Bill Text

Bill Information


Add To My Favorites | print page

AB-2078 Work-based learning.(2007-2008)

SHARE THIS: share this bill in Facebook share this bill in Twitter
AB2078:v94#DOCUMENT

Enrolled  August 08, 2008
Passed  IN  Senate  July 14, 2008
Passed  IN  Assembly  August 07, 2008
Amended  IN  Senate  July 07, 2008
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 23, 2008
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 16, 2008
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 01, 2008

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2007–2008 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2078

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Fuentes
 (Coauthor(s): Assembly Member Silva)
 (Coauthor(s): Senator Maldonado, Romero, Wyland)

February 19, 2008

An act to amend Section 51760 of, and to add Section 51760.1 to, the Education Code, relating to work-based learning.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2078, Fuentes. Work-based learning.
Existing law authorizes school districts that maintain high schools to establish work experience programs for the purpose of providing pupils with instruction in skills, attitudes, and understandings necessary for success in employment. Existing law provides for school districts that establish work experience programs to receive apportionments based on the average daily attendance in those programs, and provides procedures for the calculation of the amount of those apportionments.
This bill would state the findings of the Legislature regarding work-based learning. This bill would authorize school districts that maintain high schools to establish work-based learning programs, and to purchase liability insurance for pupils enrolled in programs of study involving work experience, which may include work-based learning, off school grounds. The bill would define work-based learning to mean an educational approach or instructional methodology that uses the workplace or real work to provide pupils with the knowledge and skills that will help them connect school experiences to real-life work activities and future career opportunities. The bill would authorize partnership academies, regional occupational programs, and other educational programs to deliver work-based learning opportunities for pupils that may include work experience education, community classrooms, cooperative career technical education programs, and job shadowing experience, as specified.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   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) Public secondary education prepares pupils for success after high school, including further education and training without remediation, productive employment with opportunities for advancement, and civic participation.
(b) Well-designed education programs intentionally combine rigorous college preparatory education with demanding career technical education, both of which are supported by high-quality work-based learning and necessary support services that promote success.
(c) Work-based learning is an essential component of any comprehensive educational program of study. It brings meaning and relevance to the educational program.
(d) Work-based learning offers opportunities to learn through real-world experience. Pupils gain access to job shadowing, mentorships, intensive internships, real or virtual apprenticeships, and school-based enterprises. These experiences complement classroom instruction, and help sharpen the desire of pupils to increase knowledge and skills that are relevant to their postsecondary and career interests.
(e) Work-based learning is currently provided to pupils through existing programs, including, but not limited to, work experience, cooperative vocational education, regional occupational programs, and community classrooms.
(f) High-quality work-based learning includes systematic attention to the development of 21st century skills, such as communication, problem solving, teamwork, project planning, and critical thinking.
(g) Furthermore, work-based learning allows pupils to work side by side with adult professionals who help instill professional behavior, real-world expectations, a strong work ethic, the need for ongoing learning, and a desire to achieve.
(h) High-quality work-based learning experiences share the following characteristics:
(1) Prioritization of learning over work production.
(2) Exposure to a wide range of career areas and worksites in order to help youth make informed choices about education, training options, and career pursuits.
(3) Thoughtful placement of pupils into opportunities that are evaluated for their safety, qualified supervision, and learning opportunities.
(4) Appropriate sequencing of experiences based upon the pupil’s age and maturity, ranging from site visits and tours, job shadowing, unpaid and paid internships, and paid work experience.
(5) Explicit aim to supplement, or systematically reinforce, classroom instruction in technical courses, academic courses, or both.
(6) A trained workplace mentor who works in collaboration with a classroom teacher to structure the learning at the worksite.
(7) Built-in regular assessment and feedback.
(8) Involvement of youth in choosing and structuring the experience.
(9) Clear and measurable learning outcomes.
(i) Work-based learning may take many forms, including, but not limited to, job shadowing, internships, work experience, community classrooms, real or virtual apprenticeships, and school-based enterprises.

SEC. 2.

 Section 51760 of the Education Code is amended to read:

51760.
 The governing board of a district maintaining a high school may:
(a) Provide for the instruction of pupils in the skills, attitudes, and understandings necessary to succeed in employment by means of courses of work-based learning or work experience education as provided in this article.
(b) Provide for guidance and supervision procedures designed 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 for those purposes employ instructors, coordinators, and other necessary personnel.
(d) Provide for the district to purchase liability insurance for pupils enrolled in programs of study involving work experience, which may include work-based learning, or vocational education at locations off school grounds approved by the governing board, or require pupils to purchase insurance and to pass on all or a portion of the costs, at the discretion of the governing board, to the district.

SEC. 3.

 Section 51760.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:

51760.1.
 (a) Work-based learning opportunities for pupils may be delivered by partnership academies conducted pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 54690) of Chapter 9 of Part 29, regional occupational programs, as defined in Section 52303, and other educational programs, and may include, but are not limited to, work experience education, as defined in Section 51764, community classrooms, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 52372.1, cooperative career technical education programs, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 52372.1, and job shadowing experience, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 51769.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, school districts opting to offer work-based learning opportunities to pupils shall ensure that, when applicable, pupils are afforded the same statutory and regulatory safeguards as pupils in work experience programs.
(c) For purposes of this section, “work-based learning” means an educational approach or instructional methodology that uses the workplace or real work to provide pupils with the knowledge and skills that will help them connect school experiences to real-life work activities and future career opportunities. When feasible, work-based learning should be an integral part of a more comprehensive pathway program that integrates challenging academic courses and demanding career technical education.
(d) High-quality work-based learning may include, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(1) Emphasis on learning in the workplace.
(2) Exposure to a wide range of career areas and worksites in order to help youth make informed choices about education, training options, and career pursuits.
(3) Thoughtful placement of pupils into opportunities that are evaluated for their safety, qualified supervision, and learning opportunities.
(4) Appropriate sequencing of experiences based upon the pupil’s age and maturity, ranging from site visits and tours, job shadowing, unpaid and paid internships, and paid work experience.
(5) Explicit aim to supplement, or systematically reinforce, classroom instruction in technical courses, academic courses, or both.
(6) Systematic attention to the development of 21st century skills, such as communication, problem solving, teamwork, project planning, and critical thinking.
(7) A trained mentor who structures the learning at the worksite.
(8) Coordination between the classroom teacher and the workplace mentor or supervisor.
(9) Built-in regular assessment and feedback.
(10) Involvement of youth in choosing and structuring the experience.
(11) Clear and measurable learning outcomes.