BILL NUMBER: SB 1376AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 5, 2010 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 12, 2010 INTRODUCED BY Senator Romero ( Coauthors: Assembly Members Hall and Solorio ) FEBRUARY 19, 2010 An act to add and repeal Section 8157 of the Education Code, relating to career technical education , and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately . LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1376, as amended, Romero. Career technical education: pilot preapprentice aerospace machining program. Existing law establishes the Health Science and Medical Technology Project, administered by the State Department of Education to provide competitive grant funds to California public schools to enhance existing or establish new health-related career pathway programs. This bill would state findings and declarations of the Legislature regarding California's aerospace workforce and trends in California' s high schools. The bill would create a pilot preapprentice aerospace machining program, administered by the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency to provide career technical education to high school pupils in the form of machining and related curriculum that can be applied to various manufacturing industries in California, including, but not limited to, aerospace manufacturing, as specified. The program would be funded by a direct federal appropriation, that would be deposited into the Machinist Investment Fund, which would be created by this bill. The bill would provide that implementation of the program would be contingent upon receipt of sufficient federal funding. Grants would be competitively awarded to community colleges based upon specified criteria, including their ability to address the existing local and regional industry manufacturing needs, while providing meaningful career technical education opportunities for at-risk youth. The bill would require the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges system to develop preapprenticeship curriculum in aerospace technology, and machining technology generally. The model curriculum would be required to result in the issuance of a certificate of completion stating that the holder has completed curriculum that meets specified criteria. The bill would specify that, consistent with federal guidelines, each community college shall complete an evaluation of its participation in the pilot program on or before the end date of the grant award, and submit the evaluation to the chancellor's office by that date. The chancellor's office would be required to compile the information provided by the participating community colleges, and to submit an evaluation to the Legislature by December 1, 2013. The bill would provide that its provisions would remain in effect until January 1, 2015. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute. Vote:majority2/3 . 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 hereby finds and declares all of the following: (a) Despite the departure of several companies since the military base closures of the early 1990s, the aerospace industry remains a vital component of California's economy, representing at least 370,000 jobs statewide and a minimum of thirty-two billion dollars ($32,000,000,000) annually in gross domestic product. (b) There will be a dearth of skilled machinists and technicians to work in the aerospace industry as the baby boomers begin to retire over the next decade. (c) The aerospace industry is currently addressing its labor needs by luring skilled labor away from competing companies. (d) The highly skilled labor sought by the aerospace industry is represented by a finite, aging pool of employees who, under current conditions, will not be readily replaced by younger workers. (e) The continued growth of the aerospace industry is pivotal to California's future prosperity. (f) Unless the Legislature acts to address labor workforce needs in this sector, the aerospace industry will continue to leave California or import a far greater proportion of foreign labor which, in either case, will cause significant damage to the state's economy. (g) California's high schools are struggling with a dropout rate of 21 percent. (h) A significant factor in California's dropout rate is the existence of curriculum that does not engage pupils with some immediate, real-world application. (i) Pupils who drop out of high school are often unable to find suitable entry-level employment and have little chance of continuing on to higher education, and there is a strong chance that they will ultimately join California's prison population, given the statistic that at least two-thirds of the current inmate population does not possess a high school diploma. (j) The dropout rate is likely to hold, and possibly worsen, unless the state acts to provide hands-on high school curriculum with cross-over mathematics and science applications, that also provides an avenue to both higher education in related disciplines, and to skilled, high-wage employment. SEC. 2. Section 8157 is added to the Education Code, to read: 8157. (a) There is hereby established a pilot preapprentice aerospace machining program that shall provide career technical education to high school pupils in the form of machining and related curriculum that can be applied to various manufacturing industries in California, including, but not limited to, aerospace manufacturing. The curriculum shall include, but not be limited to, the following green technologies in aerospace manufacturing: (1) Use of computers to assist in metalworking to eliminate waste of aluminum, titanium, and other costly strategic metals in the manufacturing process. (2) Training in the machining of lighter, strategic materials, including titanium and composites, to reduce weight and increase aircraft fuel efficiency. (3) Training in the fabrication of more energy-efficient aircraft ventilation, heating, and cooling systems. (b) The program shall be funded by a direct federal appropriation. All funds appropriated for the purposes of this program shall be deposited into the Machinist Investment Fund, which is hereby created. (c) The pilot program and the Machinists Investment Fund shall be administered by the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. (d) Implementation of the pilot program established by this section shall be contingent upon receipt of sufficient federal funding. (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose a mandate on local workforce investment boards with regard to how they will spend Workforce Investment Act funds, including funds made available to them through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. (f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the goal of the pilot program shall be the development of an industry-based sector strategy to address labor needs in the manufacturing industry generally and in the aerospace industry in particular, specifically the need for trained machinists, and that the Labor and Workforce Development Agency shall focus on efforts to assist in this strategy. (g) The California Workforce Investment Board is encouraged, in collaboration with local workforce investment boards, industry, and community colleges, to seek and apply for funds for related industry-based sector strategies. (h) Community colleges, in partnership with local workforce investment boards, employers, and high schools, shall apply for grants that shall be competitively awarded based upon a number of criteria, including, but not limited to: (1) A detailed explanation regarding what actions the applicant will take to ensure that it will meet the objectives of the program, specifically, the ability to address the existing local and regional industry manufacturing needs, while providing meaningful career technical education opportunities for at-risk youth that are likely to lead to employment after participation and to position pupils for admission to additional higher education in a related field. (2) Whether the adopted preapprenticeship curriculum in aerospace technology, and machining technology generally, conforms to the model curriculum developed by the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges system pursuant to subdivision (i). (3) Inclusion of an aggressive outreach plan demonstrating the degree to which the pupils targeted to receive instruction may be considered at risk, based upon factors such as prior academic achievement, socioeconomic background, and school disciplinary record. Special weight may be given to the specific media employed to reach the target pupil population. (4) Evidence that the application will advance an industry sector strategy for addressing current and future labor needs, as well as provide career paths for potential employees in the manufacturing industry consistent with Division 8 (commencing with Section 15000) of the Unemployment Insurance Code. (5) Evidence that the industry sector will benefit from the regional economy in which it is located. (6) The ability of the community college campus or of a regional occupational center to provide sufficient in-house expertise and laboratory facilities to teach the required curriculum. (7) The availability and willingness of a local machinists union to actively participate in program-related activities, including, but not limited to, technical assistance for curriculum development, mentoring, and recruiting pupils as future journeymen upon completion of the preapprentice curriculum. (8) Whether there are opportunities to build on existing partnerships with local high schools in the region. (i) The Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges system shall develop preapprenticeship curriculum in aerospace technology, and machining technology generally. The model curriculum shall result in the issuance of a certificate of completion stating that the holder has completed curriculum that meets the National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS) standard. Upon completion of the curriculum, community colleges shall administer to students a NIMS examination that, if passed, will result in the issuance of a NIMS certificate. Individual colleges wishing to participate in the pilot program established by this section shall have the option of adopting the model curriculum developed by the chancellor's office or adopting an alternative curriculum that meets the standard for the certificate of completion. (j) To provide maximum flexibility at the local level regarding the details of implementation, community college campuses selected for receipt of a competitive grant, in consultation with area high schools, shall identify the location at which instruction shall occur, whether on the high school campus, at a regional occupation center, or at a community college. Factors such as availability of curriculum, instructors, lab facilities, and transportation may be considered. (k) To the degree consistent with federal guidelines, the community-based job training grant award recipients shall reserve 10 percent of the funds received for an evaluation component. Each community college, in consultation with its local workforce investment board, shall complete an evaluation of its participation in the pilot program on or before the end date of the grant award, and submit it to the chancellor's office by that date. The chancellor' s office shall compile the information provided by participating community colleges and submit an evaluation to the Legislature by December 1, 2013. The evaluation shall include all of the following: (1) A report of the number of students who received training. (2) The number of students who completed training and received a NIMS certificate. (3) The number of private companies participating in the training, either via in-kind equipment donations, mentorship and apprentice activities, or other support. (4) The number of students who obtained related employment otherwise secured placement in a machining apprentice program as a result of the training. (l) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2015, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends that date. SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to access federal funding in the current budget cycle, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.