BILL ANALYSIS �
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Date of Hearing: April 22, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
ACR 119 (Muratsuchi) - As Introduced: March 6, 2014
SUBJECT : Community colleges: career technical education.
SUMMARY : Encourages the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges (CCC), in consultation with affected stakeholders,
including, but not limited to, experts in the field of career
technical education (CTE), business and industry
representatives, and faculty, to develop at least three options
to address the long-term funding needs of CTE and other
workforce and training programs at CCC campuses, in a manner
that adequately funds the programs that regions deem valuable to
their economies; and, to submit those options to the Legislature
before June 1, 2015. Specifically, this resolution :
1)Makes numerous declarations and findings, including the
following:
a) The CCC is the nation's largest system of higher
education with 112 colleges that serve more than 2.3
million students each academic year;
b) The CCCs play an important role in boosting our state's
economy, and provide students with the education, training,
and skills necessary to keep our state and nation globally
competitive;
c) The CCCs offer a broad array of career oriented courses,
certificates, and associate degrees through CTE or other
workforce and training programs;
d) Recent high school graduates, under?employed and
unemployed adults, incumbent workers searching for career
advancement, veterans, and college graduates seeking
retraining can all benefit from CTE and other workforce and
training programs;
e) A college degree or industry-recognized certificate is
the principal pathway to personal economic security;
f) After several years of budget cuts during the recession,
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CCC, CTE, and other workforce and training course offerings
have been reduced;
g) California has seen cutbacks of more than $500 million
in programs that prepare individuals for employment;
h) CTE and other workforce programs are often expensive due
to the need for smaller class sizes and specialized
equipment and facilities;
i) Prioritizing existing CTE and other workforce and
training resources in major regional industry sectors may
help close the skills gap in our state's labor force;
j) CTE and workforce programs in the CCCs have lacked
adequate long-term funding to meet the needs of today's
growing economy; and,
aa) Any change to funding for CTE and other workforce and
training programs at the CCC requires the enactment of
legislation.
2)Encourages the CCC Chancellor, in consultation with affected
stakeholders, including, but not limited to, a) experts in the
field of CTE; b) business and industry representatives; and,
c) faculty, to develop at least three options to address the
long-term funding needs of CTE and other workforce and
training programs at CCC campuses, in a manner that adequately
funds the programs that regions deem valuable to their
economies, and to submit those options to the Legislature
before June 1, 2015.
3)Specifies that it is the intent of the Legislature during the
2015-16 Regular Session to address the long-term funding needs
of CTE and other workforce and training programs at CCC
campuses.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Background . According to the March 2014 Centers of
Excellence for Labor Market Research report entitled, "Focus
2015 - Occupational Employment & Career Technical Education in
California", there are more than 18.6 million people in the
state's labor force. As of February 2014, the unemployment rate
for California dropped to 8%, a decrease of 1.4% since February
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of 2103. Over the 12 month span, the number of employed
increased by 233,500 while the labor force overall decreased
slightly by approximately 13,000 participants. The report finds
that: 1) there are more than 1.3 million job openings projected
for California through 2015, with CTE relevant occupations
accounting for over 175,000 jobs; 2) the overall greatest demand
for CTE relevant occupational groups will be for postsecondary
non-degree awards - with more than 23,000 new jobs and close to
45,000 replacement jobs needing this level of preparation; and,
3) the projected demand for workers in CTE relevant occupations
through 2015 cuts across a variety of community college sectors
(which are programs and courses designed to train workers for a
specific industry or occupation).
The Institute for Higher Education Leadership Policy (IHELP)
released a report in August 2013 entitled, "Workforce
Investments: State Strategies to Preserve Higher-Cost Career
Education Programs in Community and Technical Colleges", which
found that California's current funding structure creates a
fiscal disincentive to support high-cost programs. IHELP
studied the CTE funding practices of 20 states, which could
potentially be adapted to California.
Need for the resolution . According to the author, "Despite the
impact that CCC CTE and workforce development programs have on
the state's workforce, California has seen cutbacks of more than
$500 million to programs that prepare individuals for employment
in recent years." The author argues that with many CTE courses
being more expensive on a per-student basis, there is a
constraint on maintaining and increasing program offerings that
meet the needs of regional economies. The author states,
"Funding for these [CTE] programs are often allocated through a
competitive grant process. As colleges chase specialized grant
opportunities, the mission of CTE and workforce development gets
shaped by these grants, and prevents the development of a
coherent, system wide vision and strategy."
State budget shortfalls . Over the span of several years, the
state has not been able to support CTE programs. According to
California EDGE Coalition, the limited resources given to the
CCC by the state, has led to a 10-year decline in CTE's share of
overall system enrollment. California EDGE Coalition argues
that the lack of funding to the CCC by the state, "threatens to
undermine the state's ability to meet the need for skilled
workers in key and emerging regional industries." The decline
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in CTE course offerings translates to CCC students not being
able to have access to the courses they need in order to earn a
postsecondary non-degree award from the CCC and enter into a CTE
relevant occupation.
Existing efforts and recommendations . The Economic and
Workforce Development (EWD) program within the CCC Chancellor's
Office (CCCCO) exists to bridge the gap between workforce needs
and skills training provided by CCC. The EWD collaborates with
employers, organized labor, local communities, community
colleges and other educational entities. The Economic
Development Program Advisory Committee and Workforce & Economic
Performance Advisory Committee are advisory bodies to the EWD.
According to the CCCCO, these advisory committees are in the
process of reviewing various options (based on a series of
recent reports on CTE, including IHELP's) and making
recommendations regarding CTE program funding.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Community College Association for Occupational
Education
California EDGE Coalition
California Manufactures & Technology Association
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
State Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO
Torrance Unified School District
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960