BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
725 (Hancock)
Hearing Date: 05/11/2009 Amended: 04/14/2009
Consultant: Dan Troy Policy Vote: ED 6-0, BP&ED 8-2
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 725 would authorize regional occupational
centers or programs, upon certification from the Superintendent
of Public Instruction, to offer a California Apprenticeship
Preparation Program and establishes criteria for the
establishment of those programs.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
CAPP curriculum $200 General
development, monitoring
Enrollment pressure $350 for every 100 new
participantsGeneral
*Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding
guarantee
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Regional Occupational Centers and Programs (ROC/Ps) provide
students with career technical education opportunities. ROC/Ps
provide students with focused occupational training and usually
include advanced capstone courses to be taken in grades 11 and
12. ROC/Ps prepare students for entry level jobs, postsecondary
coursework, more advanced technical training, and/or
apprenticeships. They are operated by local education agencies,
frequently through a joint powers agency.
Apprenticeship programs are postsecondary educational programs
that prepare student for high-skill occupations. These programs
are a combination of theoretical study and on the job training
and are, under California law, certified by the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards (DAS). Upon successful completion, a
participant earns a Certificate of Completion of Apprenticeship
from DAS which indicates readiness for a journeyperson level in
the trade.
This bill would allow ROC/Ps to establish a California
Apprenticeship Preparation Program (CAPP), upon certification by
the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The bill would
require the Department of Education, with representation from
the building trades and construction apprenticeship training
organizations, ROC/P faculty and coordinators, to develop
curriculum covering all aspects of the building trades and
construction industry. The curriculum would be aligned to
career technical education model curriculum standards and
industry standards.
In order to be certified as a CAPP, the ROC/P must offer the
state-approved courses and enter into a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with a local DAS-certified
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SB 725 (Hancock)
building trades and construction apprenticeship program that has
graduated at least one apprentice in each of the past five
years, among other requirements.
By requiring the Department of Education to develop curriculum,
certify and monitor CAPP programs, this bill would drive
workload costs of approximately $200,000. Also, while the bill
specifies that these programs could only exceed ROC/P
enrollments cap limits only if the MOU includes an agreement by
the partnering organization to fund the instructional costs of
the pupils above the cap, to the extent CAPP programs increase
interest and generate new enrollment for ROC/Ps, there would be
cost pressure for the state to fund those costs (ROC/Ps receive
approximately $3,500 per participant). For every 100 enrollees
that would not otherwise have participate in a ROC/P, the
pressure would $350,000.
The broad flexibility provided to local education agencies
through SBX3 4 (Ducheny, Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009) extends
to the ROC/P program. Given that flexibility, it may be that
districts could already operate the type of program established
by this bill.
This bill is similar to AB 2515 (Hancock, 2008) which was held
under submission but he Assembly Appropriations Committee last
year.