SACRAMENTO – Senate Bill 66—legislation authored by Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) aimed at streamlining and improving the California Community Colleges’ career technical education (CTE) programs—was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown Wednesday.
Taking effect on January 1, 2017, SB 66 will increase cross-agency data collection and streamline reporting requirements. In 2014, the California Community College Board of Governors commissioned the Task Force on Workforce, Job Creation, and a Strong Economy (Task Force), which convened a series of town halls, regional groups, and meetings and consequently developed a number of policy recommendations designed to improve CTE in California. The Task Force recommendations identified a number of issues that hinder CTE program efficiency, accountability, and access. Once students leave high school or college CTE programs, it is difficult to track their success and determine if they went on to obtain a third-party credential or certificate. Additionally, state and federally funded initiatives addressing workforce and economic development often have similar and overlapping goals but varying reporting requirements, leading to inefficient reporting and extra work for programs receiving multiple streams of funding. Senator Leyva spearheaded SB 66 to address these two ongoing issues that limit the effectiveness of CTE programs in California.
“SB 66 will help students across California continue to receive quality career technical education training as they prepare to step into higher paying careers,” Senator Leyva said. “I am grateful that SB 66 received unanimous bipartisan support in the Legislature and has now been signed into law by Governor Brown. The broad coalition of support for SB 66, including labor and business groups, community colleges and advocates is a testament to the importance of bolstering CTE programs in California. I thank the California Community College Chancellor’s Office and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce for co-sponsoring this important legislation that will help prepare the next generation of students for the jobs that businesses need.”
California will likely face a labor shortage of 1.5 million workers with “some college” education by 2025, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. The “some college” category consists mostly of workers who have either completed an associate’s degree or some type of certificate. Workers with “some college” education earn between 20 and 30 percent more than workers with only a high school diploma. Jobs in high growth sectors, such as health care practitioners and technicians, earn on average $27 more per hour than they could earn with only a high school diploma. Career technical education programs are vital so that students can continue to obtain these types of jobs.
