BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 747
AUTHOR: Romero
AMENDED: April 23, 2009
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 29, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill
SUBJECT : Career Technical Education: pilot
preapprenticeship program.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a pilot preapprenticeship program, to
be implemented by the California Community Colleges for the
purpose of preparing high school pupils to work in the
aerospace industry.
BACKGROUND
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 courses that may be offered in secondary
schools and community colleges.
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 broad industries, and
identify the academic and technical courses required for
various pathways within each sector.
Existing federal law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (AARA), provides approximately $100 billion for
education across states to raise student achievement through
school improvement and reform.
Existing law, the Shelley-Maloney Apprentice Labor Standards
Act of 1939 established the California Apprenticeship Council
(CAC) and governs apprenticeship programs in California. The
California Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS)
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certifies apprenticeship programs in accordance with
standards set by the CAC and state and federal laws.
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Establishes a pilot preapprenticeship aerospace
machining program to provide career technical education
to high school pupils in the form of machining and
related curriculum that can be applied to various
manufacturing industries in California including
aerospace manufacturing and requires the curriculum to
include the use of computers, training in the machining
of light metals as specified, and training in the
fabrication of energy efficient aircraft ventilation,
heating and cooling systems.
2) Specifies the program shall be funded by a
combination of private funds and federal funds made
available to states as part of the 2009 stimulus
package, and creates the Machinist Investment Fund (MIF)
for that purpose.
3) Requires community colleges, in partnership with
local workforce investment boards, employers, and high
schools to apply for grants that shall be competitively
awarded based on specified criteria.
4) Requires the California Community Colleges system to
implement the program, develop preapprenticeship
curriculum in aerospace technology, and machining
technology.
5) Requires the California Community Colleges to
identify appropriate community college campuses for
implementation of the program based on specified
criteria such as proximity to aerospace and other
manufacturers, availability of sufficient in-house
expertise and laboratory facilities to teach the
required curriculum.
6) Requires community college campuses selected for
receipt of a competitive grant, in consultation with
area high schools, to identify the location at which
instruction shall occur.
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7) Specifies the program shall remain in effect until
January 1, 2015, unless deletes or extends that date.
COMMENTS
1) Purpose and design . According to the author's office,
the purpose of SB 747 is to establish a career technical
education program that will keep at risk pupils in
school while preparing them for entry-level positions
with local aerospace or manufacturing employers who may
offer apprenticeship programs. Although districts can
already provide similar training programs through ROC/P
and/or partnership academies, the pilot program proposed
by this bill appears to be outside those existing
program structures.
The author's office indicates the curriculum will include
classroom instruction and involve hands-on training at a
facility operated by a community college, and also
indicates that students who successfully complete the
program will qualify for a certificate issued by the
National Institute of Metalworking Standards (NIMS).
Should the bill require the curriculum to meet state
standards for career technical education classes or be
more explicit about the potential for students to earn
the NIMS certification?
2) Apprenticeship programs . State approved apprenticeship
programs require the involvement of the California
Department of Education (CDE), the Community College
Chancellor's Office (CCCO), local education agencies
(LEAs), the CAC, the DAS, business and industry, and
program sponsors, who may be 1) joint [labor and
management] committees, 2) unilateral union or
management committees, 3) or individual employers. In
these programs, CDE and the CCCO share responsibility
for training instructors and school coordinators and
developing instructional materials and curricula. LEAs
are responsible for the formal educational aspects of
the apprenticeship programs and local program
coordination. Individuals who complete apprenticeship
programs certified by the Division of Apprenticeship
Standards (DAS) earn a Certificate of Completion of
Apprenticeship, indicating the holder is prepared to
serve at the journeyperson level in the trade specified.
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Given the opportunity these programs provide to enable
students to further their training after high school,
the author may want to consider involving the CDE and
DAS in some advisory capacity in the pilot program.
3) Program oversight . While the bill requires the
California Community College system to implement the
program, the bill does not yet specify who is
responsible for program oversight, grant administration,
managing the Machinist Investment Fund (MIF). As the
bill moves forward, the author may want to consider
clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the various
program partners. The author may want to consider for
example, having the CCCO be responsible for
administration of the grant program and in consultation
with local workforce investment boards, provide program
oversight of grant recipients.
4) Evaluation . To enable the Legislature to determine
whether to extend the program beyond January 1, 2015, it
may be helpful to add a requirement for an evaluation of
the pilot program into the bill. If the Community
College Chancellor's Office is delegated the authority
of program oversight, it may be appropriate to require
the Chancellor to report on the effectiveness of the
program in reducing the dropout rate in participating
schools and meeting workforce needs of the aerospace
industry.
5) Related legislation . SB 725 (Hancock) authorizes
ROC/Ps, upon approval and certification by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, to offer a
California Apprenticeship Preparation Program and
establishes criteria for the establishment of those
programs. SB 725 was passed by this Committee on a 6-0
vote on April 1, 2009.
SUPPORT
Aerojet
Allfast Fastening Systems
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
California Space Authority
Nelson Aerospace, Inc.
State Building and Construction Trades Council
California Conference of Machinists
Engineers & Scientists of California, IFPTE, Local 20
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Professional and Technical Engineers, IFPTE, Local 21
OPPOSITION
None received.