BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2033
AUTHOR: Salas
AMENDED: May 1, 2014
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 25, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lenin Del Castillo
SUBJECT : Agricultural career technical education.
SUMMARY
This bill specifies the intent of the Legislature to continue
funding the Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive
Program and require school districts to demonstrate how the
expenditure of the funds will be consistent with their local
control and accountability plans.
BACKGROUND
Existing law establishes the following career technical
education (CTE) programs for public schools:
1) Regional Occupational Centers and Programs . Existing
law establishes various career technical education (CTE)
programs for public schools including Regional
Occupational Centers and Programs (ROC/Ps) that allow
students from multiple schools or districts to
participate in career technical training programs
regardless of the geographical location of their
residence in a county or region. Existing law
authorizes the following types of ROC/Ps operational
models: (Education Code � 52300 et seq.)
a) County ROC/P: Existing law authorizes county
superintendents, with the consent of the State
Board of Education (SBE) to establish and maintain
a ROC/P to provide education and training in career
technical courses. (Education Code � 52301(a))
b) Joint Powers Agency ROC/P: Existing law
authorizes two or more school districts to form a
joint powers agency (JPA) for the purpose of
AB 2033
Page 2
establishing and maintaining a ROC/P for students
who are enrolled in those districts. (Education
Code � 52301(a)(2))
c) Single District ROC/P: Existing law
authorizes certain very large districts, who do not
wish to be part of a county ROC/P, to apply to the
State Board of Education through their county
superintendent for permission to establish and
maintain a ROC/P for students enrolled in the
district. The county superintendent may supervise
the establishment of the ROC/P. (Education Code �
52301(b))
2) Partnership Academies . The Partnership Academy model is
a three-year program, for grades ten through twelve,
structured as a school-within-a-school and incorporates
(1) rigorous integrated academics with a career focus;
(2) business partnerships that provide support through
curriculum resources, classroom speakers, field trips,
mentors, and internships; and
(3) teachers who work as a team in preparing students
for careers and postsecondary education. (Education Code
� 54690 et seq.)
3) Specialized Secondary Programs . A specialized secondary
program is a four-year grant program that provides
opportunities for students to obtain advanced
instruction, in addition to core course work, and skills
in technology appropriate to the curriculum.
Comprehensive high schools may use the grant funds for
programs that provide students with advanced learning
opportunities in a variety of subjects, including but
not limited to English-language arts, mathematics,
science, history and social science, foreign language,
and the visual performing arts. The acquisition of
technology skills and the use of technology as a tool
for instruction and learning are also emphasized in
these programs. Frequently, specialized secondary
programs are established as a smaller learning community
or a school-within-a-school. (Education Code � 58800 et
seq.)
4) Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive
Program . The Agricultural Career Technical Education
AB 2033
Page 3
Incentive program provides local educational agencies
with funds to improve the quality of their agricultural
vocational education programs. The goal is to maintain a
high-quality, comprehensive agricultural vocational
program in California's public school system to ensure a
constant source of employable, trained, and skilled
individuals.
(Education Code � 52460)
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Makes various findings and declarations of the
Legislature regarding California agriculture, the
Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive
Program, and Future Farmers of America, including the
intent of the Legislature that funds appropriated for
the Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive
Program in the annual Budget Act shall be no less than
the amount appropriated during the 2013-14 fiscal year.
2) Requires a school district to demonstrate how the
expenditure of the Agricultural Career Technical
Education Incentive Program grant funds will be
consistent with its local control and accountability
plan that is adopted.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author's office,
"the state has invested funds for the Agricultural
Career Technical Education Incentive Program for over 30
years. The grant funds are utilized to purchase,
upgrade, and expand facilities and equipment necessary
for the students to gain experience and understanding of
California's complex economy. In 2013, Agriculture
Education Departments offered over 1,300 classes that
met the California A-G university admission
requirements. These classes offer students hands on
training, technical assistance, leadership skills, and
college credit, to prepare them to work in a segment of
California's economy."
AB 2033
Page 4
2) Local Control Funding Formula . The 2013-14 Budget Act
restructured the existing K-12 finance system and
eliminated over 40 existing programs while implementing
a new formula known as the Local Control Funding Formula
(LCFF). The LCFF consolidates the vast majority of
state categorical programs and revenue limit
apportionments into a single source of funding. In
addition, the statutory and programmatic requirements
for these programs were eliminated-the programs would be
deemed "discretionary" and programs in any of these
areas would be dependent on local district discretion.
However, the Agricultural Career Technical Education
Incentive Program remained as a stand-alone categorical
program and received $4.134 million in Proposition 98
General Fund.
The 2014-15 Governor's Budget proposed to eliminate the
Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive
Program as a categorical program and instead roll its
funds into the LCFF (school districts receiving funding
for this program in 2013-14 would have those funds count
towards their LCFF targets). However, the Legislature
rejected that proposal and restored the 2013-14 funding
level of $4.134 million in the 2014-15 budget bill, SB
852 (Leno), which was recently signed by the Governor.
3) Related legislation .
AB 2216 seeks to preserve funding for Regional
Occupational Centers and Programs (ROC/Ps) by extending
the existing maintenance of effort requirement for
school districts from the end of the 2014-15 fiscal year
to the end of the 2016-17 fiscal year. This bill will
also be heard by this Committee on June 25, 2014.
SB 660 (Hancock) establishes new reporting requirements,
effective for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 fiscal years, for
county offices of education and school districts that
operate or participate in Regional Occupational Centers
and Programs. This bill is pending in the Assembly
Education Committee.
SUPPORT
AB 2033
Page 5
Bayer Corporation
California Agricultural Teachers' Association, Inc.
California Farm Bureau Federation
California State Grange
California Women for Agriculture
Corcoran Unified School District
Kings County Board of Supervisors
Small School Districts' Association
Western Growers Association
OPPOSITION
None on file.