BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1523
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 25, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 1523 (Perea) - As Amended: April 17, 2012
SUBJECT : Career technical education: partnership academies:
transportation for the 21st century partnership academies
SUMMARY : Establishes the transportation for the 21st century
California Partnership Academies (CPAs) commencing with the
2012-13 school year, and when funds become available for
additional CPAs. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to
issue grants for the establishment of CPAs and to give
priority to those dedicated to educating pupils in
transportation for the 21st century until no less than one
transportation for the 21st century CPA has been established
in each geographical area of the California High-Speed Rail
Project's (CHSRP) 10 planned project sections.
2)Stipulates that the transportation for the 21st century CPAs
may include, but are not limited to, educating pupils in
construction, engineering, operations, maintenance,
manufacturing of rolling stock, mechanical functions,
equipment operations and information technology.
3)Provides that the selection of school districts to establish
the transportation for the 21st century CPAs and the planning
and development of these CPAs shall be conducted pursuant to
existing procedures and requirements for all CPAs, and
requires planning grants be made available for transportation
for the 21st century CPAs from the total number of existing
grants.
4)Stipulates that in the event a school district applies to
convert an existing school program to a CPA and meets all the
specified criteria, the California Department of Education
(CDE), in coordination with the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI), may provide that academy with first-year
implementation funds, as appropriate.
5)Provides that in order to be eligible for funding, the
coursework and internship or pre-apprenticeship programs of
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the proposed CPA shall focus on the use of environmentally
sound technologies and practices.
6)Requires staff development opportunities be included in the
CPA plans to ensure that teaching staff has the opportunity to
be educated in the use of emerging technologies and to become
familiar with new materials and current practices in the
field.
7)Provides that the priority established in this bill may be
satisfied when the specified number of transportation for the
21st century partnership academies meeting the requirements of
this bill are funded by any of, or a combination of, funds
appropriated for the establishment of partnership academies.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the CPA program as a state-school-private sector
partnership to provide combined academic and occupational
training to eligible at-risk students in grades 10-12,
inclusive.
2)Requires districts and participating businesses to each
provide 100% matching funds for all state funds received;
stipulates that the match may be in the form of direct and
in-kind support; and requires districts to establish an
advisory committee consisting of specified individuals and
representatives.
3)Requires participating districts to provide assurances that
each academy will be established as a "school within a
school," that academy teachers will work as a team in
planning, teaching and troubleshooting program activities,
that academy teachers will have a common planning period to
share student and educational information, and that each
academy pupil will be provided with the specified program
components.
4)Establishes funding and grant amounts to be awarded to school
districts for purposes of planning, establishing and
maintaining academies, and expresses legislative intent to
expand the CPA program.
5)Requires each district operating academies to annually certify
information to the SPI regarding the number of qualified
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students enrolled during the just completed school year, by
grade level, for each academy operated by the district.
6)Provides for the establishment of green technology and goods
movement CPAs by participating school districts, and requires
the SPI to issue grants for the establishment of partnership
academies and to give priority to the establishment of
partnership academies dedicated to educating pupils in the
emerging, environmentally sound technologies until no less
than one green technology partnership academy has been
established in each of the 9 economic regions established by
the state.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : A CPA is a three-year program in grades 10-12,
structured as a school-within-a-school. CPAs serve at-risk
pupils and the program requires that no less than one half of
each new class must meet the specified at-risk criteria. The
criteria used for student eligibility includes, past record of
irregular attendance, underachievement, low motivation or
disinterest in the regular academic program; economic
disadvantages; scores of below basic or far below basic in math
or English language arts; and grade point averages of 2.2 or
below. The curriculum of CPAs is focused on a career theme and
is coordinated with related academic classes. The career
technical focus for a CPA is determined by an analysis of the
local labor market and fields that have companies willing to
support the program.
This bill establishes a new category of CPAs, the transportation
for the 21st century CPAs, commencing with the 2012-13 school
year and when new funds become available. Transportation for
the 21st century is not defined in this bill. However, this
bill provides for the establishment of at least one CPA in each
geographical area of the CHSRP's 10 planned project sections.
When school districts establish partnership academies, they have
broad discretion on the industry sector or career pathway to
focus on. The career technical focus for a CPA is determined by
an analysis of the local labor market and a consideration of
fields that have local companies willing to support the program.
Each CPA focuses on one of the 15 industry sectors established
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for career technical education (CTE) in the CTE Model Curriculum
Standards. Transportation is already one of those industry
sectors. Schools that wish to create transportation CPAs
focused on high speed rail, or other transportation means can do
so, as long as there are local companies willing to support the
program.
Status of High Speed Rail (HSR) : The Legislative Analyst's
Office (LAO) recently released a report related to the HSR and
points out the uncertainty on availability of future funding for
the project. The LAO finds that the High Speed Rail Authority
(HSRA) has not provided sufficient detail and justification to
the Legislature regarding its plan to build a high-speed train
system. Additionally, recent proposed modifications to the
business plan substantially change how the project would proceed
and it remains unclear as to how some of the changes would be
implemented. The LAO concludes that in view of the concerns
regarding future funding and the recent significant changes
proposed for the project, the HSRA has not made a strong enough
case for going forward with the project at this time. Given the
uncertainty of the project, a question can be raised as to
whether it may be premature to establish CPAs that would focus
on HSR.
The CPA model has demonstrated to be a promising model that
provides rigorous academic and CTE opportunities to pupils. A
study conducted collaboratively by ConnectEd: The California
Center for College and Career, and the Career Academy Support
Network at the University of California at Berkeley showed that
the graduation rate for partnership academy seniors during the
2004-05 school year was higher than those of the statewide
population, and that CPA students passed the high school exit
exam at higher rates than did the general student population.
CPAs offer opportunities for pupils to make connections between
the classroom and careers, and to engage students in their
learning through relevant and rigorous coursework. Previous
legislative efforts have sought to expand the CPA program in
California high schools. AB 2855 (Hancock), Chapter 685,
Statutes of 2008, established, commencing with the 2009-10
school year, the Green Technology Partnership Academies as a new
category of CPAs. SB 1 X1 (Steinberg), Chapter 2, Statutes of
2011 establishes the Clean Technology and Renewable Energy Job
Training, Career Technical Education, and Dropout Prevention
Program by creating a grant program for CPAs that focus on clean
technology and renewable energy businesses.
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Suggested amendment : This bill requires these CPAs to be
established commencing with the 2012-13 school year, however, if
this bill is enacted, it would take effect on January 1, 2013
which is in the middle of the 2012-13 school year. Staff
recommends the bill be amended to instead start implementation
of these CPAs commencing with the 2013-14 school year.
The author states, "Adding the ability to create a
Transportation for the 21st Century Partnership Academy for
California schools will help with high dropout rates and take
advantage of the new opportunities brought by the construction
of the high speed rail."
Prior legislation : SBX1 1 (Steinberg), Chapter 2, Statutes of
2011, establishes the Clean Technology and Renewable Energy Job
Training, Career Technical Education, and Dropout Prevention
Program for the purpose of creating a grant program for CPAs
that focus on clean technology and renewable energy businesses,
as specified. Requires an annual allocation of $8 million from
the Renewable Resources Trust Fund (RRTF), to the Superintendent
of Public Instruction for expenditure in the form of grants to
school districts for creating and maintaining these CPAs and
specifies that if sufficient funds are not available from the
RRTF, the balance will be allocated through specified funds.
Makes the provisions of this bill inoperative on June 30, 2017,
and repeals them as of January 1, 2018.
AB 2855 (Hancock), Chapter 685, Statutes of 2008, establishes,
commencing with the 2009-10 school year, the Green Technology
Partnership Academies and the Goods Movement Partnership
Academies as two new categories of CPAs.
SB 1672 (Steinberg) of 2008 establishes the Renewable Energy,
Climate Change, Career Technical Education, and Clean Technology
Job Creation Bond Act of 2010, to be operative only if approved
by voters at an unspecified election in 2010. The bill was held
in the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file.
SB 675 (Steinberg) of 2010 establishes the Clean Technology and
Renewable Energy Job Training, Career Technical Education, and
Dropout Prevention Program by creating a grant program for CPAs
that focus on clean technology and renewable energy businesses,
as specified. SB 675 was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger with
the following veto message:
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SB 675 would allocate funds from the California Energy
Commission's (Commission) Energy Resource Programs
Account (ERPA) to the California Department of
Education (CDE) for developing and maintaining
programs that focus on employment and training for
energy or water conservation, renewable energy,
pollution reduction, or similar technologies.
Throughout my tenure as Governor, I have been a
staunch supporter of increasing career-tech education
opportunities for our young men and women. I continue
to believe that career-tech education has a vital role
to play in helping to develop and sustain California's
students and our emerging green economy.
Nonetheless, given the current uses of the ERPA
account at the Commission and the precariously low
balance in that fund, this bill would require the
Commission to increase the surcharge on electricity
users throughout California to pay for its provisions.
And even after doing so, the Commission would still
be required in the future to cut its core programs to
pay for this bill, including those related to power
plant licensing, renewable energy facility licensing,
and energy efficiency.
More importantly, I will not support increasing the
surcharge on electricity users to fund a K-12
Education program. To do so would start a dangerous
precedent for finding unrelated revenue sources to
fund, expand, or create K-12 programs outside of the
Proposition 98 guarantee.
Additionally, the bill only gives a minor role to the
Commission in developing the guidelines for the
program. Just as the Commission is not an expert in
navigating our state's complex education system,
neither are CDE employees proficient in the emerging
technologies and future of our green economy. As
such, the Commission should be CDE's partner in
putting together this program so as to provide our
students with the right skills to enter our green
economy.
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If the program included in this bill was wholly funded
using Proposition 98 dollars and a greater role was
given to the Commission to develop guidelines in
cooperation with the Department of Education, I would
sign it.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
State Building Trades and Construction Trades Council of
California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi�a / ED. / (916) 319-2087