BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 923
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 923 (Pavley)
As Amended August 18, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :37-0
EDUCATION 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 12-0
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|Ayes:|Buchanan, Ch�vez, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Gonzalez, Nazarian, | |Bradford, |
| |Weber, Williams | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Establishes the Educational Apprenticeship Innovation Prize
(EdPrize) as a competitive grant program for purposes of promoting
apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and career pathways between
local educational agencies (LEAs), institutions of higher education,
and businesses of importance to local economies. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations relating to high rates of youth
unemployment; the lack of opportunity to earn a college degree and
its likelihood of preventing these young people from fully
participating in society, thus increasing costs for local and state
agencies due to increased reliance on social welfare and public
safety resource.
2)Establishes EdPrize as a competitive grant program for purposes of
promoting apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and career pathways
between LEAs, institutions of higher education, and businesses of
importance to local economies.
3)Requires applicants for an EdPrize to use the application used to
apply for a California Career Pathways Trust grant and specifies
that these applicants shall get special consideration for a
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California Career Pathways Trust grant.
4)States the intent of the Legislature that educational
apprenticeships be considered as an option to provide career
technical education for high school pupils in school districts
beyond those that are participating in the EdPrize program.
5)Specifies the minimum criteria that the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) must use to determine the competitive value of an
application.
6)Defines the terms "educational apprenticeships," "eligible high
school pupil," and "entity" for the purposes of this bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Makes grants available under the California Career Pathways Trust
for programs that accomplish any of the following:
a) Fund specialists in work-based learning that connects school
districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and
community colleges with business entities;
b) Establish regional collaborative relationships and
partnerships with business entities, community organizations, and
local institutions of postsecondary education;
c) Develop and integrate standards-based academics with a
career-relevant, sequenced curriculum following industry-themed
pathways that are aligned to high-need, high-growth, or emerging
regional economic sectors;
d) Provide pathways to postsecondary education aligned with
regional economies; or
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e) Build on existing structures, requirements, and resources of
the Carl D. Perkins, California Partnership Academies, and
Regional Occupational Centers and Programs (ROC/Ps), including
staff knowledge, community relationships, and course development.
1)Requires recipients of the California Career Pathways Trust and the
SPI to report to specified entities, specified outcome measures.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
there are unknown ongoing General Fund /Proposition 98 (1988) costs,
potentially in the millions, for grant awards. Funding for this bill
is contingent upon funding in the annual Budget Act. The 2014-15
Budget Act provides $250 million in one-time funding for the Career
Pathways Trust (Trust) to provide competitive grant funding for career
pathway programs. The implementing statute requires the SPI to give
special consideration to several applicants, including apprenticeship
opportunities. The cost of this bill depends on the number of grants
awarded and the amount of each grant provided for apprenticeships
annually.
COMMENTS : Under current law, districts are required to adopt
alternative means for pupils to complete the prescribed course of
study which may include practical demonstration of skills and
competencies, supervised work experience or other outside school
experience, Career Technical Education (CTE) classes, courses offered
by ROC/Ps, interdisciplinary study, independent study, and credit
earned at a postsecondary institution. Districts also have the option
of adopting alternatives for pupils to complete high school graduation
requirements.
According to the author, youth unemployment is one of the most serious
challenges to California's economic recovery. Last year, the Bureau
of Labor Statistics estimated that 20% of Californians age 16 to 24
were neither working nor in school, creating the fourth-highest youth
unemployment rate in the nation. Yet, despite this large, untapped
demographic, businesses often cite that young applicants do not have
the job skills needed to succeed. This lack of opportunity prevents
young people from fully participating in society and can stunt
professional and personal growth. To address this problem, this bill
looks to model programs in Switzerland and Germany which have run
world renowned apprenticeship programs that are successful in helping
students develop work skills and find job placements; Massachusetts,
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South Carolina, and Minnesota have also developed successful programs.
Those model European programs have created far-reaching, high-quality
apprenticeship programs that connect young people to well-paying
careers. The German system of education and training is renowned, and
around 70% of Swiss young people enter the labor market through some
form of vocational apprenticeship training. In his 2014 State of the
Union address, President Barack Obama called for expanded access to
apprenticeships and improved job training programs at community
colleges that are better-aligned with the skills that employers
demand.
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0004920