California Senate Bill SB747 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 747AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 25, 2009 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 28, 2009 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 23, 2009 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Senator Romero (Coauthor: Senator Hancock) FEBRUARY 27, 2009 An act to add and repeal Section 8157 of the Education Code, relating to career technical education. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 747, 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, and implemented by the California Community Colleges system, 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 combination of private nonprofit and public funds  , as specified,  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 meet 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 bill would provide that its provisions would remain in effect until January 1, 2015. 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 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, in either case, causing 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 metals, 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 combination of private nonprofit and public funds, specifically federal funds  in the form of competitively awarded community-based job training grants from the Employment and Training Administration within the Department of Labor, as well as funds  made available to the states as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 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 pilot program established by this section shall have as its goal 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)  Likelihood of meeting   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  curriculum developed by the   model curriculum developed by the Chancellor's Office of the  California Community Colleges system pursuant to subdivision  (c)   (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  shall   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. (i) The  program shall be implemented by   Chancellor's Office of  the California Community Colleges system  which  shall develop preapprenticeship curriculum in aerospace technology, and machining technology generally.  It shall also identify the appropriate community college campuses for implementation of the program based upon criteria which shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:   The model curriculum shall meet the standard for the awarding upon its conclusion of a National Institute for Metalworking Skills (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 NIMS certification.   (j) The applications of individual community colleges applying for the federal grant moneys under the pilot program established in this section shall be reviewed by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, in consultation with the Chancellor's office, and ranked based on criteria which shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:  (1) The proximity to aerospace and other manufacturers with machining labor needs. (2) 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. (3) The willingness and availability 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. (4) Whether there are opportunities to build on existing partnerships with local high schools in the region.  (j) Community   (k)     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.  (l) 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 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.   (k)   (m)  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.