BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 1330 (Furutani)
Hearing Date: 08/25/2011 Amended: 08/15/2011
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 6-1
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 1330 adds 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, and requires school
districts that elect this option to notify parents, teachers,
pupils and the public, as specified, commencing with the 2012-13
school year. This bill requires the Department of Education
(CDE) to report specified information related to these
provisions to the Legislature by January 1, 2016.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
CTE courses Potentially
significant cost pressure General*
CDE reporting
$22 $22 General
*Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding
guarantee
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Existing law requires students to, among other requirements,
complete the following courses in order to graduate from a
California high school: 3 courses in English; 2 courses in
mathematics; 2 courses in science, including biological and
physical science; 3 courses in social studies, including: United
States history, one semester of American government, and one
semester of economics; 1 course in VPA or foreign language; 2
courses in physical education, unless exempt by law.
AB 1330 (Furutani)
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Additionally, existing law requires school districts providing
instruction in grades 7-12 to offer courses that fulfill
requirements and prerequisites for entry into California's
public universities. The minimum course requirements for
admission to the University of California (UC) and to the
California State University (CSU), commonly known as the
"a-g requirements" are:
a) 2 years of history/social science.
b) 4 years of college preparatory English or
language instruction.
c) 3 years of college preparatory mathematics (4
years recommended).
d) 2 years of laboratory science (3 years
recommended).
e) 2 years of a foreign language (3 years
recommended).
f) 1 year of visual and performing arts.
g) 1 year of college preparatory electives.
This bill would allow school districts to add CTE as an option
to fulfill the existing graduation requirement to take a course
in VPA or foreign language, through a specified process. This
option would become inoperative on July 1, 2017. Authorizing CTE
courses to replace other courses in VPA and foreign language as
graduation requirements could lead to local pressure to add new
course offerings in that subject. CTE courses tend to be more
expensive than other courses, due to factors such as equipment
needs, so districts may incur costs as a result of this bill.
The provisions of this bill are, however, elective and any new
costs would be discretionary on the part of the local school
districts.
This bill requires the CDE to report to the Legislature, by
January 1, 2016, the following information: 1) the number of
pupils who took a CTE course in order to fulfill graduation
requirements; 2) reasons given by pupils for choosing to enroll
in a CTE course to satisfy a graduation requirement; 3) the type
and number of CTE courses that were available for pupil
enrollment; 4) the number of CTE courses that satisfied the
subject matter requirements for admission to the UC or CSU; 5)
the extent to which the CTE courses addressed local workforce
needs; 6) the impact on VPA and foreign language courses that
resulted from pupils choosing to enroll in CTE courses to
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satisfy the graduation requirement specified; and 7) the annual
pupil dropout and graduation rates for the 2011-12 to 2014-15
school years, inclusive.
The CDE has indicated that the new data collection,
certification, and reporting duties cannot be absorbed by
existing staff. The department estimates that it would require a
full-time consultant, a part-time education administrator, a
part-time office technician, at at an annual cost of
approximately $157,000 (General Fund).
AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED: Proposed author's amendments would
narrow the CDE reporting requirements.
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS would specify that the bill would sunset in
fewer than 5 years if the University of California doubles the
number of A-G approved CTE courses in the foreign language
category.