BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1518
Author: Eggman (D), et al.
Amended: 5/23/14 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/18/14
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Correa, Hancock, Huff, Monning
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/24/14
AYES: Hueso, Knight, Correa, Lieu, Nielsen, Roth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Block
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 5/29/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Military: National Guard: youth challenge program
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill codifies the authority in federal law for
the existing California National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program
and specifies certain geographic areas to be served, subject to
the availability of funding.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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1.Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to use the California
National Guard to conduct a civilian youth opportunities
program - the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, which
shall consist of at least a 22-week residential program and a
12-month post-residential mentoring period.
2.Provides that the Adjutant General of the California National
Guard may enter into a cooperative agreement with the
governing board of a school district or a county office of
education for the purpose of establishing, pursuant to
existing authority in the Education Code, a military academy
to be operated as a charter school or as one of the existing
alternative education options available under the Education
Code. The program provides a structured, disciplined
environment that would be conducive to learning in a college
preparatory environment. In addition to academic skills,
students develop leadership, self-esteem, and a strong sense
of community. An academy established pursuant to this section
shall comply with the Education Code. Additionally, existing
law provides that a new California National Guard Youth
Program, except for the California Cadet Corps, may only be
established as provided in this section if funds are
appropriated for purposes of the program in the annual Budget
Act or any other act.
This bill codifies the authority in federal law for the
California National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program.
Specifically, this bill:
1.Requires the Adjutant General to conduct a civilian youth
opportunities program, to be known as the "National Guard
Youth ChalleNGe Program," which shall consist of at least a
22-week residential program and a 12-month post-residential
mentoring period, and subject to funds appropriated for this
purpose in the annual Budget.
2.Provides that the program shall serve at risk teens in areas
of the state, including, but not limited to, the San Joaquin
Valley and Northern California, and shall be subject to all of
the following:
A. The program shall seek to improve life skills and
employment potential of participants by providing
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military-based leadership development, promoting fellowship
and community service, developing life-coping skills and
job skills, improving physical fitness, providing health
and hygiene training, and assisting participants to receive
a high school diploma or its equivalent.
B. The Adjutant General may accept federal funding to
implement the program and may appoint a director and other
service members and employees, permanent or temporary, to
operate the program.
C. The Military Department shall enter into a memorandum of
agreement with an appropriate school district or a county
office of education for the purpose of providing
educational services for students enrolled in a program.
The school district or county office of education with
which the department contracts shall be responsible for
ensuring compliance with any applicable requirements
imposed by the Education Code.
1.Requires that a new program, except for the California Cadet
Corps, may only be established if funds are appropriated for
that purpose in the annual Budget Act or any other act.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Youth ChalleNGe Program: $1.5 million (General Fund) was
appropriated to the Military Department in the Budget Act of
2014 to establish a new Youth ChalleNGe program. This bill
creates $1.5 million in cost pressure to annually fund the
program's operation.
Average Daily Attendance (ADA): Significant additional ADA
funding, depending on the number of students served by this
dropout recovery program.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/13/14)
AMVETS, Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California PTA
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Military Officers Association of America, California Council of
Chapters
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, there
are two National Guard Youth Challenge programs in California -
one in Los Alamitos and the other in San Luis Obispo. The
programs are successful, serving approximately 800 students per
year. However, demand for these programs is high with half of
their 1,600 annual applicants being turned away each year.
Additionally, the programs serve students from all over the
state and many parents and students prefer not to be distant
from one another.
The author's office also indicates the high school dropout rate
in San Joaquin County has regularly exceeded the statewide
average of 13.1%. There is a strong correlation between dropout
rates and violent crime, and San Joaquin County also leads the
state's other counties in youth and young adult homicides, with
a per capita rate nearly three times California's overall rate.
Adding another program could help prevent future dropouts. In
2012, the RAND Corporation published,
A Cost-Benefit Analysis of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe
Program and determined that the program is extremely cost
effective, with a return on investment of $2.66 for every dollar
spent.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 5/29/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A.
P�rez, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
PQ:e 8/14/14 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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