Pupil instruction: career technical education, career education, and apprenticeships.

(1) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to coordinate the development, on a cyclical basis, of model curriculum standards for required courses of study, including a career technical education course of study, for pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, as specified. Existing law requires the Superintendent to set forth these standards in terms of a wide range of specific competencies in each academic subject area, as specified. Existing law requires the Superintendent to seek the advice of classroom teachers, school administrators, parents, postsecondary educators, and representatives of business and industry in developing these standards. This bill would require the Superintendent to set forth those standards in terms of a wide range of specific competencies in each career technical education subject area, as specified. The bill would require the Superintendent to seek the advice of career technical classroom teachers, instead of classroom teachers generally, and to also seek the advice of representatives of labor, in developing those career technical education standards. The bill would require the Superintendent to recommend policies for consideration and adoption by the State Board of Education that ensure career technical education courses are provided with up-to-date industry standards, and would authorize the Superintendent to develop curricular guidance to support the implementation of the career technical education standards, as provided. The bill would define "cyclical basis," for purposes of the development of career technical education standards, as a period not exceeding 5 years. Existing law requires the Superintendent, upon adoption of the model curriculum standards for required courses of study for pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to develop a curriculum framework that offers a blueprint for implementation of career and technical education. Existing law requires the Superintendent to, in developing the framework, work in consultation and coordination with a specified advisory group. This bill would require the Superintendent to also maintain a curriculum framework developed for implementation of career technical education. The bill would require the Superintendent, in developing and updating the career technical education model curriculum standards and framework on a cyclical basis, to work in consultation and coordination with career technical education industry advisory groups consistent with the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 State Plan, and would require the State Department of Education to convene an advisory group for each career technical education industry sector-specific subject area for those pupils, as specified. The bill would make other changes regarding the development of those standards and the framework, including defining "cyclical basis" as a period not exceeding 5 years, as specified. (2) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district maintaining a high school to (A) establish courses of work-based learning or work experience education to provide pupils with instruction in the skills, attitudes, and understanding necessary for success in employment, (B) provide guidance and supervision procedures to ensure maximum educational benefit to pupils from placement in suitable work-based learning or work experience education courses, (C) provide for arranging, approving, coordinating, and awarding credit for work-based learning or work experience education courses, and employing personnel for purposes of providing that credit, and (D) provide or require pupils to acquire liability insurance for off-school-grounds work experience programs. This bill would extend the above-described authorizations provided by the governing boards of school districts to the governing boards or bodies of county offices of education, and charter schools. The bill would define "work-based learning" and "work experience education" for purposes of those authorizations, would make other changes to those authorizations, and would make various other changes to law relating to work-based learning, as specified. Existing law authorizes work-based learning opportunities for pupils to be delivered by partnership academies, regional occupational programs, and local educational agencies, as specified. Existing law authorizes those opportunities to include work experience education, community classrooms, cooperative career technical education programs, and job shadowing experience, as specified. This bill would authorize work-based learning activities, instead of work-based learning opportunities, to be delivered by those entities, and would authorize work-based learning activities to include certain school-based apprenticeships, internships, and mentorships. The bill would instead authorize work-based learning activities to be offered through work experience education courses, community classrooms, cooperative career technical education programs, early college credit courses, and other academic courses, among other related changes, as specified. Existing law requires the governing boards of school districts to grant credit to pupils enrolled in grade 11 or a higher grade for completing a work experience education program, as specified. This bill would extend to pupils enrolled in grade 10 the granting of credit for completing a work experience education program to the same extent granted to pupils in grade 11 or a higher grade. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on school districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the State Department of Education, using existing systems and capabilities, to collect and maintain data on work-based learning, work experience education, and work permits issued by local educational agencies, and school-based registered apprenticeship programs, as specified. Existing law requires the governing board of each school district opting to expend targeted instructional improvement block grant funding or accepting other funds for this purpose to provide a series of career technical education programs, each offering a sequence of courses leading to specific competencies, as specified. Existing law requires those governing boards to also develop and implement plans for articulation of career education courses with community colleges to extend the sequence of courses through grades 13 and 14. For governing boards of school districts opting to expend targeted instructional improvement block grant funding or accepting other funds for this purpose, this bill would require those governing boards to offer, within each series of career technical education programs, a sequence of at least 2 courses leading to those specific competencies. The bill would require those governing board plans with community colleges to instead regard articulation of career technical education courses to establish opportunities for pupils to earn college credit and meet prerequisite requirements for community college career education certificates and degree programs, and to align the sequence of courses through grades 13 and 14. Existing law provides for apprenticeship programs within the Division of Apprenticeship Standards within the Department of Industrial Relations, sponsored by specific entities and employers, and requires the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to perform various functions with respect to apprenticeship programs and the welfare of apprentices. This bill would authorize the State Department of Education to, in collaboration with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards and the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, convene an interagency workgroup composed of representatives of certain state agencies for specified purposes, including, among others, establishing guidance for school-based youth apprenticeship programs registered with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. This bill would authorize the division, in collaboration with the department, to adopt policies, rules, and regulations as reasonably necessary to (A) maintain the educational purpose and character of youth apprenticeship programs for in-school youth, (B) determine an expedited adoption and approval process for new youth apprenticeship programs, and (C) determine minimum requirements and guidance for high school-based youth apprenticeship programs, as provided. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.