BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 646
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 15, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 646 (Cooley) - As Amended: January 6, 2014
SUBJECT : Public education governance: regional P-20 councils:
advisory committee
SUMMARY : Requires the California Department of Education (CDE)
to study best practices of state and regional P-20 councils and
report its findings to the Legislature. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Contains findings and declarations regarding the value of P-16
and P-20 councils.
2)Requires the CDE to study best practices of state and regional
P-20 councils in California and across the nation to identify
key statewide policies and goals that P-20 councils may seek
to further.
3)Requires the CDE to work in consultation with the following:
a) The Governor's Office of Business and Economic
Development;
b) The office of the President of the University of
California;
c) The office of the Chancellor of the California State
University;
d) The office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges;
e) The Employment Development Department;
f) The California Workforce Investment Board; and
g) Related state and regional interests.
4)Requires the CDE to report its findings and recommendations to
the Legislature on or before July 1, 2015.
5)Requires the report to be submitted in compliance with Section
9795 of the Government Code, which requires reports to be
submitted as a printed copy to the Secretary of the Senate, as
an electronic copy to the Chief Clerk of the Assembly, and as
a printed or electronic copy to the Legislative Council; and
requires electronic copies of the summary to be sent to each
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member of the Legislature.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Local P-16/20 councils are partnerships between
educators, business, and community members to increase college
and career readiness among high school graduates. They work to
align curriculum from preschool (the "P" in P-16 or P-20)
through higher education (P-16 councils) or post-graduate
studies (P-20 councils) with a focus on college and workforce
preparedness. Under California's permissive Education Code,
school districts and county offices of education do not need
specific statutory authorization to establish or participate in
P-16/20 councils. At least five councils currently exist in
California; three are P-16 (Imperial County, Napa County, and
Merced County) and two are P-20 (Santa Barbara County and the
Capital Area P-20 Council, which serves Sacramento, Placer, El
Dorado, Yolo, Yuba, and Sutter counties.
In 2005, then-Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) Jack
O'Connell established a statewide P-16 council to identify ways
and make recommendations to eliminate the achievement gap. That
council completed it work and issued a report in January 2008.
Statewide goals vs. regional councils. A primary benefit of
P-16/20 councils, as expressed by districts that participate in
them, is that they are locally developed to address regional
needs and conditions. For example, the focus of the Imperial
Valley P-16 Council is to "promote a college-going culture in
Imperial County," while the Santa Barbara P-20 STEM Council
focuses on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)
education to "expand post secondary preparation and access,
bolster civic engagement, and strengthen career/economic earning
capacity of Santa Barbara County students, especially those who
are underserved or underrepresented." In general, P-16/20
councils put a priority on developing regional solutions to
regional problems and conditions. For example, the Merced
County P-16 Education and Community Council stresses "education
as the driver of regional economic development." NextEd, whose
board of directors serves as the Capital Area P-20 Council,
states its belief that "regions are the units of economic
competition and the regions that effectively align their
educational assets to advance their strategic economic
objectives will be the most successful in the 21st century."
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Given the premium that P-16/20 councils place on developing
regional policies and goals based on regional needs and
conditions, it is not clear how the cause of P-16/20 councils
would be advanced by the development of statewide policies and
goals, as required by this bill. Nor is there any evidence that
regional councils have any problem establishing their own
policies or setting their own goals.
Staff recommendation . The CDE recently has reassigned staff and
reorganized structures to work on the implementation of three
major new initiatives: the Common Core State Standards, the
Smarter Balanced assessment, and the Local Control Funding
Formula. Accordingly, the CDE is unlikely to be able to absorb
the cost of a new state and national study within existing
resources. Therefore, staff recommends that the bill be amended
to require the study only if a Budget Act appropriation is made
for this purpose.
Related legislation. AB 86 (Assembly Committee on the Budget,
Chapter 48, Statutes of 2013) appropriated $250 million to
establish the California Career Pathways Trust. The trust will
provide one-time competitive grants to K-12 local education
agencies to, among other things, "establish regional
collaborative relationships and partnerships with business
entities, community organizations, and local institutions of
postsecondary education." No later than December 1, 2016, grant
recipients and the SPI are required to report to the Department
of Finance and to relevant policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature on specific outcome measures, including, but not
necessarily limited to, all of the following:
(1) Pupil and student academic performance indicators;
(2) The number and rate of school or program graduates;
(3) Attainment of certificates, transfer readiness, and
postsecondary enrollment; and
(4) Transitions to appropriate employment, apprenticeships, or
job training.
Although AB 86 does not specifically reference P-16/20 councils,
the generic reference to regional collaborative relationships
and partnerships could include such councils.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Folsom Cordova Unified School District
Los Rios Community College District
NextEd
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
Roebbelen Contracting, Inc.
Yuba County Office of Education
Opposition
California Right to Life Committee, Inc.
Analysis Prepared by : Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087