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AB-2273 Career technical education: California Pilot Paid Internship Program.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 02/08/2024 09:00 PM
AB2273:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2273

Introduced by Assembly Member Holden

February 08, 2024

An act to add Chapter 16.6 (commencing with Section 53077) to Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to career technical education, and making an appropriation therefor.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2273, as introduced, Holden. Career technical education: California Pilot Paid Internship Program.
Existing law establishes the California Career Pathways Trust as a state education and economic and workforce development initiative with the goal of preparing pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to successfully transition to postsecondary education and training and to employment in high-skill, high-wage, and high-growth or emerging sectors of the state’s economy. Existing law establishes the California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program, administered by the State Department of Education, with the purpose of encouraging, maintaining, and strengthening the delivery of high-quality career technical education programs.
This bill would establish the California Pilot Paid Internship Program in the department to help prepare thousands of California pupils for high-skill jobs of the future in engineering, health care, mathematics, manufacturing, science, teaching, and technology. The bill would appropriate $12,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to provide technical assistance to, and allocate grant funds to, school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education that establish or expand existing local public-private internship programs, as provided. The bill would require the department to allocate grant funds to local educational agencies to support, in total, up to 5,000 rising grade 12 pupils per year participating in 8-week internship programs, as provided. The bill would require the department to develop an application process for local educational agency grant applicants, as provided.
This bill would require local educational agency grant applicants to use grant funds and employer matching funds to provide participating pupils with an hourly wage of $15. The bill would require public-private partnership internship programs to, among other things, include a career-related experience that exposes grade 12 pupils to the world of work and opportunities for supervised and specific practice for a future career. The bill would require grant recipients to report pupil internship data to the Superintendent of Public Instruction on or before December 31 of each fiscal year, as provided. The bill would authorize grant funds to be available for expenditure or encumbrance from the 2024–25 fiscal year through the 2026–27 fiscal year. The bill would require the Superintendent to contract for an independent evaluation of the program and provide a report to the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature by January 1, 2028.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Career and technical education (CTE) provides an important pathway to success for high school pupils and offers pupils the opportunity to personalize their education based on their career interests and unique learning needs.
(b) A critical workforce challenge in the United States is the skills gap, particularly among jobs that require a high school diploma, postsecondary certificate, or associate degree.
(c) Over three-fourths of United States grade 9 public school pupils in 2009 had participated in one CTE course by their senior year in 2013. Only 37 percent of these pupils took additional CTE courses by their senior year in 2013.
(d) High school pupils who take at least two CTE courses in their high school years graduate from high school at higher rates than pupils who do not.
(e) Internships provide employers with talented and engaged high school youth that bring fresh energy and curiosity to the workplace.
(f) Organizations and businesses can benefit from the pupils’ skills, creativity, and fresh perspectives. Hosting interns can also be a cost-effective way to recruit, train, and evaluate prospective employees.
(g) Unpaid internships exclude the most marginalized in society from an opportunity to gain valuable life and professional experience.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 16.6 (commencing with Section 53077) is added to Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:
CHAPTER  16.6. California Pilot Paid Internship Program

53077.
 (a) For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(2) “Program” means the California Pilot Paid Internship Program established pursuant to subdivision (b).
(b) (1) The sum of twelve million dollars ($12,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the department for the California Pilot Paid Internship Program, which is hereby established in the department. The department shall provide grants to local educational agencies that establish or expand existing local public-private partnership internship programs that will, collectively, help prepare thousands of California pupils for high-skill jobs of the future in engineering, health care, mathematics, manufacturing, science, teaching, and technology. The program model shall deliver the following core benefits to California:
(A) Pupils will gain hands-on experience in a career technical education field that will help prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow.
(B) Pupils will earn wages to help support themselves and their families while gaining valuable real-world personal finance experiences.
(C) Pupils will spend their wages in their communities, generating additional spending to support local businesses, economic recovery, and growth.
(2) The department shall administer the program by providing grant funds and technical expertise to local educational agencies’ career technical education internship programs. Local educational agencies shall use grant funds to pay participating pupils for their internship work pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d).
(c) (1) The department shall allocate funds appropriated pursuant to subdivision (b) as grants to local educational agencies to support, in total, up to 5,000 rising grade 12 pupils per year participating in eight-week internship programs that provide up to 40 hours of work per week.
(2) Local educational agency grant applicants shall be chosen based on an application process developed by the department that considers existing career technical education pathway programs and existing public-private partnerships that provide pupils internships in their communities.
(d) As a condition of receiving grant funds pursuant to subdivision (c), local educational agencies shall comply with the following requirements:
(1) (A) Use grant funds and employer matching funds to provide participating pupils with an hourly wage of fifteen dollars ($15), in consultation with the department.
(B) Program funds awarded pursuant to subdivision (c) shall account for seven dollars and fifty cents ($7.50) of the fifteen-dollar ($15) wage described in subparagraph (A).
(C) Employer matching funds shall account for seven dollars and fifty cents ($7.50) of the fifteen-dollar ($15) wage described in subparagraph (A).
(2) Report pupil internship data to the Superintendent on or before December 31 of each fiscal year. This report shall include all of the following:
(A) The number of pupil internships.
(B) The total hours worked by pupils.
(C) The businesses, organizations, or industries in which pupils were employed.
(e) (1) Any public-private partnership internship program funded pursuant to subdivision (c) shall include all of the following components:
(A) A career-related experience that exposes grade 12 pupils to the world of work.
(B) Partnerships with local businesses, industries, nonprofit organizations, or other organizations in the community.
(C) Opportunities for supervised and specific practice for a future career.
(D) Intern placement occurring during the summer between 11th and 12th grade.
(2) The following components, on their own, shall not qualify as public-private partnership internship programs eligible for funding pursuant to subdivision (c):
(A) Job shadowing.
(B) One-time events.
(C) Jobs that pupils secure on their own.
(f) Funds awarded pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be available for expenditure or encumbrance from the 2024–25 fiscal year through the 2026–27 fiscal year.
(g) Upon conclusion of the program, the Superintendent shall contract for an independent evaluation of the program and provide a report to the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature by January 1, 2028, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(h) Funds appropriated for purposes of offering paid internships pursuant to subdivision (b) shall not count towards satisfying the minimum funding obligation to school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.