SB638 - California Education Interagency Council: California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program.

Senate Bill No. 638 CHAPTER 457 An act to amend Sections 53070 and 53074 of, and to amend, repeal, and add Sections 53070.1, 53071, 53072, and 53075 of, the Education Code, and to add Sections 11906, 11907, and 11908 to the Government Code, relating to career technical education. [ Approved by Governor October 07, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State October 07, 2025. ] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 638, Padilla. California Education Interagency Council: California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program. Existing law establishes the California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program, administered as a competitive grant program by the State Department of Education, with the purpose of encouraging, maintaining, and strengthening the delivery of high-quality career technical education programs. Existing law requires an applicant to demonstrate that it, or its career technical education program, as applicable, meets certain minimum eligibility standards. This bill, commencing June 1, 2026, would revise and recast those minimum eligibility standards, as specified, including standards related to (A) collaborating with labor and business entities, (B) ensuring career programs and career pathways are aligned with workforce needs and labor market demand, (C) providing opportunities for certain pupil populations, and (D) reporting information for purposes of program evaluation, as provided. The bill, commencing June 1, 2026, would also require successful applicants to demonstrate a holistic approach to providing career technical education and career pathways, as provided. In developing the request for grant applications and considering grant applications under the program, existing law requires the State Department of Education to consult with the executive director of the State Board of Education and entities having career technical education expertise, including the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. This bill, commencing June 1, 2026, would require the department to consult with the California Education Interagency Council instead of the chancellor for those purposes. When determining proposed grant recipients, existing law requires positive consideration to be given to specified characteristics in an applicant, including that the applicant is located in an area with a high unemployment rate. This bill, commencing June 1, 2026, would require positive consideration to also be given to an applicant located in an area with a high poverty rate. The bill would define high unemployment rate and high poverty rate. Existing law establishes the Government Operations Agency, which consists of several state entities, including, but not limited to, the State Personnel Board, the Department of General Services, and the Office of Administrative Law. This bill would require the California Education Interagency Council established in the Government Operations Agency to perform, in an advisory capacity, certain duties, as specified, including, among others, developing recommendations regarding career technical education, college and career pathways, and workforce development recognizing segmental plans and other pertinent plans, and providing advice and recommending tools designed to support students across their educational careers, as specified. The bill would require the Office of the California Education Interagency Council to support the California Education Interagency Council, as specified, including by, among other things, developing and maintaining an internet website that provides access to the California Education Interagency Council’s agendas, reports, work products, and resources. Certain sections of this bill would become operative only if AB 1098 of the 2025–26 Regular Session is enacted. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) Too many Californians are struggling to access a high-quality job. (b) Seventy percent of Californians believe today’s children in California will be worse off financially in adulthood than their parents. (c) If current trends continue, about 40 percent of jobs in California will require at least a baccalaureate degree by 2030. (d) One out of every three jobs in California requires education beyond high school but less than a baccalaureate degree. (e) California has one of the widest gaps in income distribution in the United States. (f) In 2021, about 35 percent of Californians over 25 years of age had a baccalaureate degree or higher, about 19 percent of adults in California over 25 years of age did not have a high school degree, and about 6,800,000 Californians had a high school education but no college degree. (g) Households with a baccalaureate degree earner make 33 percent more today than similar households did in 1980, while households without a college graduate have seen wages decline by 8 percent. (h) There is a huge amount of untapped potential in ensuring access to career technical education and career pathways for individuals without a college education. (i) California is at a critical juncture, with more Californians needing access to a career pathway leading to a high-quality job and California’s economy needing a workforce ready to meet the needs of a rapidly changing labor market. (j) Although the need for more education and training is evident, accessing education and training is hard because of an antiquated workforce development system that is too difficult to access. (k) California needs to expand access to opportunity by increasing the number of career pathways, reducing bureaucratic barriers, and improving the evaluation of career technical education and workforce development programs. SEC. 2. Section 53070 of the Education Code is amended to read: 53070. (a) The California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program is hereby established as a state education, economic, and workforce development initiative with the goal of providing pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, with the knowledge and skills necessary to transition to employment and postsecondary education. The purpose of the competitive program is to encourage, maintain, and strengthen the delivery of high-quality career technical education programs. (b) The following amounts are hereby appropriated to the department from the General Fund for the program established pursuant to this chapter: (1) For the 2015–16 fiscal year, four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000). (2) For the 2016–17 fiscal year, three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000). (3) For the 2017–18 fiscal year, two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000). (c) For the 2018–19 fiscal year to the 2020–21 fiscal year, inclusive, one hundred fifty million dollars ($150,000,000) shall be made available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute, for the program established pursuant to this chapter. (d) For the 2021–22 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) shall be made available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute, for the program established pursuant to this chapter. (e) It is the intent of the Legislature that one-time funding for career technical education appropriated pursuant to Section 94 of Assembly Bill 121 of the 2024–25 Regular Session (Chapter 8 of the Statutes of 2025) be made available to the department for the program established pursuant to this chapter. (f) Of the amounts appropriated pursuant to subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), 4 percent is designated for applicants with average daily attendance of less than or equal to 140, 8 percent is designated for applicants with average daily attendance of more than 140 and less than or equal to 550, and 88 percent is designated for applicants with average daily attendance of more than 550, unless otherwise determined by the Superintendent in collaboration with the executive director of the state board. For purposes of this section, average daily attendance shall be those figures that are reported at the time of the second principal apportionment for the previous fiscal year for pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive. For any applicant consisting of more than one school district, county office of education, charter school, or regional occupational center or program (ROCP) operated by a joint powers authority or county office of education, or of any combination of those entities, the sum of the average daily attendance for each of the constituent entities shall be used for purposes of this subdivision. SEC. 3. Section 53070.1 of the Education Code is amended to read: 53070.1. (a) Commencing July 1, 2018, before awarding any grants under the program, the department shall report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, the Department of Finance, and the Governor on how it will determine that an applicant has met the minimum eligibility standards of the program. This report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (1) The components that need to be contained in the written commitment required to meet the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 53071 and the process that will be used to determine if a grant recipient has upheld the agreement. (2) The process that will be used to determine that an applicant, or an applicant’s career technical education program, meets all of the minimum eligibility standards specified in subdivision (c) of Section 53071, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (A) The components that need to be contained in the written agreements required to meet the requirements of paragraphs (4) and (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 53071 and the process that will be used to verify that the partnerships are ongoing and structural. (B) The process for determining that programs reflect regional or local labor market demands and focus on current or emerging high-skill, high-wage, or high-demand occupations. (C) The process for determining that programs are informed by the regional plan developed by their Strong Workforce Program consortium and in effect during the period for which the grant is awarded. (D) The mechanisms that will be used by the department to collect and report data submitted pursuant to paragraph (11) of subdivision (c) of Section 53071. (E) The process that will be used by the department to verify that an applicant receiving a renewal grant includes career technical education programs in its local control and accountability plan and annual update. (b) Before awarding grants under the program for the 2021–22 fiscal year, the department shall submit an updated report, as outlined in subdivision (a), detailing the process they will use to determine and verify that an applicant meets the minimum eligibility standards of the program. Annually thereafter, the department shall notify the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, the Department of Finance, and the Governor of any changes to the updated information reported pursuant to this subdivision. (c) This section shall become inoperative on June 1, 2026, and, as of January 1, 2027, is repealed. SEC. 4. Section 53070.1 is added to the Education Code, to read: 53070.1. (a) Commencing July 1, 2018, before awarding any grants under the program, the department shall report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, the Department of Finance, and the Governor on how it will determine that an applicant has met the minimum eligibility standards of the program. This report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (1) The components that need to be contained in the written commitment required to meet the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 53071 and the process that will be used to determine if a grant recipient has upheld the agreement. (2) The process that will be used to determine that an applicant, or an applicant’s career technical education program, meets all of the minimum eligibility standards specified in subdivision (c) of Section 53071, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (A) The components that need to be contained in the written agreements required to meet the requirements of paragraphs (4) and (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 53071 and the process that will be used to verify that the partnerships are ongoing and structural. (B) The process for determining that programs reflect regional or local labor market demands and focus on current or emerging high-skill, high-wage, or high-demand occupations. (C) The process for determining that programs are informed by the regional plan developed by their Strong Workforce Program consortium and in effect during the period for which the grant is awarded. (D) The mechanisms that will be used by the department to collect and report data submitted pursuant to paragraph (12) of subdivision (c) of Section 53071. (E) The process that will be used by the department to verify that an applicant receiving a renewal grant includes career technical education programs in its local control and accountability plan and annual update. (b) Before awarding grants under the program for the 2021–22 fiscal year, the department shall submit an updated report, as outlined in subdivision (a), detailing the process they will use to determine and verify that an applicant meets the minimum eligibility standards of the program. Annually thereafter, the department shall notify the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, the Department of Finance, and the Governor of any changes to the updated information reported pursuant to this subdivision. (c) This section shall become operative on June 1, 2026. SEC. 5. Section 53071 of the Education Code is amended to read: 53071. The department shall administer this program as a competitive grant program. An applicant shall demonstrate all of the following to be considered for a grant award: (a) (1) A proportional dollar-for-dollar match as follows for any funding that an applicant is determined to be eligible to receive under the allocation formula established pursuant to Section 53076: (A) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015, one dollar ($1) for every one dollar ($1) received from this program. (B) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2016, one dollar and fifty cents ($1.50) for every one dollar ($1) received from this program. (C) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2017, two dollars ($2) for every one dollar ($1) received from this program. (D) (i) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018, and each fiscal year thereafter, two dollars ($2) for every one dollar ($1) received from this program. (ii) Beginning July 1, 2021, the proportional dollar-for-dollar match shall be encumbered in [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]