WHEREAS, The State of California will observe April 7 through April 13, 2024, as Adult Education Week, recognizing the unique accomplishments of California adult schools; and

WHEREAS, The California State Legislature acknowledges that K–12-based adult schools offer quality programs to meet the ever-changing economic and workforce development and lifelong learning needs of our diverse state; and

WHEREAS, The first recorded adult education class in California was held in the basement of St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco in 1856. The class was authorized by the San Francisco Board of Education to teach English to Irish, Italian, and Chinese immigrants. John Swett, who was the first volunteer teacher for the class, later became a California State Superintendent of Public Instruction; and

WHEREAS, Most students served through adult education deal with illiteracy, poverty, and high unemployment, and are the most negatively impacted group when the state faces economic, social, and health challenges, most recently seen through the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, Adult schools have been used on numerous occasions to assist the state as it dealt with significant social, political, and economic issues through job training programs during World War II, immigration reform of the 1980s, and, most recently, the Great Recession; and

WHEREAS, Adult education in California overcame its biggest challenge as a result of the severe economic crisis facing both the state and the nation in 2008–09. Funding that was previously reserved for adult education was redistributed to other levels of education in the state, resulting in many adult schools decreasing in size and some closing; and

WHEREAS, Over 66 percent of adult learners enrolled in adult schools across California during the 2022–23 school year were between 25 and 54 years of age, making them very likely to have children in our public school system. The impact of adult education is felt across generations, particularly for early childhood learners who have been characterized as a priority of the Governor and the Legislature; and

WHEREAS, In the 2022–23 school year, adult education provided over 42,000,000 reportable hours of instruction to California’s adults; and

WHEREAS, Adult schools are a primary community resource for the teaching and instruction of adult literacy, working in collaboration with community colleges, community centers, and libraries; and

WHEREAS, In the 2022–23 school year, over 113,000 adult learners enrolled in high school diploma or equivalency classes and another 69,000 enrolled in adult basic education classes. Adult schools provide a way for adults to complete secondary studies and obtain a high school diploma or equivalency at their own pace, and to prepare for and transition to postsecondary education and career training; and

WHEREAS, Adult schools provide critical opportunities to bring recent school dropouts back to school; and

WHEREAS, In the 2022–23 school year, over 257,000 adult learners enrolled in English as a Second Language classes. Adult schools provide instruction to those in the state who need English as a Second Language and citizenship courses, and play a key role in immigrant integration and the path to United States citizenship, which is so important for our diverse communities and in this time of immigration reform; and

WHEREAS, Adult schools, recognizing that to break the cycle of illiteracy and to support educational equity for all our children we must focus on educating parents, provide programs in family literacy at elementary schools in conjunction with community-based organizations; and

WHEREAS, In the 2022–23 school year, nearly 110,000 adult learners enrolled in career training classes. Adult schools provide short-term career and technical training for adults seeking changes or enhancements in their career pathway, especially for highly educated immigrants from other countries to integrate and use their prior skills and experience; and

WHEREAS, In the 2022–23 school year, over 7,000 adults were served in programs designed for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities; and

WHEREAS, Adult schools in California were saved from the brink of closure across the state as a result of the Legislature and administration establishing the California Adult Education Program in 2015 that is helping to restore access and programming for adult learners with planning and collaboration on a regional scale; and

WHEREAS, Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, adult schools continued to provide critical programming and services to adult education students and their families via literacy and basic skills to help ensure K–12 students were successful as they navigated the challenge of distance learning to finish the school year; and

WHEREAS, Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing today, adult schools provide important short-term career training programs, including for critical health care positions, to address both the short- and long-term impacts of the pandemic and to respond to Governor Gavin Newsom’s charge to meet the moment and address the needs of our communities; and

WHEREAS, Adult schools in California are diverse places of learning for students safe from discrimination and bullying that seek to support all students regardless of their ethnicity, race, faith, and orientation; and

WHEREAS, The California Adult Education Program celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, having been established in law in 2014; now, therefore, be it