BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1330
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1330 (Furutani)
As Amended May 27, 2011
Majority vote
EDUCATION 8-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Norby, Ammiano, Buchanan, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Carter, Eng, Halderman, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Wagner, Williams | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Mitchell, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Solorio, |
| | | |Wagner |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Adds, commencing with the 2012-13 school year, career
technical education (CTE), as defined, as an option for pupils
to fulfill the existing high school graduation requirement to
complete a course in visual or performing arts (VPA) or foreign
language. Specifically, this bill :
1)Defines "a course in career technical education" as a course
in a district-operated CTE program that is aligned to the CTE
standards and framework adopted by the State Board of
Education (SBE).
2)Specifies that the provisions of this bill do not require a
school or school district that currently does not offer CTE
courses to establish new CTE programs for purposes of meeting
the requirements of this bill and requires districts that
choose to offer CTE courses to pupils for purposes of meeting
the high school graduation requirements to fund those courses
through existing funds.
3)Requires a school district or county office of education (COE)
that provides a CTE course for graduation purposes, to notify
parents, teachers, pupils, and the public at a regularly
scheduled governing board meeting of all of the following:
a) The intent to offer CTE courses to fulfill the
graduation requirement, as specified;
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b) The impact that offering CTE courses will have on the
availability of courses that meet the eligibility
requirements for admission to the University of California
(UC) and the California State University (CSU) and whether
the CTE courses are approved to satisfy UC and CSU
eligibility requirements; and,
c) The distinction, if any, between high school graduation
requirements of the district or COE and the eligibility
requirements for admission to the UC and CSU.
4)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE), on or
before January 1, 2016, to report to the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature the number of pupils that took a
CTE course to fulfill the specified high school graduation
requirement and allows school districts to report this
information through the California Longitudinal Pupil
Achievement Data System.
5)Repeals the provisions of this bill on July 1, 2017.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)General Fund/Proposition 98 (GF/98) cost pressure, likely
between $900,000 and $1.5 million, to school districts to
provide increased CTE course offerings to high school pupils.
2)GF/98 costs, likely between $400,000 and $600,000, to school
districts to provide specified information at a regular
scheduled governing board meeting, and minor, absorbable costs
to CDE to comply with the reporting requirement.
COMMENTS : The existing minimum high school graduation
requirements include one course in either VPA or foreign
language. This bill adds CTE to this category as a course
option to meet the minimum graduation requirements in lieu of a
course in either VPA or foreign language. An argument could be
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made that this bill provides more options for pupils to complete
the minimum high school graduation requirements. On the other
hand, this is a significant change that raises arguments over
whether the approach taken by this bill will reduce access to
courses in the curriculum that some would argue should be
expanded. This is particularly relevant in light of the growing
concern over the narrowing of the curriculum in schools and the
reductions of course offerings in arts and foreign language.
Additionally, this change may have an effect on postsecondary
admission eligibility for pupils that exercise this option,
thereby resurfacing the "either/or" debate that has often
dominated the discourse over CTE.
This bill appears to be based on the premise that foreign
language and VPA are non-core courses, and therefore, proponents
of this bill would argue that this bill would add one more
subject to the list of what are often viewed as elective
courses. However, the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
defines "core academic subjects" to mean English, reading or
language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics
and government, economics, arts, history, and geography.
Supporters of foreign language and VPA argue that these two
subjects are core subject areas and thus should not be diluted
as a requirement for high school graduation. The SBE has
adopted content standards in both VPA and foreign language and
it can be argued that each one of these subjects plays a role in
providing pupils a complete and well-rounded education that
keeps students engaged and motivated to stay in school.
The benefits and importance of foreign language study has been
widely documented. The Committee for Economic Development, an
independent research and policy organization of business leaders
and educators, released a report in 2006 titled, Education for
Global Leadership: The importance of International Studies and
Foreign Language Education for U.S. Economic and National
Security. The report points out, "To confront the twenty-first
century challenges to our economy and national security, our
education system must be strengthened to increase the foreign
language skills and cultural awareness of our students.
Supporters of VPA education would argue that arts courses
enhance creativity and critical thinking abilities, which are
recognized as important skills for the workplace. Like CTE,
arts education has proven to be an effective way to engage
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students in learning and in preventing dropouts. A review of
research through a survey, "Critical Links: Learning in the Arts
and Student Academic and Social Development," suggests that
"education in the arts not only fosters other specific skills
but also improves students' self-confidence and motivation to
learn, particularly among poor and other at risk students."
There is evidence that CTE has a role in engaging students in
academic learning and there is much support in expanding
opportunities that prepare pupils to make choices for life after
high school. The SBE adopted Career Technical Education Model
Standards in 2005 and the CTE Framework for California Schools
for grades seven to 12 in 2007. CTE course offerings range in
method of delivery and course content. CTE courses can be
delivered by regional occupational centers or programs,
partnership academies, agricultural programs, and tech-prep
programs and the courses offered vary in the degree of rigor and
alignment to the CTE standards, thus raising the question of
whether CTE courses are as rigorous as the high school
graduation required courses. There are a number of CTE courses
that do meet and even exceed the rigor of high school graduation
courses and are approved and recognized to meet the UC and CSU
eligibility criteria but not all CTE courses do. This bill
requires CTE courses counted towards meeting the graduation
requirements to be CTE-standards aligned. It is difficult to
know how many of the CTE courses in fact meet the CTE standards,
as there is no statewide mechanism in place to review and ensure
that CTE courses are aligned to the CTE standards.
Effect on UC/CSU admission eligibility: The Board of Admissions
and Relations with schools (BOARS) establishes the subject areas
and pattern of courses required for minimum eligibility for
freshman admission to the UC. These requirements are known as
the A-G requirements, and the CSU system also accepts courses
certified by BOARS as minimum eligibility requirements. The A-G
requirements consist of 15 courses and three recommended courses
as follows:
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|History/Social Science - 2 years required |
|----------------------------------------------|
|English - 4 years required |
|----------------------------------------------|
|Mathematics - 3 years required, 4 years |
|recommended |
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|----------------------------------------------|
|Laboratory Science - 2 years required, 3 |
|years recommended |
|----------------------------------------------|
|Language Other than English - 2 years |
|required, 3 years recommended |
|----------------------------------------------|
|Visual and Performing Arts - 1 year required |
|----------------------------------------------|
|College-Preparatory Electives - 1 year |
|required |
| |
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This bill could result in high school students graduating
without taking a single course in foreign language, or VPA, and
therefore this bill could have an effect on a pupil's
eligibility for admission to UC and CSU, as both of these
courses are required for minimum eligibility for freshman
admission to California's four-year public postsecondary
institutions.
Sequences of courses and multiple pathway programs: Research
has shown that pupils that complete both an academic and a CTE
sequence of courses in high school have the greatest likelihood
of being employed in professional, managerial, or skilled jobs
and have the greatest likelihood of being enrolled in
postsecondary education.
A previously enacted measure, AB 2648 (Bass, Carter and
Furutani), Chapter 681, Statutes of 2008, requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to develop, in
conjunction with specified individuals, a report that explores
the feasibility of expanding and establishing career multiple
pathway programs. The integration of career based themes and
content across all subject areas is a promising approach that
would give students the opportunity to access both core content
and CTE without having to choose one over the other. The report
suggests that currently, the requirements for high school
graduation, as defined in the California Education Code, do not
meet actual admission requirements of many postsecondary
educational institutions, and while the report does not include
recommendations on this particular subject, it does suggest that
the multiple pathways approach could work to relieve the
concerns that students who take an applied course sequence
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cannot be eligible for the UC or CSU, and that students who
complete the A-G sequence will have no room in their schedule
for CTE courses.
Arguments in support: The State Building and Construction Trades
Council, the sponsor of the bill writes, "AB 1330 would increase
access to these courses by allowing students to choose to enroll
in a CTE course instead of a visual or performing arts course or
a foreign language course. The ability to choose will help
students become more engaged in their education and will improve
graduation rates and levels of postsecondary education
enrollment in college, universities or apprenticeship programs.
Since a recent study entitled: The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives
of High School Dropouts found that 47% of high school dropouts
indicated that they were not interested in or engaged in their
coursework the new choice that AB 1330 would provide students
might very well help mitigate that statistic."
Arguments in opposition: The California Alliance for Arts
Education writes, "AB 1330 would undermine access to arts
education courses by allowing students to substitute Career
Technical Education courses for current requirements in visual
and performing arts or foreign language. While we support
efforts to create pathways to the workforce for students, we
believe this legislation unfairly targets arts education and
prevents every student from gaining access to the unique
training and skills that grow from quality arts education.
Classes in dance, music, theater, and visual arts are the very
courses that engage at-risk students who might otherwise drop
out from school. With high school drop out rates soaring in
California, we cannot risk a further disincentive to attending
school."
Previous legislation: AB 2446 (Furutani) of 2010, a
substantially similar measure, would have added, commencing with
the 2011-12 school year, CTE, as defined, as an option for
pupils to fulfill the existing high school graduation
requirement to complete a course in VPA or foreign language.
Required the CDE, on or before January 1, 2015, to report to the
appropriate policy committees of the Legislature specified data
and information relative to the course taking in CTE and the
impact this bill has had on other subject areas, and required a
school district or COE that chose to offer CTE course as an
option for pupils to meet graduation requirements to notify the
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public, as specified, through a regularly scheduled board
meeting and would have repealed the provisions of the bill on
July 1, 2016. AB 2446 was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger
with the following veto message:
Improving and expanding Career Technical Education
(CTE) opportunities has been among my highest
priorities. While I am supportive of the author's
intent to give CTE a prominent place in high school
graduation priorities, the final version of this bill
omitted my Administration's proposed amendments that
were intended to limit the new costs to school
districts. Therefore, I am concerned that this bill
could be construed to impose higher costs without a
fund source, which could also be interpreted as a
state reimbursable mandate. Given that school budgets
are very constrained due to the recession, adding new
costs at this time is not advisable.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avina / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0000974