, "Solving California's
Dropout Crisis" which estimated that only about two-thirds
of California's students graduate on time and that dropping
out and low achievement have many shared causes such as
poor attendance, low engagement and low-quality
instruction. One of the recommendations in the report
suggested that the state should consider more options for
students to meet the graduation requirements and points out
that, "An increasing number of states have pursued the idea
of multiple pathways for students to meet high school
graduation requirements such as through career and
technical education courses."
The CPA model has demonstrated to be a promising model that
provides rigorous academic and CTE opportunities for
pupils. A study conducted on CPAs showed that the
graduation rate for partnership academy seniors during the
2004-05 school year was higher than those of the statewide
population, and that CPA students passed the high school
exit exam at higher rates than did the general student
population. It can be suggested that there is some
evidence that the concept of combining preparation for both
college and careers is a promoting instructional approach,
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and there also appears to be reasonable demand for CPAs
that focus in green and clean technology.
According to the author's office, "California suffers from
too many high school dropouts, too little meaningful career
technical education at the middle and high school levels,
and the lack of a skilled workforce to fuel the emerging
green economy. California must lead the world in
addressing both the problems of its youth and the
opportunities created by the new green economy. This bill
offers solutions at the intersection of these two state
priorities. Investment in these emerging careers and
industries will drive the next phase of California's
economic growth in a way that helps us meet the challenge
of climate change. This investment in reducing the dropout
create, expanding workforce opportunities, and targeting
climate change will create major economic stimulus for
clean energy and technology jobs in California that will
jumpstart our economy and improve our quality of life.
Prior Legislation
AB 2855 (Hancock), Chapter 685, Statutes of 2008,
establishes, commencing with the 2009-10 school year, the
Green Technology Partnership Academies and the Goods
Movement Partnership Academies as two new categories of
CPAs.
SB 1672 (Steinberg), 2007-08 Session, would have
established the Renewable Energy, Climate, Career Technical
Education, and Clean Technology Job Creation Bond Act of
2010, to be operative if only approved by voters at an
unspecified election in 2010. SB 1672 died in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/10)
Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell
California School Boards Association
Sacramento City Unified School District
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Elk Grove Unified School District
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"California suffers from too many high school dropouts, too
little meaningful career technical education (CTE) at the
middle and high school levels, and the lack of a skilled
workforce to fuel the emerging green economy. California
must lead the world in addressing both the problems of its
youth and the opportunities created by the new green
economy.
"SB 675 offers solutions at the intersection of these two
state priorities. Investment in these emerging careers and
industries will drive the next phase of California's
economic growth in a way that helps us meet the challenge
of climate change. This investment in reducing the dropout
rate, expanding workforce opportunities, and targeting
climate change will create economic stimulus for clean
energy and technology jobs in California."
CPM:cm 8/31/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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