BILL NUMBER: SB 923	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 17, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 27, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 9, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 26, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Pavley
   (Coauthors: Senators Correa and Wyland)

                        JANUARY 29, 2014

   An act to add Article 2.3 (commencing with Section 33135) to
Chapter 2 of Part 20 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Education Code,
relating to educational apprenticeships.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 923, as amended, Pavley. Educational apprenticeships:
Educational Apprenticeship Innovation  Act.  
Act: EdPrize. 
   Existing law establishes the office of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, and specifies that the Superintendent is the ex
officio Director of the State Department of Education. Under existing
law, the State Department of Education administers numerous programs
relating to elementary and secondary education.
   This bill would enact the Educational Apprenticeship Innovation
Act, pursuant to which a competitive grant, known as the Educational
Apprenticeship Innovation Prize (EdPrize), would be distributed to
applicant school districts, county offices of education, charter
schools, and community college campuses for purposes of promoting
apprenticeships, preapprenticeships, and career pathways among local
educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and
businesses of importance to local economies.
   The bill would specify certain minimum criteria to determine the
competitive value of an application for the grant.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) As reported by Governing Magazine, the United States Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate of Californians
between 16 and 24 years of age stood at 20.2 percent, which is the
fourth highest in the nation.
   (b) This high youth unemployment rate has affected young people
who either have not yet earned or will not earn a college degree
particularly hard, as the lack of opportunity can prevent 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 resources.
   (c) This lack of opportunity is likely to increase, as, according
to a study by Opportunity Nation, 60 percent of all jobs will require
at least an associate's degree by 2018.
   (d) Thousands of jobs across multiple, vital industrial sectors
have gone unfilled due to a shortage of well-trained skilled workers,
resulting in losses in productivity, costs to employers and the
public sector, and an overall erosion of the California and national
economy.
   (e) According to a study by the Society for Human Resource
Management, 70 percent of California businesses across different
economic sectors stated that it was either somewhat difficult or very
difficult to fill certain positions, mostly due to applicants
lacking the skill sets needed to complete work tasks and
responsibilities.
   (f) With a large percentage of the skilled workforce approaching
retirement age, the local, state, and national economies will be
facing an even greater skills gap than that which exists today.
   (g) The dual needs of ensuring that young people are given the
opportunity to learn vital job skills and succeed professionally and
that our businesses have a large pool of skilled workers to fill
current and future workforce needs are relevant and interconnected
with each other.
   (h) Local California educators, communities, and businesses have
long recognized this relevance and interconnectedness, have
experimented on a small scale with different models, and have taken
inspiration from the programs developed in other states like
Massachusetts and countries like Switzerland and Germany.
   (i) Apprenticeships, preapprenticeship programs, and other forms
of work-based learning provide opportunities for pupils to explore
and begin careers in some of the fastest growing economic sectors in
the state, such as advanced manufacturing, computer technology and IT
services, energy efficiency, clean technology, nursing and health
care services, entertainment, the culinary arts and hospitality, and
banking and financial services.
   (j) The current and future generations of Californians must be
given the opportunity to work and find avenues to gainful employment
in industrial areas relevant to their local communities and in order
to help them pursue a productive and satisfying future.
   (k) The State of California, local communities, industry, and
youth would benefit from enhanced opportunities for students to begin
training for high-skill, high-wage jobs while enrolled in high
school.
   (l) Preparing future generations for career placement and
workplace instruction is best determined by institutions of primary,
secondary, and postsecondary education working in conjunction with
local business, labor, and civic leaders.
  SEC. 2.  Article 2.3 (commencing with Section 33135) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 20 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Education Code,
to read:

      Article 2.3.  Educational Apprenticeship Innovation Act


   33135.  This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Educational Apprenticeship Innovation Act.
   33135.5.  (a) There is hereby established the Educational
Apprenticeship Innovation Prize (EdPrize) for purposes of promoting
apprenticeships, preapprenticeships, and career pathways between
local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and
businesses of importance to local economies. Grants allocated for the
EdPrize shall be distributed on a competitive basis to an entity by
the Superintendent, subject to funding being made available in the
annual Budget Act.
   (b) The Superintendent shall use, at minimum, all of the following
criteria to determine the competitive value of an application:
   (1) The ability of the proposed program to provide at least two
years of apprenticeship, preapprenticeship, or other forms of
workforce training to eligible high school pupils in grades 11 and 12
or the ability to provide eligible high school pupils with a career
and educational pathways to a campus of the California Community
Colleges.
   (2) The ability  of the proposed program  to place
eligible high school pupils in apprenticeships, preapprenticeships,
internships, and workplace learning environments in fields determined
to be of local economic importance, as determined through data and
evidence-driven analysis.
   (3) The ability of the proposed program to provide eligible high
school pupils with the opportunity to work in an economic sector with
gainful employment opportunities or academic pathways that lead to
either a certificate or an associate degree.
   (4) The ability of the  proposal   proposed
program  to address the needs of the local or regional labor
market and help competitive and emerging industry sectors and
industry clusters, or to address the state's need to fill skills gaps
and skills shortages in the economy, including skills gaps and
shortages at the regional level. 
   (5) The ability of the proposed program to collaboratively include
business, workforce investment boards, labor or trade organizations,
or postsecondary educational institutions of local importance in the
development and operation of the program.  
   (5) 
    (6)  An assessment of the past performance of the
applying entities if the agency has been awarded other economic and
workforce development grants or other state grants, including an
assessment of whether the grantee's previous awards produced project
deliverables specified in prior grant applications. 
   (6) 
    (7)  The ability to create a written agreement among the
applicant entities, the participating eligible high school pupils or
their parents, and participating employers in order to ensure
commitment to the pupil's academic and professional success, and
ensure the successful completion of the apprenticeship,
preapprenticeship, work-based learning program, or educational
pathway. 
   (7) 
    (8)  The ability to provide participating eligible high
school pupils with a worksite mentor to help train, guide, and
supervise the pupil. 
   (9) The ability for the proposed program to continue after the
expiration of grant funding. 
   33136.5.  As used in this article:
   (a) "Eligible high school pupil" means a pupil in grade 11 or 12
who has passed, or is exempt from, the high school exit examination
administered under Section 60851 and is satisfactorily meeting the
requirements of Section 51225.3.
   (b) "Entity" means a school district, county office of education,
charter school, or campus of the California Community Colleges,
applying for funding under this article.