BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 790 (Furutani)
Hearing Date: 08/25/2011 Amended: 07/06/2011
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 7-1
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 790 establishes, commencing with the 2012-13
school year, the Linked Learning Pilot Program to be
administered by the Department of Education (CDE) according to
specified requirements for the purpose of implementing
district-wide linked learning programs in all participating
school districts. This bill requires the Superintendent of
Public Instruction (SPI) to report on the program to the
Legislature and the Governor, as specified. This bill requires
the SPI to use existing state and federal resources to implement
the pilot.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Pilot Program ---Substantial on-going
cost pressure--- General*
CDE administration Cost pressure: $71
$71 General
*Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding
guarantee
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
This bill creates in statute a new pilot program of up to 20
school districts, which would apply to participate, administered
by the CDE. The Linked Learning Pilot Program is intended to
expand district-wide linked learning career technical education
(CTE) programs, and specifies various requirements to which
participating districts must adhere in their Linked Learning
programs. This bill requires the CDE to review and approve
applications on a competitive basis (based upon criteria
AB 790 (Furutani)
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specified in the bill), and requires applicant districts to
demonstrate a plan to implement the components of a linked
learning program, as specified.
This bill does not provide additional funding; it specifies that
school districts would operate pilots within their respective
existing resources. Thus, this bill creates a new pilot program
intended to encourage school districts to take on activities
they can already do under their existing authority, but now
subject to CDE rules and oversight and an application process
for participation with no additional resources. It is unclear
why schools would elect to participate in the absence of
additional funding, particularly at a time when much of a school
district's CTE funding is subject to categorical flexibility and
can be used for any educational purpose; participation would
further restrict funding decisions as well as programmatic
decisions.
Recent amendments to this bill have added a funding component,
which states that "if funds become available for the pilot
program" they will be distributed by the CDE on a competitive
basis. This language implies an intention to pursue funding for
Linked Learning activities, and creates substantial cost
pressure to fund this program. The CDE's September 2010 report
Multiple Pathways to Student Success indicates that the median
annual additional cost to operate Linked Learning programs is
$1,138 per pupil, above the cost of other CTE programs. Thus,
for every 1,000 pupils participating in the pilot, local costs
(and state cost pressure) would be more than $1 million.
This bill requires that by September 30, 2016, the SPI must
transmit a program evaluation report to the Legislature and the
Governor that includes: the costs and merits of the pilot
program, pupil outcome data, the number and percentages of
participating pupils who meet the requirements for admission to
California public postsecondary institutions, and workforce
outcome data. The report must also contain recommendations
regarding the need for additional statutory changes to
facilitate the statewide expansion of the pilot program. To the
extent that the SPI recommends further expansion of this pilot
program, there will be additional cost pressure for both initial
and expanded funding.
The bill specifies that this report and the program
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administration must be done by the CDE within its existing
resources, and the CDE has indicated that it has staff who can
administer the pilot program without an additional funding
appropriation. The CDE estimates that staff time would include a
.5 PY consultant and .25 analyst level position, which total
$71,000. Staff notes that the CDE budget has been reduced by 30%
in the past three years and, in the absence of this bill, those
staff resources would be used for other department activities.