SECTION 1.
(a) For the 2021–22 fiscal year, the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of Education. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall allocate these funds through a competitive selection process to a school district for the purpose of developing a Career Preparedness Systems Framework pilot program that could be used by local educational agencies as a diagnostic template that examines school systems that intentionally build and cultivate all of the following:(1) Soft skills.
(2) Hard skills.
(3) Pupil purpose and authentic voice.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the framework be in a format that can be easily used by civil rights groups, parents, businesses, and other local organizations to assess local educational agencies, including their focus on preparing pupils for jobs and careers, and to be used by local educational agencies as a guide to examine gaps in their own structures and systems, which will help them develop coherence in alignment.
(c) (1) On or before January 1, 2023, the selected school district shall submit a report to the State Department of Education and the Legislature on the development of the Career Preparedness Systems Framework that
includes recommendations on how to incorporate the framework into a local educational agency’s local control and accountability plan.
(2) The report to be submitted to the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(d) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Hard skills” are industry specific skills and certificates acquired through instruction and opportunities, including dual credit community college courses aligned to career pathways in high schools, and certificates earned through career technical education.
(2) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(3) “Pupil purpose and authentic voice” means instruction and opportunities that are meaningful and relevant to pupils, driven by their interests, and often self-initiated with appropriate guidance from teachers that help build pupil agency, including project-based learning, in-class civic engagement activities, access to world languages to build multilingualism, and courses that intentionally integrate ethnic studies and culturally relevant teaching that affirms identity.
(4) “Soft skills” are skills that are needed for a person to be successful on the job and navigating a career or, more likely, multiple careers that are increasingly dependent on hybrid and virtual work platforms, and includes instruction and opportunities for pupils that develop emotional and relational intelligence, and that develop the ability to self-reflect, collaborate, think critically, be innovative and
creative, demonstrate time and project management, and communicate effectively both in speaking and writing.