BILL NUMBER: SJR 32INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senators DeSaulnier and Wyland MAY 18, 2010 Relative to career technical education. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SJR 32, as introduced, DeSaulnier. Technical education. This measure would urge the United States Congress and the President of the United States to include career technical education coursework and programs in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Fiscal committee: no. WHEREAS, The United States Congress and the President of the United States are beginning the process of reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act by overhauling the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.); and WHEREAS, The President of the United States has focused his reauthorization priorities on the need to make the next generation of Americans more competitive in the global economy by ensuring all pupils are prepared for both college and career; and WHEREAS, The 20th century American workforce had been educated in vocational education programs that led to the United States becoming the most technologically advanced nation on earth; and WHEREAS, The 21st century technical skills needed to sustain the American middle class and keep our nation globally competitive rely heavily on the education and training provided in career technical education programs of today; and WHEREAS, Successful career technical education programs provide a coherent sequence of courses that begin with career exposure in elementary grades and continue through hands-on, industry-specific secondary school courses, with many of these career technical education pathways proceeding on to more technical training opportunities provided by institutions of higher learning, including apprenticeships, vocational schools, community colleges, and in some instances four-year colleges; and WHEREAS, The original No Child Left Behind Act largely ignored the relevance and priority of career technical education coursework and programs in its measurement and accountability system; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California calls upon the United States Congress and the President of the United States to clearly and expressly include career technical education coursework and programs in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, including providing benchmarks and measurement requirements for states' career technical education delivery models, so that such career preparatory coursework and programs are accessible to all pupils before they graduate from secondary schools; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.