52300. In enacting this article, it is the intent of the
Legislature to provide qualified students with the opportunity to
attend a technical school or enroll in a career technical or
technical training program, regardless of the geographical location
of their residence in a county or region. The Legislature hereby
declares that a regional occupational center will serve the state and
national interests in providing career technical and technical
education to prepare students for an increasingly technological
society in which generalized training and skills are insufficient to
prepare high school students and graduates, and out-of-school youth
and adults for the many employment opportunities which require
special or technical training and skills. The Legislature also
declares that regional occupational centers will enable a broader
curriculum in technical subjects to be offered, and will avoid
unnecessary duplication of courses and expensive training equipment,
and will provide a flexibility in operation which will facilitate
rapid program adjustments and meeting changing training needs as they
arise.
It is recognized by the Legislature that career technical programs
may achieve great flexibility of planning, scope and operation by
the conduct of these programs in a variety of physical facilities at
various training locations.
It is the further intent of the Legislature that regional
occupational centers and programs provide career technical and
occupational instruction related to the attainment of skills so that
trainees are prepared for gainful employment in the area for which
training was provided, or are upgraded so they have the higher level
skills required because of new and changing technologies or so that
they are prepared for enrollment in more advanced training programs.
52301. (a) (1) The county superintendent of schools of each county,
with the consent of the state board, may establish and maintain, or
with one or more counties may establish and maintain, a regional
occupational center, or regional occupational program, in the county
to provide education and training in career technical courses. The
governing boards of any school districts maintaining high schools in
the county may, with the consent of the state board and of the county
superintendent of schools, cooperate in the establishment and
maintenance of a regional occupational center or program, except that
if a school district also maintains 500 or more schools, its
governing board may establish and maintain one or more regional
occupational centers or programs, without those restrictions. A
regional occupational center or program may be established by two or
more school districts maintaining high schools through the use of the
staff and facilities of a community college or community colleges
serving the same geographic area as the school districts maintaining
the high schools, with the consent of the state board and the county
superintendent of schools.
(2) The establishment and maintenance of a regional occupational
center or program, by two or more school districts may be undertaken
pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code. In a regional
occupational center or program, the functions of the county auditor
undertaken pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of
Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code shall be
performed by the county superintendent of schools in a county in
which the board of supervisors has transferred educational functions
from the county auditor to the county superintendent of schools
pursuant to Sections 42649, as added by Chapter 533 of the Statutes
of 1977, and 85265.5. If a school district or school districts
establish and maintain a regional occupational center or program,
pursuant to this chapter, the county superintendent of schools may,
with the consent of the state board, establish and maintain a
separate regional occupational center or centers or program or
programs.
(b) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, a single
school district located in a class 1 county, as defined in Section
1205, and having an average daily attendance of 50,000 or more, or a
single school district located in a class 2 county, as defined in
Section 1205, and having an average daily attendance of 100,000 or
more, may apply to the state board through the county superintendent
of schools for permission to establish a regional occupational center
or program. Except as provided in subdivision (c), the state board
shall, within 90 days of receipt of an application, prescribe a
procedure whereby the school district may establish a center or
program in accordance with its application and in compliance with the
provisions of the State Plan for Career Technical Education. The
county superintendent of schools may supervise establishment of the
center or program.
(c) (1) The state board may disapprove a waiver application
submitted by a single school district pursuant to Article 3
(commencing with Section 33050) of Chapter 1 of Part 20 for
permission to establish a regional occupational center or program
which does not meet the requirements of this section if the state
board determines that the establishment of the center or program
would have an adverse effect upon existing regional occupational
centers or programs located in school districts which are contiguous
to the applicant school district.
(2) The state board shall establish criteria to measure adverse
effect. The criteria shall include, but not be limited to, hardship
on (A) school districts operating regional occupational centers or
programs which are contiguous to the applicant school district and
(B) students of school districts operating regional occupational
centers or programs that are contiguous to the applicant school
district.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any regional
occupational center or program operated by a single school district
under Section 33050 shall be granted permanent status if the single
school district has previously been granted two waivers from the
state board to operate a single school district regional occupational
center or program and the single school district maintains at least
three but not more than five comprehensive high schools within the
school district. The revenue limit for a regional occupational center
or program established under this subdivision shall be the lower of
either: (1) the revenue limit under which the center or program
operates as of January 1, 1985, or (2) the revenue limit of the
school district as of January 1, 1985, except that this revenue limit
shall be subject to annual percentage cost-of-living adjustments
provided for regional occupational centers and programs. The
governing board of the school district shall retain authority to
decide whether or not to operate the regional occupational center or
program under this subdivision.
52301.3. Notwithstanding subdivision (d) of Section 52301, the
State Board of Education may grant permanent status to the Kern Union
High School District to operate a single district regional
occupational center or program, if that status is requested in
writing by the county superintendent of schools of Kern County and
the governing board of the Kern Union High School District.
52301.5. For the purposes of this chapter:
(a) "California Occupational Information System" means the
statewide comprehensive labor market and occupational supply and
demand information system described by Section 10530 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code.
(b) "State-Local Cooperative Labor Market Information program"
means that labor market information system established in Section
10533 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.
(c) "Job market study" means a review of the existing educational
programs in light of available labor market information, including
occupational supply and demand, for a labor market area.
(d) "Labor market area" means a county or aggregation of counties
designated by the Employment Development Department that has one or
more central core cities and that meets criteria of population,
population density, commute patterns, and social and economic
integration specified by the Employment Development Department.
52302. (a) On or before July 1, 2010, the governing board of each
regional occupational center or program shall ensure that at least 90
percent of all state-funded courses offered by the center or
program, in occupational areas in which both the program or center
and the community college offer instruction, are part of occupational
course sequences that target comprehensive skills. Each occupational
sequence shall do all of the following:
(1) Result in an occupational skill certificate developed in
cooperation with the appropriate employer advisory board created
under Section 52302.2.
(2) Provide prerequisite courses that are needed to enter
apprenticeship or postsecondary vocational certificate or degree
programs. Where possible, sequenced courses shall be linked to
certificate and degree programs in the region.
(3) Focus on occupations requiring comprehensive skills leading to
high entry-level wages or the possibility of significant wage
increases after a few years on the job, or both.
(4) Offer as many courses as possible that have been approved by
the University of California as courses meeting the "A-G" admissions
requirements.
(b) (1) On or before July 1, 2008, the governing board of each
regional occupational center or program shall develop a plan for
establishing sequences of courses, and certify to the department,
that those sequences have been developed, as described in subdivision
(a). The board shall consult with the superintendents of the school
districts served by the center or program and presidents of community
colleges in the area during the development of the plan.
(2) The plan shall be presented at a public hearing by the
governing board of each school district served by the regional
occupational center or program and by the county board of education.
(3) Community college boards with identified articulated programs
shall also review the plans in a public session.
(4) In developing the plan, each regional occupational program or
center shall consult with school districts and community college
districts located within the region served by the program or center
and with the relevant occupational advisers and local workforce
investment board to ensure the plan meets the vocational education
needs of high school pupils in the region by providing sequences of
courses that begin with middle or high school introductory courses,
including, but not limited to, occupational skill courses provided by
high schools or regional occupational programs or centers.
(5) The plan shall maximize the use of local, state, and federal
resources in helping high school pupils enter comprehensive skill
occupations or apprenticeship programs, or continue education in
college, or all of these, after graduating from high school.
(6) The plan shall include strategies for filling gaps in courses
or other services needed to make the sequences effective in meeting
the needs of pupils in developing skills and attending community
college upon graduation from high school.
(7) Each center or program shall submit a copy of the approved
plan to the appropriate community college or colleges in the region
and the Superintendent on or before September 1, 2008. Every four
years after this date, on or before July 1, each center and program
shall submit an update to the plan to the local community college or
colleges and the Superintendent.
(c) As a condition of receiving federal funds provided under the
Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of
1998 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 2301 et seq.), or a successor of that act, and
to the extent permitted by federal law, school districts, regional
occupational centers or programs, and community college districts
shall do all of the following:
(1) Develop course sequences that meet the requirements of this
section according to the schedule set forth in this paragraph.
(A) On or before July 1, 2008, school districts, regional
occupational centers or programs, and community college districts
shall have adopted an approved plan as required under this section.
(B) On or before July 1, 2009, school districts, regional
occupational centers or programs, and community college districts
shall have established course sequences as required under this
section that include at least one-third of the courses offered by the
regional occupational center or program in occupational areas in
which both the program or center and the community college offer
instruction.
(C) On or before July 1, 2010, school districts, regional
occupational centers or programs, and community college districts
shall have established course sequences as required under this
section that include at least two-thirds of the courses offered by
the regional occupational center or program in occupational areas in
which both the program or center and the community college offer
instruction.
(2) Provide pupils who are participating in vocational sequences
with information and experiences designed to increase their
postgraduation work and school options, including, but not limited
to, all of the following:
(A) Information about the admissions requirements of the
University of California and California State University.
(B) Information about the placement requirements of the local
community college or colleges.
(C) Information about higher education options related to the
interests of the pupil.
(D) Encourage visits to local colleges and universities offering
programs that allow pupils to gain additional skills and degrees in
related occupations.
(E) Information and referrals to employers for internships, summer
employment opportunities, and employment after graduation from high
school.
(3) School districts, regional occupational centers or programs,
and community college districts that do not develop course sequences
on or before the dates established under this subdivision, and have
not received a waiver under subdivision (d), shall enter into a
corrective action plan with the department and shall meet any
timelines established by the Superintendent.
(d) (1) The department, with the assistance of the Office of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, shall meet with each
program or center and the community college or colleges in the
region no later than the 2009-10 fiscal year to validate that course
sequences meeting the requirements of this section have been
developed. These meetings shall be conducted using the existing
resources of the department and shall be consistent with the
standards developed pursuant to Section 51226.
(2) The department and the office of the chancellor shall provide
technical assistance to programs or centers and community colleges
that have developed articulated sequences for less than half of the
courses offered by the program or center.
(3) The Superintendent may waive the requirements of subdivision
(a) for programs or centers and community colleges located in rural
areas of the state if the Superintendent finds that development of
sequences is infeasible because of the distance, travel time, or
safety between the center or program and the community college.
52302.2. (a) The governing board of each regional occupational
center or program shall establish and maintain an employer advisory
board or boards pursuant to guidelines developed by the department.
The advisory board shall do all of the following:
(1) Assist in the development of skill certificates that identify
the skills and knowledge that pupils completing an occupational
course sequence are expected to acquire upon completing the sequence.
The advisory board also shall recommend the measures and criteria,
and methods to evaluate whether pupils actually acquired the
identified skills and knowledge.
(2) Review at least once a year whether pupils who are assessed as
having met the requirements for a skill certificate possess the
skills needed for success in employment in that occupation.
(3) Review the specific occupational sequences offered by the
regional occupational center or program to train pupils for jobs that
are in demand and offer high beginning salaries or the potential for
significant wage increase after several years on the job.
(4) Assist the regional occupational center or program in
developing internships, paid summer employment, and postgraduation
employment opportunities for pupils participating in the course
sequences.
(5) Assist the regional occupational center or program in
identifying and creating college scholarships for pupils
participating in the course sequences.
(b) Employer advisory boards shall be composed of representatives
of trade organizations and businesses or government agencies that
hire a significant number of employees each year and require the
skills and knowledge that are taught in the course sequence or
sequences in that occupational area, as well as at least one
representative from a school district career technical educational
advisory committee. The department shall develop regulations guiding
the establishment of these boards.
(c) Regional occupational centers or programs operated in a rural
county of the sixth, seventh, or eighth class may designate a local
business or industry organization as the advisory board and consult
with the leadership of the local business or industry organization to
determine skill needs in the region and emerging job market needs.
For purposes of this section, the local business organization may be
designated as the advisory board for the regional occupational center
or program.
52302.3. (a) Every career technical course or program offered by a
school district or districts or county superintendent or
superintendents sponsoring a regional occupational center or program
shall be reviewed every two years by the appropriate governing body
to assure that each course or program does all of the following:
(1) Meets a documented labor market demand.
(2) Does not represent unnecessary duplication of other job skills
training programs in the area.
(3) Is of demonstrated effectiveness as measured by the employment
and completion success of its pupils.
(b) Any course or program that does not meet the requirements of
subdivision (a) and the standards promulgated by the governing body
shall be terminated within one year.
52302.5. A regional occupational center or regional occupational
program shall do all of the following:
(a) Provide individual counseling and guidance in career technical
matters.
(b) Provide a curriculum that includes a sequence of academic and
skill instruction in specific occupational fields leading to an
approved skill certificate and vocational degree, apprenticeship, or
postsecondary certificate program pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 52302, or provide an opportunity for
pupils to acquire entry-level career technical skills.
(c) Maintain a pupil-teacher ratio which will enable pupils to
achieve optimum benefits from the instructional program.
(d) Assign the highest priority in services to youth from the age
of 16 to 18 years, inclusive.
52302.8. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that
vocational training resources that are provided through regional
occupational centers and programs are an essential component of the
state's secondary school system and the local system of providing
occupational skills training to high school pupils. For this reason,
the Legislature finds and declares that these resources should be
focused primarily on the needs of pupils enrolled in high school.
(b) For the 2008-09 fiscal year, a regional occupational center or
program may claim no more than 50 percent of the state-funded
average daily attendance for which the center or program is eligible,
for services provided to students who are not enrolled in grades 9
to 12, inclusive.
(c) For the 2009-10 fiscal year, a regional occupational center or
program may claim no more than 30 percent of the state-funded
average daily attendance for which the center or program is eligible,
for services provided to students who are not enrolled in grades 9
to 12, inclusive.
(d) For the 2011-12 fiscal year and every fiscal year thereafter,
a regional occupational center or program may claim no more than 10
percent of the state-funded average daily attendance for which the
center or program is eligible, for services provided to students who
are not enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, and up to an
additional 5 percent for CalWORKs, Temporary Assistance Program, or
Job Corps participants and participants under the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2810 et seq.) who are enrolled
in Intensive Training services.
(e) Pupils who are CalWORKs, Temporary Assistance Program, or Job
Corps participants shall have priority for service within the
percentage limits established under subdivision (d).
(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (d), a regional occupational
center or program may claim more than 15 percent of its average daily
attendance for students who are not enrolled in grades 9 to 12,
inclusive, if all of the students who are not enrolled in grades 9 to
12, inclusive, are CalWORKs, Temporary Assistance Program, or Job
Corps participants, and if the governing board of the regional
occupational center or program does all of the following:
(1) Meets with local human services directors, and representatives
of adult education programs, community colleges and other
institutions of higher education, to assess the needs of CalWORKs,
Temporary Assistance Program, or, Job Corps and federal Workforce
Investment Act participants to identify alternative ways to meet the
needs of these adult students.
(2) Enters into a transition plan, approved by the Superintendent,
to become in compliance with subdivision (d) in accordance with
benchmarks and timelines established in the transition plan.
Transition plans shall be established pursuant to guidelines issued
by the department, in consultation with the State Department of
Social Services, and shall be resubmitted and reviewed annually.
(g) Notwithstanding subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), a regional
occupational center or program that claims more than 40 percent of
its students are not enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, on
January 1, 2007, shall submit a letter to the Superintendent by July
1 of each year until it complies with this subdivision, outlining the
goals of the regional occupational center or program to reduce the
number of adult students in order to comply with subdivision (d) on
or before July 1, 2013.
(h) Regional occupational centers and programs operated in a rural
county of the sixth, seventh, or eighth class may exceed the number
of adults by an additional 10 percent of the limits established in
subdivisions (b), (c), and (d).
(i) (1) For purposes of this calculation, adult average daily
attendance attributable to continuously enrolled grade 12 pupils who
have not passed the high school exit examination pursuant to Section
60851 is excluded from the calculation under this section. Amounts
that may become available from reductions resulting from the
enactment of this section shall be redirected to other regional
occupational centers or programs to serve additional secondary
pupils.
(2) Adult average daily attendance funding for a regional
occupational center or program that has entered into a corrective
action plan pursuant to subdivision (k) shall not be redirected to
other regional occupational centers or programs to serve additional
secondary pupils for up to three years while the regional
occupational center or program is in corrective action.
(j) The governing boards of a community college district and a
regional occupational center or program may enter into contractual
agreements under which the center or program provides services to
adult students of the community college district affected by this
section if both of the following are satisfied:
(1) The agreements conform to state regulations and audit
requirements jointly developed by the Chancellor of the Office of the
California Community Colleges and the State Department of Education,
in consultation with, and subject to approval by, the Department of
Finance.
(2) A course offered for adults pursuant to an agreement entered
into pursuant to this subdivision is limited to the same cost per
student to the state as if the course were offered at the regional
occupational center or program. This subdivision does not authorize
the apportionment of funds for community colleges for adult students
in excess of the revenue limit for regional occupational centers or
programs if a course is deemed eligible for college credit.
(k) A regional occupational center or program that fails to meet a
timeline established under subdivision (c), (d), or (g) shall meet
with the community college, adult education program, or other adult
service to identify alternative means of meeting the needs of adult
students and shall enter into a corrective action plan administered
by the department. The corrective action plan shall be established
pursuant to guidelines issued by the department and shall be
submitted to the department annually for review.
52302.9. Regional occupational centers and programs may jointly
establish, operate, and share the enrollments and costs of career
technical education instruction with adult education programs offered
by school districts serving the same geographic area. These programs
shall be approved by the State Board of Education and the county
superintendent of schools and shall be subject to guidelines
established by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. These
programs shall also be funded at the adult revenue limit amount
provided pursuant to Section 42238.
52303. "Regional occupational program," as used in this chapter,
means a sequence of career technical or technical training programs
that meet the criteria and standards of instructional programs in
regional occupational centers and are conducted in a variety of
physical facilities that are not necessarily situated in one single
plant or site.
52304. Subsequent to completing the survey required by Section
52302 and prior to establishing a regional occupational center or
program authorized by Section 52301, the appropriate governing board,
boards, or county superintendent of schools, as the case may be,
shall determine whether or not the survey and analysis made pursuant
to Section 52302 justifies the proposed skill training, and shall
further determine whether the skill training will be offered through
a regional occupational center or program, or through a contract with
an approved private postsecondary school pursuant to the provisions
of Section 8092.
52304.1. The governing board of each school district maintaining a
high school shall annually review and assess the participation of
pupils in grades 11 and 12 in regional occupational centers and
programs. The governing board shall prepare an annual plan to
increase the participation of these pupils unless it determines that
there are no additional pupils enrolled in the district who would
benefit from this participation.
The governing board shall conduct public hearings for purposes of
reviewing the participation of these pupils and for the adoption of
the plan required under this section.
52305. A regional occupational center or regional occupational
program may:
(a) Be established pursuant to Section 52301 to provide day,
including Saturday and Sunday, and evening full-time and part-time
career technical education programs for minors and adults, the year
around.
(b) Include within its career technical training programs, the
establishment and operation of a sheltered workshop.
(c) Permit the establishment and operation of business,
commercial, trade, manufacturing, or construction activities as will
best serve the aims and purposes of career technical education. These
activities shall also permit the sale of products or services to
private or public corporations or companies, or to the general
public.
52306. (a) Any business, commercial, trade, manufacturing, or
construction activity referred to in subdivision (c) of Section 52305
may be undertaken as part of a regional occupational center or
program provided all the following conditions have been complied
with:
(1) Any facility or program operated pursuant to this section
shall be only for the education or training of students enrolled in a
regional occupational center or program.
(2) The facility or program shall be operated on a nonprofit
basis, with all revenues restricted in their use to cover
instructional and operating costs.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the facility or
program initially shall obtain the approval of the appropriate trade
associations concerned with the activity proposed and the approval of
the county labor council in the county in which the facility or
program is located.
(b) An activity conducted by a regional occupational center or
program, as described in subdivision (a), may be conducted without
the need to apply for or obtain local business licenses or permits,
nor shall the activity be subject to payment of local business taxes.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, proceeds from business
activities authorized in this section may, subject to the approval
of the governing board, be deposited in a checking account or
accounts by each regional occupational center or program and
disbursed for the necessary expenses of those business activities.
The account shall be established by the regional occupational center
or program and be in the custody of the principal or other
administrative official designated by the governing board or the
county superintendent of schools, as the case may be. The principal
or administrative official shall be responsible for all expenditures
therefrom, subject to regulations prescribed for this purpose by the
governing board or the county superintendent of schools, as the case
may be. An exact accounting of receipts and disbursements shall be
made to the district or county accounting office within a reasonable
period of time. The governing board or the county superintendent of
schools, as the case may be, shall provide for an audit of these
accounts on a regular basis.
(c) Attendance of students in any business, commercial, trade,
manufacturing, or construction activity referred to in subdivision
(c) of Section 52305, at any regional occupational center or regional
occupational program, shall be credited to that facility or program
for the purposes of apportionments from the State School Fund.
52307. To the extent feasible, in establishing programs pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 52305, efforts shall be made to work
cooperatively with sheltered workshops which are located in the area
of such programs.
52308. A regional occupational center or program may lease
buildings of not more than one story or equipment for a term not to
exceed 10 years, subject to an extension for a period not to exceed
10 years, without complying with any other provision of this code
relating to the lease of school buildings or equipment.
52309. (a) The curriculum initially provided by a regional
occupational center or regional occupational program upon commencing
operation shall be subject to the approval of the department and
shall comply with all requirements and standards set forth in the
State Plan for Career Technical Education. The department shall
approve regional occupational centers only after giving due
consideration to career technical education opportunities offered by
community colleges serving the same geographical area. The State
Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations establishing
guidelines and criteria for differentiating between courses
appropriate for regional occupational centers or regional
occupational programs and those appropriate for high schools.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall prepare and
distribute by April 1, 1977, and thereafter maintain, a detailed
handbook for use by the local educational agencies and regional
councils established pursuant to Section 8020. The handbook shall
contain course approval criteria, job market study criteria,
implementation plans for administrative regulations, and procedures
for securing course and program approvals.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the curriculum provided by a
regional occupational center or program shall not be subject to the
approval of the department as to any curriculum that is certified, by
resolution of the governing body of the regional occupational center
or program, to comply with the course approval criteria set forth in
the handbook described in subdivision (b).
52310. Credits earned from courses completed in a regional
occupational center or regional occupational program may be applied
toward fulfillment of requirements for a high school diploma. A
governing board of a district maintaining a regional occupational
center may confer a high school diploma upon any pupil who attends a
regional occupational center maintained by the district full time and
has satisfactorily completed the prescribed course of study of the
school district of residence or the course of study prescribed by the
county superintendent of schools, school district, or school
districts, as the case may be, maintaining such center.
52310.5. (a) Each regional occupational program or center shall be
maintained by, and subject to the authority and control of, its
governing board.
(b) The governing board of a regional occupational program or
center maintained by a single school district is the governing board
of the school district.
(c) The governing board of a regional occupational program or
center maintained by a county superintendent of schools is the county
board of education.
(d) The governing board of a regional occupational program or
center established by two or more school districts pursuant to
Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7
of Title 1 of the Government Code, shall consist of at least one
member of the governing board of each of the school districts
cooperating in the regional occupational program or center, the
member to be selected by the governing board of the district
represented by that member.
(e) Any other cooperative agreement established after 1965 to
establish a regional occupational program or center pursuant to
Section 52301 shall have a governing board which shall consist of at
least one member of the governing board of each of the school
districts cooperating in the regional occupational program or center.
Each member is to be selected by the governing board of the district
represented by that member.
(f) The governing board of a regional occupational center
maintained by either a single school district or a county is not
entitled to an additional stipend merely to carry out governance of
the operations of the regional occupational center or program.
52311. Each regional occupational center shall be established at a
readily accessible place selected to serve the pupils who will attend
the center. The county superintendent of schools or district or
districts, as the case may be, maintaining, or participating in the
operation of, the center may provide necessary transportation to the
pupils attending such center.
52312. For the purposes of this chapter the county superintendent
of schools, the governing board of the school district, or the
governing boards of school districts establishing a regional
occupational center, or regional occupational program, may acquire a
site for each regional occupational center or regional occupational
program maintained by him or the district, or districts, as the case
may be, and may plan, construct, purchase, or lease buildings
therefor, and may purchase or lease furniture, equipment, fixtures,
and other personal property therefor.
52313. The county superintendent of schools or governing board of a
school district or districts, as the case may be, maintaining a
regional occupational center, or regional occupational program, may
accept and expend grants from the federal government or from other
public or private sources for the purposes of this chapter.
52314. (a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (b), any pupil
eligible to attend a high school or adult school in a school district
subject to the jurisdiction of a county superintendent of schools
operating a regional occupational center or regional occupational
program, and who resides in a school district which by itself or in
cooperation with other school districts, has not established a
regional occupational center, or regional occupational program, is
eligible to attend a regional occupational center or regional
occupational program maintained by the county superintendent of
schools. Any school district which in cooperation with other school
districts maintains a regional occupational center, or regional
occupational program, or any cooperating school districts may admit
to the center, or program, any pupil, otherwise eligible, who resides
in the district or in any of the cooperating districts. Any school
district which by itself maintains a regional occupational center, or
regional occupational program, may admit to the center, or program,
any pupil, otherwise eligible, who resides in the district. No pupil,
including adults under Section 52610 shall be admitted to a regional
occupational center, or regional occupational program, unless the
county superintendent of schools or governing board of the district
or districts maintaining the center, or program, as the case may be,
determines that the pupil will benefit therefrom and approves of his
or her admission to the regional occupational center or regional
occupational program.
(2) Adult students shall not be enrolled in regional occupational
center or program courses during the school day on a high school
campus unless specifically authorized by the policy of the governing
board of the school district.
(3) A pupil may be admitted on a full-time or part-time basis, as
determined by the county superintendent of schools or governing board
of the school district or districts maintaining the center, or
program, as the case may be.
(b) A pupil is not eligible to be admitted to a regional
occupational center or program, and his or her attendance shall not
be credited to a regional occupational center or program, until he or
she has attained the age of 16 years, unless the pupil meets one or
more of the following conditions:
(1) The pupil is enrolled in grade 11 or a higher grade.
(2) The pupil received a referral and all of the following
conditions are met:
(A) The pupil is referred to a regional occupational center or
program as part of a comprehensive high school plan that has been
approved by a school counselor or school administrator. The approval
of the pupil's parents or guardian may be sought but is not required.
(B) The pupil's comprehensive high school plan requires referral
to a regional occupational center or program as part of a sequence of
vocational courses that allows the pupil to learn a comprehensive
skill occupation that culminates in earning a postsecondary
vocational certificate or diploma or its equivalent.
(C) The pupil is enrolled in a school that maintains any of grades
9 to 12, inclusive.
(3) The individualized education program of a pupil adopted
pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
56300) of Part 30 prescribes occupational training for which his or
her enrollment in a regional occupational center or program is deemed
appropriate.
(4) The pupil is enrolled in grade 10 and has a comprehensive high
school plan that has been approved by a school counselor, and the
admission of that pupil will not result in the denial of admission or
displacement of pupils in grades 11 and 12 that would otherwise
participate in the regional occupational center or program.
(c) (1) Each school district, county superintendent of schools, or
joint powers agency that maintains a regional occupational center or
regional occupational program shall submit to the department, at the
time and in the manner prescribed by the Superintendent, the
enrollment and average daily attendance for each grade level and the
enrollment and average daily attendance for each exemption set forth
in subdivision (b).
(2) The department shall submit this information to the education
and budget committees of the Legislature, the Legislative Analyst's
Office, and the Director of Finance by April 1 of each year for the
preceding school year.
52314.5. A regional occupational center or program established and
maintained by a county superintendent of schools, school districts,
or joint powers agencies pursuant to Section 52301 shall admit youths
between the ages of 15 to 18 years who are eligible to attend a high
school in a school district, but who have not been enrolled on a
full-time or part-time basis for a period of more than three months
during the regular school year, if all of the following apply:
(a) The center or program, in conjunction with the appropriate
school district, develops a comprehensive high school plan that
describes the academic and vocational instruction that will be
provided to the pupil.
(b) The pupil's parents or guardian approves the comprehensive
plan in writing.
(c) The pupil enrolls in the appropriate adult school or high
school courses that are needed to satisfy the comprehensive high
school plan.
52315. (a) Any visually impaired, orthopedically impaired, or deaf
person who is not enrolled in a regular high school or community
college program may attend a regional occupational center or regional
occupational program pursuant to the requirements described in
Section 52314.5. Additional special instruction and support services
shall be provided to these persons.
(b) If the Superintendent determines that there would be a
duplication of effort to these impaired persons if a regional
occupational center or regional occupational program provided
services to them, in that other programs exist that are available to
them, the Superintendent may disapprove of the curriculum to provide
programs to these impaired persons pursuant to Section 52309 and of
any state funding made available pursuant to Section 41897 for these
purposes.
52316. Any pupil enrolled in grade 10, 11, or 12, and who is also
attending a regional occupational center or regional occupational
program may be excused from attending courses in physical education
by the governing board of the school district maintaining grade 10,
11, or 12, and in which the pupil is enrolled, if attendance upon
such classes results in hardship because of travel time involved.
If a pupil is excused from physical education classes pursuant to
this section, the minimum schoolday for him in his regular high
school is 180 minutes.
52317. The governing board of any regional occupational center or
program operated by a joint powers agency, a single district, or a
county superintendent of schools maintaining a county regional
occupational center or program, may admit to its programs or classes,
on a full-time or part-time basis, any person who can benefit from
the program or class, including a person who does not reside in the
attendance area of the center or program, if there are openings in
the program or class. For purposes of this section, an interdistrict
attendance agreement shall not be required for out-of-district
enrollments.
Under no circumstances shall any person be enrolled in a regional
occupational center or program pursuant to this section in a manner
which contradicts delineation of function agreements.
Notwithstanding Section 51769 of the Education Code and Section
3368 of the Labor Code, regional occupational centers or programs or
school districts within the area controlled by regional occupational
centers or programs offering training to pupils residing outside its
attendance area, shall provide for workers' compensation for pupils
enrolled in a community classroom program.
52319. Whenever the establishment and maintenance of a regional
occupational center by two or more school districts has been
undertaken pursuant to an agreement entered into in accordance with
the provisions of Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter
5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, and the terms of
the agreement so authorize, provision may be made for the issuance of
bonds for construction and other capital expenditure for the
regional occupational center. An election shall be called, held, and
conducted in the manner provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 5300) of Part 4 of Division 1 of Title 1 on the question of
the approval of the issuance of such bonds. If, at the election, the
requisite number of voters cast their ballots in favor of the
issuance of bonds, the bonds shall be issued and sold in the manner
provided by law for the issuance and sale of bonds of a high school
district. The issuance and sale of such bonds shall be deemed to be
an act of the governing board of a high school district.
The total amount of bonds issued shall not exceed one-half of 1
percent of the taxable property of the area served by the regional
occupational center as shown by the last equalized assessment roll of
the county or counties which the center serves, and as modified
pursuant to Section 41201.
Bonds issued and sold pursuant to this section shall be retired
from proceeds of the tax under the provisions of Section 52317.
52320. For the purposes of receiving advances of funds from the
county treasury only, a regional occupational center shall be deemed
to be a school district.
52321. (a) (1) Commencing in the 2009-10 fiscal year, a regional
occupational center or program established and maintained by school
districts or joint powers agencies pursuant to Section 52301 shall
receive in annual operating funds directly from the county office of
education in which it is located an amount per unit of average daily
attendance equal to the revenue limit received by each of the
participating school districts for each unit of average daily
attendance generated in the regional occupational center or program
by each participating school district.
(2) A regional occupational center or program established and
maintained by a county superintendent of schools pursuant to Section
52301 shall receive funding pursuant to Section 2550. A county
superintendent of schools shall report average daily attendance to
the Superintendent for that funding.
(b) A regional occupational center or program may budget and
accumulate an amount necessary to meet the cashflow needs of the
regional occupational center or program known as a general reserve,
and also may budget and accumulate amounts known as the designated
fund balance and as the unappropriated fund balance. Alternatively, a
regional occupational center or program may budget and accumulate
amounts necessary to meet its long-term program needs in a separate
account known as the capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve
account, and this account shall be part of the designated fund
balance. At the end of each school year, the ending balance in the
regional occupational center or program account may be distributed to
any of the general reserve, designated fund balance, and
unappropriated fund balance accounts, provided that the combined
total distributed does not exceed 15 percent of the expenditures for
the current school year.
(1) The general reserve, the designated fund balance, including
the capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve account, and the
unappropriated fund balance shall be available for appropriation
only after approval by a majority vote of the governing body of the
regional occupational center or program.
(2) Funds of a regional occupational center or program shall be
distributed to the capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve
account only upon adoption by the governing board of a resolution
specifying the general use to which each appropriation from the
account would be put.
(c) (1) At the end of each school year, the combined ending
balances of the general reserve, the designated fund balance, except
the capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve account, and the
unappropriated fund balance shall not exceed 15 percent of the
expenditures for the current fiscal year.
(2) A regional occupational center or program may accumulate, over
a period of two or more school years, an ending balance in the
capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve account of more than
15 percent of the expenditures for the current fiscal year, under
provisions of a resolution of the governing board pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b).
(d) Funds placed in either the general reserve, the designated
fund balance, including the capital outlay and equipment replacement
reserve account, or the unappropriated fund balance shall be expended
only for regional occupational center or program educational
purposes.
(e) Commencing in the 2007-08 fiscal year, the Superintendent
shall require an annual certification by school districts, county
superintendents of schools, and joint powers agencies that the
regional occupational center or program funds have been expended as
provided in this section. The Superintendent shall withhold from the
apportionment of a subsequent fiscal year, any ending fund balance in
excess of 15 percent of the expenditures for the year, except those
funds specifically set aside by the governing board in the capital
outlay and equipment replacement reserve account.
52322. The State Board of Education shall make provision in
allocating any funds received from the federal government pursuant to
Public Law 576 of the 90th Congress to include regional occupational
centers and programs that comply with the requirements of this
chapter.
52323. No instruction shall be given in a regional occupational
center except by a qualified teacher holding a certificate issued
pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 44200) of Part 25 of
Division 3 of this title.
52324. Units of average daily attendance in the regional
occupational centers or regional occupational programs of a county
for a fiscal year are the quotient arising from dividing the total
number of days of pupil's attendance in the centers, or programs,
during the fiscal year by 175.
Attendance in regional occupational centers, or regional
occupational programs, operated under subdivision (a) of Section
52305 shall be considered pupil's attendance under this section, but
attendance in regional occupational centers, or regional occupational
programs, under subdivision (b) of Section 52305 shall not be so
considered.
As used in this section, "school district" includes each of those
districts which are cooperating in the maintenance of the center or
program, with the approval of the county superintendent of schools,
pursuant to Section 52301; and units of average daily attendance of
pupils residing in the school district shall be credited to the
school district.
52324.5. For the purpose of crediting attendance for apportionments
from Section A of the State School Fund during the fiscal year, any
person who is concurrently enrolled in a nonpublic high school and in
a regional occupational center or program operated under subdivision
(a) of Section 52305 and maintained by a district or districts shall
be classified as a regular student enrolled in a regular high school
program, notwithstanding Section 52610.
For the purposes of this section, a nonpublic high school is a
school which satisfies the requirements of Section 48222 if such
school is exempt from taxation under Section 214 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code, and if instruction in such school is given through
grade 12.
52324.6. (a) Any regional occupational program shall be eligible to
apply for apportionments as a necessary small regional occupational
program under this section if it is a regional occupational program
with an annual total average daily attendance of 350 or less in the
prior fiscal year, and the regional occupational program provides
instructional service to a comprehensive high school or schools that
have an average daily attendance in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, during
the fiscal year of 350 or less.
A necessary small regional occupational program may apply for a
small school regional occupational program service allocation
pursuant to this section for any or all of the comprehensive high
schools within its boundaries that have an average daily attendance
of 350 or less during the fiscal year, and at which instruction is
provided by the regional occupational program.
The county superintendents of schools shall annually certify the
eligibility of a regional occupational program as a necessary small
regional occupational program and annually certify the eligibility of
all comprehensive high schools within the boundaries that have been
selected by the necessary small regional occupational program to
receive small school regional occupational program service
allocations.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall annually
allocate small school regional occupational program service funding,
in accordance with the schedule prescribed in this subdivision, for
any and all comprehensive high schools that are certified as eligible
and are selected in accordance with subdivision (a). Regional
occupational programs that do not certify the employment of the
minimum number of full-time equivalent certificated employees at each
school shall have the total small school regional occupational
program service allocation for that school reduced by a pro rata
amount, based on the percentage of employee service provided in
comparison to the total number of regional occupational program
employees required for full funding. Full-time equivalency for
purposes of this subdivision shall be equal to six teaching periods
of comprehensive high school.
The small school regional occupational program service allocation
shall be adjusted annually by the same percentage cost-of-living
adjustment applied to other regional occupational center and program
revenue limits.
(c) (1) If a regional occupational program applies for funding
under this section, the regional occupational program shall certify
to the Superintendent of Public Instruction all concurrently enrolled
average daily attendance generated during the previous year in each
school to which small school regional occupational program service
funds were allocated under subdivision (b). The average daily
attendance certified under this subdivision shall be subtracted from
the regional occupational program's prior year total allowable
average daily attendance, and the remainder shall become the current
year allowable regional occupational program average daily attendance
for all nonconcurrently enrolled students and concurrently enrolled
students from schools not funded under subdivision (b). This
calculation shall be completed the year a regional occupational
program applies to become a necessary small regional occupational
program or the year that the eligible regional occupational program
selects any comprehensive high school defined in subdivision (a) to
receive a small school regional occupational program service
allocation.
(2) In the fiscal year that an eligible regional occupational
program selects to remove a certified comprehensive high school from
the small school regional occupational program service allocation
funding or when the comprehensive high school no longer qualifies
under the provisions of subdivision (a), the superintendent shall
allocate a sum equal to the average of the prior two years' annual
regional occupational program average daily attendance for the
comprehensive high school multiplied by either the statewide average
revenue limit per average daily attendance or the revenue limit per
average daily attendance of the regional occupational program,
whichever is greater, to the revenue limit of the eligible regional
occupational program.
(3) In addition, the superintendent shall raise the prior year's
annual concurrently enrolled average daily attendance for all schools
not funded under subdivision (b) of the eligible small school
regional occupational program an amount equal to the average of the
prior two years' annual regional occupational program average daily
attendance for the comprehensive high school. This adjusted allowable
average daily attendance shall be the new base upon which growth is
calculated for nonconcurrently enrolled students and concurrently
enrolled students from high schools not funded under subdivision (b),
within an eligible regional occupational program.
(d) Total annual apportionments for regional occupational programs
that qualify for funding under this section as necessary small
regional occupational programs shall be calculated in accordance with
the following formula:
Total small school Reported allowable Total annual
ROP service alloca- average daily state appor-
tions to selected attendance pursuant tionment for
comprehensive + to subdivision (c) = a necessary
high schools of multiplied by either small ROP
350 or less the statewide average
average daily ROP revenue limit or
attendance pursuant the ROP revenue limit,
to subdivision (b) whichever is greater
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require eligible
regional occupational programs to apply for funding under this
section.
(f) In fiscal years subsequent to the 1989-90 fiscal year, the
prior year's apportionment under this section shall be annually
adjusted by the same cost-of-living increase provided to regional
occupational programs through the standard apportionment system.
52325. A day of attendance for pupils enrolled in a regional
occupational center or program is 180 minutes of attendance.
52327. The governing board of any district maintaining a regional
occupational center may establish a bookstore on district property
for the purpose of offering for sale textbooks, workbooks,
supplementary textbooks and workbooks, school supplies, stationery
supplies, confectionary items, and related auxiliary school supplies
and services.
The governing board may establish a bookstore fund into which the
proceeds derived from the operation of a regional occupational center
bookstore may be transferred. Moneys in a bookstore fund shall be
deposited or invested in one or more of the following ways:
(a) Deposits in a bank or banks, or other institution, whose
accounts are federally insured.
(b) Investment certificates or withdrawable shares in
state-chartered savings and loan associations and savings accounts of
federal savings and loan associations, provided the associations are
doing business in this state and have their accounts insured by the
Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.
(c) Purchase of United States securities pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 16430 of the Government Code.
The governing board shall designate an employee or official of the
district to act as trustee for funds derived from the operation of a
regional occupational center bookstore and to receive those funds in
accordance with procedures established by the board.
All necessary expenses, including salaries, wages and costs of
capital improvements may be deducted from the revenue of a regional
occupational center bookstore. Net proceeds from the operation of a
regional occupational center bookstore shall be used for the general
benefit of the student body as determined by the governing board.
Income from a regional occupational center bookstore shall not be
included in the district revenue limit. Funds derived from the
operation of a regional occupational center bookstore shall be
subject to audit pursuant to Section 41020.
52327.5. Each governing board establishing or maintaining a
regional occupational center or program pursuant to Section 52310.5
shall meet the requirements set forth in Sections 35145, 41010,
41011, 41015, 41020, 42103, 51040, 51041, 51050, and 51056.
52328. (a) Any school district, located in whole or in part in a
county contiguous with the Republic of Mexico, or any county
superintendent of schools of a county contiguous with the Republic of
Mexico, which maintains a regional occupational center may enter
into a student exchange agreement with a trade and technical training
school located in the Republic of Mexico. Such student exchange
agreement shall permit Mexican students to take all or part of their
occupational training in the regional occupational center and shall
permit United States students to take all or part of their
occupational training in the Mexican trade and technical school.
(b) In computing the average daily attendance of the regional
occupational center, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
include any Mexican students in attendance if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) The student exchange agreement provides as nearly as
practicable for the exchange of students on a one-for-one basis
between the regional occupational center and the trade and technical
school.
(2) The educational services provided the United States students
in Mexico are at least equivalent in quality to the services provided
in the regional occupational center.
(3) The student exchange agreement has been approved by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction prior to its operative date.
(c) No average daily attendance shall be credited to the regional
occupational center for the United States students while in
attendance at the Mexican trade and technical school.
52329. The governing board of a school district located in a
county, or the county superintendent of schools maintaining a
regional occupational program in a county, any of the boundaries of
which are contiguous to the State of Arizona, may enter into an
agreement with a public or private educational agency located in that
state to provide to students living in the district and enrolled in
a regional occupational program, career technical or technical
training which, due to geographical isolation, is not otherwise
available to these students.
The program of training at the public or private educational
agency shall be approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction
of California and shall conform to the California State Plan for
Career Technical Education.
The attendance of pupils receiving career technical or technical
training at a public or private educational agency as authorized by
this section shall be included in the computation of average daily
attendance as prescribed by Sections 52324 and 52325, and shall be
credited to the county school service fund of the county of
residence. In no event, however, shall the county school service fund
be credited with more than one unit of average daily attendance per
calendar year on account of a pupil participating in a program
authorized by this section.
52330. The governing board of any school district or the county
superintendent of schools that is operating or jointly operating a
regional occupational center or program may establish and maintain
regional occupational center or regional occupational program classes
in industrial or school facilities located outside of the school
district or the jurisdiction of the county superintendent of schools,
respectively, for the purpose of providing training for students
enrolled in such a center or program.
The governing board of a school district or the county
superintendent of schools shall notify the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, prior to the establishment of classes pursuant to this
section, of the proposed establishment.
52331. A regional occupational program or center, established
pursuant to Section 52301, may contract with a community college
district to provide career technical education instruction and
services for students enrolled, or seeking to enroll, in a regional
occupational center or program. The instruction and services shall
comply with the requirements and standards for regional occupational
programs and centers as set forth in the State Plan for Career
Technical Education.
52334. Indirect costs charged to regional occupational centers and
programs may not exceed that of the school district or county office
of education, as appropriate, prior year indirect cost rate as
approved by the State Department of Education.
The indirect costs charged by county offices of education and
school districts that provide regional o
52300. In enacting this article, it is the intent of the
Legislature to provide qualified students with the opportunity to
attend a technical school or enroll in a career technical or
technical training program, regardless of the geographical location
of their residence in a county or region. The Legislature hereby
declares that a regional occupational center will serve the state and
national interests in providing career technical and technical
education to prepare students for an increasingly technological
society in which generalized training and skills are insufficient to
prepare high school students and graduates, and out-of-school youth
and adults for the many employment opportunities which require
special or technical training and skills. The Legislature also
declares that regional occupational centers will enable a broader
curriculum in technical subjects to be offered, and will avoid
unnecessary duplication of courses and expensive training equipment,
and will provide a flexibility in operation which will facilitate
rapid program adjustments and meeting changing training needs as they
arise.
It is recognized by the Legislature that career technical programs
may achieve great flexibility of planning, scope and operation by
the conduct of these programs in a variety of physical facilities at
various training locations.
It is the further intent of the Legislature that regional
occupational centers and programs provide career technical and
occupational instruction related to the attainment of skills so that
trainees are prepared for gainful employment in the area for which
training was provided, or are upgraded so they have the higher level
skills required because of new and changing technologies or so that
they are prepared for enrollment in more advanced training programs.
52301. (a) (1) The county superintendent of schools of each county,
with the consent of the state board, may establish and maintain, or
with one or more counties may establish and maintain, a regional
occupational center, or regional occupational program, in the county
to provide education and training in career technical courses. The
governing boards of any school districts maintaining high schools in
the county may, with the consent of the state board and of the county
superintendent of schools, cooperate in the establishment and
maintenance of a regional occupational center or program, except that
if a school district also maintains 500 or more schools, its
governing board may establish and maintain one or more regional
occupational centers or programs, without those restrictions. A
regional occupational center or program may be established by two or
more school districts maintaining high schools through the use of the
staff and facilities of a community college or community colleges
serving the same geographic area as the school districts maintaining
the high schools, with the consent of the state board and the county
superintendent of schools.
(2) The establishment and maintenance of a regional occupational
center or program, by two or more school districts may be undertaken
pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code. In a regional
occupational center or program, the functions of the county auditor
undertaken pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of
Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code shall be
performed by the county superintendent of schools in a county in
which the board of supervisors has transferred educational functions
from the county auditor to the county superintendent of schools
pursuant to Sections 42649, as added by Chapter 533 of the Statutes
of 1977, and 85265.5. If a school district or school districts
establish and maintain a regional occupational center or program,
pursuant to this chapter, the county superintendent of schools may,
with the consent of the state board, establish and maintain a
separate regional occupational center or centers or program or
programs.
(b) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, a single
school district located in a class 1 county, as defined in Section
1205, and having an average daily attendance of 50,000 or more, or a
single school district located in a class 2 county, as defined in
Section 1205, and having an average daily attendance of 100,000 or
more, may apply to the state board through the county superintendent
of schools for permission to establish a regional occupational center
or program. Except as provided in subdivision (c), the state board
shall, within 90 days of receipt of an application, prescribe a
procedure whereby the school district may establish a center or
program in accordance with its application and in compliance with the
provisions of the State Plan for Career Technical Education. The
county superintendent of schools may supervise establishment of the
center or program.
(c) (1) The state board may disapprove a waiver application
submitted by a single school district pursuant to Article 3
(commencing with Section 33050) of Chapter 1 of Part 20 for
permission to establish a regional occupational center or program
which does not meet the requirements of this section if the state
board determines that the establishment of the center or program
would have an adverse effect upon existing regional occupational
centers or programs located in school districts which are contiguous
to the applicant school district.
(2) The state board shall establish criteria to measure adverse
effect. The criteria shall include, but not be limited to, hardship
on (A) school districts operating regional occupational centers or
programs which are contiguous to the applicant school district and
(B) students of school districts operating regional occupational
centers or programs that are contiguous to the applicant school
district.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any regional
occupational center or program operated by a single school district
under Section 33050 shall be granted permanent status if the single
school district has previously been granted two waivers from the
state board to operate a single school district regional occupational
center or program and the single school district maintains at least
three but not more than five comprehensive high schools within the
school district. The revenue limit for a regional occupational center
or program established under this subdivision shall be the lower of
either: (1) the revenue limit under which the center or program
operates as of January 1, 1985, or (2) the revenue limit of the
school district as of January 1, 1985, except that this revenue limit
shall be subject to annual percentage cost-of-living adjustments
provided for regional occupational centers and programs. The
governing board of the school district shall retain authority to
decide whether or not to operate the regional occupational center or
program under this subdivision.
52301.3. Notwithstanding subdivision (d) of Section 52301, the
State Board of Education may grant permanent status to the Kern Union
High School District to operate a single district regional
occupational center or program, if that status is requested in
writing by the county superintendent of schools of Kern County and
the governing board of the Kern Union High School District.
52301.5. For the purposes of this chapter:
(a) "California Occupational Information System" means the
statewide comprehensive labor market and occupational supply and
demand information system described by Section 10530 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code.
(b) "State-Local Cooperative Labor Market Information program"
means that labor market information system established in Section
10533 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.
(c) "Job market study" means a review of the existing educational
programs in light of available labor market information, including
occupational supply and demand, for a labor market area.
(d) "Labor market area" means a county or aggregation of counties
designated by the Employment Development Department that has one or
more central core cities and that meets criteria of population,
population density, commute patterns, and social and economic
integration specified by the Employment Development Department.
52302. (a) On or before July 1, 2010, the governing board of each
regional occupational center or program shall ensure that at least 90
percent of all state-funded courses offered by the center or
program, in occupational areas in which both the program or center
and the community college offer instruction, are part of occupational
course sequences that target comprehensive skills. Each occupational
sequence shall do all of the following:
(1) Result in an occupational skill certificate developed in
cooperation with the appropriate employer advisory board created
under Section 52302.2.
(2) Provide prerequisite courses that are needed to enter
apprenticeship or postsecondary vocational certificate or degree
programs. Where possible, sequenced courses shall be linked to
certificate and degree programs in the region.
(3) Focus on occupations requiring comprehensive skills leading to
high entry-level wages or the possibility of significant wage
increases after a few years on the job, or both.
(4) Offer as many courses as possible that have been approved by
the University of California as courses meeting the "A-G" admissions
requirements.
(b) (1) On or before July 1, 2008, the governing board of each
regional occupational center or program shall develop a plan for
establishing sequences of courses, and certify to the department,
that those sequences have been developed, as described in subdivision
(a). The board shall consult with the superintendents of the school
districts served by the center or program and presidents of community
colleges in the area during the development of the plan.
(2) The plan shall be presented at a public hearing by the
governing board of each school district served by the regional
occupational center or program and by the county board of education.
(3) Community college boards with identified articulated programs
shall also review the plans in a public session.
(4) In developing the plan, each regional occupational program or
center shall consult with school districts and community college
districts located within the region served by the program or center
and with the relevant occupational advisers and local workforce
investment board to ensure the plan meets the vocational education
needs of high school pupils in the region by providing sequences of
courses that begin with middle or high school introductory courses,
including, but not limited to, occupational skill courses provided by
high schools or regional occupational programs or centers.
(5) The plan shall maximize the use of local, state, and federal
resources in helping high school pupils enter comprehensive skill
occupations or apprenticeship programs, or continue education in
college, or all of these, after graduating from high school.
(6) The plan shall include strategies for filling gaps in courses
or other services needed to make the sequences effective in meeting
the needs of pupils in developing skills and attending community
college upon graduation from high school.
(7) Each center or program shall submit a copy of the approved
plan to the appropriate community college or colleges in the region
and the Superintendent on or before September 1, 2008. Every four
years after this date, on or before July 1, each center and program
shall submit an update to the plan to the local community college or
colleges and the Superintendent.
(c) As a condition of receiving federal funds provided under the
Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of
1998 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 2301 et seq.), or a successor of that act, and
to the extent permitted by federal law, school districts, regional
occupational centers or programs, and community college districts
shall do all of the following:
(1) Develop course sequences that meet the requirements of this
section according to the schedule set forth in this paragraph.
(A) On or before July 1, 2008, school districts, regional
occupational centers or programs, and community college districts
shall have adopted an approved plan as required under this section.
(B) On or before July 1, 2009, school districts, regional
occupational centers or programs, and community college districts
shall have established course sequences as required under this
section that include at least one-third of the courses offered by the
regional occupational center or program in occupational areas in
which both the program or center and the community college offer
instruction.
(C) On or before July 1, 2010, school districts, regional
occupational centers or programs, and community college districts
shall have established course sequences as required under this
section that include at least two-thirds of the courses offered by
the regional occupational center or program in occupational areas in
which both the program or center and the community college offer
instruction.
(2) Provide pupils who are participating in vocational sequences
with information and experiences designed to increase their
postgraduation work and school options, including, but not limited
to, all of the following:
(A) Information about the admissions requirements of the
University of California and California State University.
(B) Information about the placement requirements of the local
community college or colleges.
(C) Information about higher education options related to the
interests of the pupil.
(D) Encourage visits to local colleges and universities offering
programs that allow pupils to gain additional skills and degrees in
related occupations.
(E) Information and referrals to employers for internships, summer
employment opportunities, and employment after graduation from high
school.
(3) School districts, regional occupational centers or programs,
and community college districts that do not develop course sequences
on or before the dates established under this subdivision, and have
not received a waiver under subdivision (d), shall enter into a
corrective action plan with the department and shall meet any
timelines established by the Superintendent.
(d) (1) The department, with the assistance of the Office of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, shall meet with each
program or center and the community college or colleges in the
region no later than the 2009-10 fiscal year to validate that course
sequences meeting the requirements of this section have been
developed. These meetings shall be conducted using the existing
resources of the department and shall be consistent with the
standards developed pursuant to Section 51226.
(2) The department and the office of the chancellor shall provide
technical assistance to programs or centers and community colleges
that have developed articulated sequences for less than half of the
courses offered by the program or center.
(3) The Superintendent may waive the requirements of subdivision
(a) for programs or centers and community colleges located in rural
areas of the state if the Superintendent finds that development of
sequences is infeasible because of the distance, travel time, or
safety between the center or program and the community college.
52302.2. (a) The governing board of each regional occupational
center or program shall establish and maintain an employer advisory
board or boards pursuant to guidelines developed by the department.
The advisory board shall do all of the following:
(1) Assist in the development of skill certificates that identify
the skills and knowledge that pupils completing an occupational
course sequence are expected to acquire upon completing the sequence.
The advisory board also shall recommend the measures and criteria,
and methods to evaluate whether pupils actually acquired the
identified skills and knowledge.
(2) Review at least once a year whether pupils who are assessed as
having met the requirements for a skill certificate possess the
skills needed for success in employment in that occupation.
(3) Review the specific occupational sequences offered by the
regional occupational center or program to train pupils for jobs that
are in demand and offer high beginning salaries or the potential for
significant wage increase after several years on the job.
(4) Assist the regional occupational center or program in
developing internships, paid summer employment, and postgraduation
employment opportunities for pupils participating in the course
sequences.
(5) Assist the regional occupational center or program in
identifying and creating college scholarships for pupils
participating in the course sequences.
(b) Employer advisory boards shall be composed of representatives
of trade organizations and businesses or government agencies that
hire a significant number of employees each year and require the
skills and knowledge that are taught in the course sequence or
sequences in that occupational area, as well as at least one
representative from a school district career technical educational
advisory committee. The department shall develop regulations guiding
the establishment of these boards.
(c) Regional occupational centers or programs operated in a rural
county of the sixth, seventh, or eighth class may designate a local
business or industry organization as the advisory board and consult
with the leadership of the local business or industry organization to
determine skill needs in the region and emerging job market needs.
For purposes of this section, the local business organization may be
designated as the advisory board for the regional occupational center
or program.
52302.3. (a) Every career technical course or program offered by a
school district or districts or county superintendent or
superintendents sponsoring a regional occupational center or program
shall be reviewed every two years by the appropriate governing body
to assure that each course or program does all of the following:
(1) Meets a documented labor market demand.
(2) Does not represent unnecessary duplication of other job skills
training programs in the area.
(3) Is of demonstrated effectiveness as measured by the employment
and completion success of its pupils.
(b) Any course or program that does not meet the requirements of
subdivision (a) and the standards promulgated by the governing body
shall be terminated within one year.
52302.5. A regional occupational center or regional occupational
program shall do all of the following:
(a) Provide individual counseling and guidance in career technical
matters.
(b) Provide a curriculum that includes a sequence of academic and
skill instruction in specific occupational fields leading to an
approved skill certificate and vocational degree, apprenticeship, or
postsecondary certificate program pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 52302, or provide an opportunity for
pupils to acquire entry-level career technical skills.
(c) Maintain a pupil-teacher ratio which will enable pupils to
achieve optimum benefits from the instructional program.
(d) Assign the highest priority in services to youth from the age
of 16 to 18 years, inclusive.
52302.8. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that
vocational training resources that are provided through regional
occupational centers and programs are an essential component of the
state's secondary school system and the local system of providing
occupational skills training to high school pupils. For this reason,
the Legislature finds and declares that these resources should be
focused primarily on the needs of pupils enrolled in high school.
(b) For the 2008-09 fiscal year, a regional occupational center or
program may claim no more than 50 percent of the state-funded
average daily attendance for which the center or program is eligible,
for services provided to students who are not enrolled in grades 9
to 12, inclusive.
(c) For the 2009-10 fiscal year, a regional occupational center or
program may claim no more than 30 percent of the state-funded
average daily attendance for which the center or program is eligible,
for services provided to students who are not enrolled in grades 9
to 12, inclusive.
(d) For the 2011-12 fiscal year and every fiscal year thereafter,
a regional occupational center or program may claim no more than 10
percent of the state-funded average daily attendance for which the
center or program is eligible, for services provided to students who
are not enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, and up to an
additional 5 percent for CalWORKs, Temporary Assistance Program, or
Job Corps participants and participants under the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2810 et seq.) who are enrolled
in Intensive Training services.
(e) Pupils who are CalWORKs, Temporary Assistance Program, or Job
Corps participants shall have priority for service within the
percentage limits established under subdivision (d).
(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (d), a regional occupational
center or program may claim more than 15 percent of its average daily
attendance for students who are not enrolled in grades 9 to 12,
inclusive, if all of the students who are not enrolled in grades 9 to
12, inclusive, are CalWORKs, Temporary Assistance Program, or Job
Corps participants, and if the governing board of the regional
occupational center or program does all of the following:
(1) Meets with local human services directors, and representatives
of adult education programs, community colleges and other
institutions of higher education, to assess the needs of CalWORKs,
Temporary Assistance Program, or, Job Corps and federal Workforce
Investment Act participants to identify alternative ways to meet the
needs of these adult students.
(2) Enters into a transition plan, approved by the Superintendent,
to become in compliance with subdivision (d) in accordance with
benchmarks and timelines established in the transition plan.
Transition plans shall be established pursuant to guidelines issued
by the department, in consultation with the State Department of
Social Services, and shall be resubmitted and reviewed annually.
(g) Notwithstanding subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), a regional
occupational center or program that claims more than 40 percent of
its students are not enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, on
January 1, 2007, shall submit a letter to the Superintendent by July
1 of each year until it complies with this subdivision, outlining the
goals of the regional occupational center or program to reduce the
number of adult students in order to comply with subdivision (d) on
or before July 1, 2013.
(h) Regional occupational centers and programs operated in a rural
county of the sixth, seventh, or eighth class may exceed the number
of adults by an additional 10 percent of the limits established in
subdivisions (b), (c), and (d).
(i) (1) For purposes of this calculation, adult average daily
attendance attributable to continuously enrolled grade 12 pupils who
have not passed the high school exit examination pursuant to Section
60851 is excluded from the calculation under this section. Amounts
that may become available from reductions resulting from the
enactment of this section shall be redirected to other regional
occupational centers or programs to serve additional secondary
pupils.
(2) Adult average daily attendance funding for a regional
occupational center or program that has entered into a corrective
action plan pursuant to subdivision (k) shall not be redirected to
other regional occupational centers or programs to serve additional
secondary pupils for up to three years while the regional
occupational center or program is in corrective action.
(j) The governing boards of a community college district and a
regional occupational center or program may enter into contractual
agreements under which the center or program provides services to
adult students of the community college district affected by this
section if both of the following are satisfied:
(1) The agreements conform to state regulations and audit
requirements jointly developed by the Chancellor of the Office of the
California Community Colleges and the State Department of Education,
in consultation with, and subject to approval by, the Department of
Finance.
(2) A course offered for adults pursuant to an agreement entered
into pursuant to this subdivision is limited to the same cost per
student to the state as if the course were offered at the regional
occupational center or program. This subdivision does not authorize
the apportionment of funds for community colleges for adult students
in excess of the revenue limit for regional occupational centers or
programs if a course is deemed eligible for college credit.
(k) A regional occupational center or program that fails to meet a
timeline established under subdivision (c), (d), or (g) shall meet
with the community college, adult education program, or other adult
service to identify alternative means of meeting the needs of adult
students and shall enter into a corrective action plan administered
by the department. The corrective action plan shall be established
pursuant to guidelines issued by the department and shall be
submitted to the department annually for review.
52302.9. Regional occupational centers and programs may jointly
establish, operate, and share the enrollments and costs of career
technical education instruction with adult education programs offered
by school districts serving the same geographic area. These programs
shall be approved by the State Board of Education and the county
superintendent of schools and shall be subject to guidelines
established by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. These
programs shall also be funded at the adult revenue limit amount
provided pursuant to Section 42238.
52303. "Regional occupational program," as used in this chapter,
means a sequence of career technical or technical training programs
that meet the criteria and standards of instructional programs in
regional occupational centers and are conducted in a variety of
physical facilities that are not necessarily situated in one single
plant or site.
52304. Subsequent to completing the survey required by Section
52302 and prior to establishing a regional occupational center or
program authorized by Section 52301, the appropriate governing board,
boards, or county superintendent of schools, as the case may be,
shall determine whether or not the survey and analysis made pursuant
to Section 52302 justifies the proposed skill training, and shall
further determine whether the skill training will be offered through
a regional occupational center or program, or through a contract with
an approved private postsecondary school pursuant to the provisions
of Section 8092.
52304.1. The governing board of each school district maintaining a
high school shall annually review and assess the participation of
pupils in grades 11 and 12 in regional occupational centers and
programs. The governing board shall prepare an annual plan to
increase the participation of these pupils unless it determines that
there are no additional pupils enrolled in the district who would
benefit from this participation.
The governing board shall conduct public hearings for purposes of
reviewing the participation of these pupils and for the adoption of
the plan required under this section.
52305. A regional occupational center or regional occupational
program may:
(a) Be established pursuant to Section 52301 to provide day,
including Saturday and Sunday, and evening full-time and part-time
career technical education programs for minors and adults, the year
around.
(b) Include within its career technical training programs, the
establishment and operation of a sheltered workshop.
(c) Permit the establishment and operation of business,
commercial, trade, manufacturing, or construction activities as will
best serve the aims and purposes of career technical education. These
activities shall also permit the sale of products or services to
private or public corporations or companies, or to the general
public.
52306. (a) Any business, commercial, trade, manufacturing, or
construction activity referred to in subdivision (c) of Section 52305
may be undertaken as part of a regional occupational center or
program provided all the following conditions have been complied
with:
(1) Any facility or program operated pursuant to this section
shall be only for the education or training of students enrolled in a
regional occupational center or program.
(2) The facility or program shall be operated on a nonprofit
basis, with all revenues restricted in their use to cover
instructional and operating costs.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the facility or
program initially shall obtain the approval of the appropriate trade
associations concerned with the activity proposed and the approval of
the county labor council in the county in which the facility or
program is located.
(b) An activity conducted by a regional occupational center or
program, as described in subdivision (a), may be conducted without
the need to apply for or obtain local business licenses or permits,
nor shall the activity be subject to payment of local business taxes.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, proceeds from business
activities authorized in this section may, subject to the approval
of the governing board, be deposited in a checking account or
accounts by each regional occupational center or program and
disbursed for the necessary expenses of those business activities.
The account shall be established by the regional occupational center
or program and be in the custody of the principal or other
administrative official designated by the governing board or the
county superintendent of schools, as the case may be. The principal
or administrative official shall be responsible for all expenditures
therefrom, subject to regulations prescribed for this purpose by the
governing board or the county superintendent of schools, as the case
may be. An exact accounting of receipts and disbursements shall be
made to the district or county accounting office within a reasonable
period of time. The governing board or the county superintendent of
schools, as the case may be, shall provide for an audit of these
accounts on a regular basis.
(c) Attendance of students in any business, commercial, trade,
manufacturing, or construction activity referred to in subdivision
(c) of Section 52305, at any regional occupational center or regional
occupational program, shall be credited to that facility or program
for the purposes of apportionments from the State School Fund.
52307. To the extent feasible, in establishing programs pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 52305, efforts shall be made to work
cooperatively with sheltered workshops which are located in the area
of such programs.
52308. A regional occupational center or program may lease
buildings of not more than one story or equipment for a term not to
exceed 10 years, subject to an extension for a period not to exceed
10 years, without complying with any other provision of this code
relating to the lease of school buildings or equipment.
52309. (a) The curriculum initially provided by a regional
occupational center or regional occupational program upon commencing
operation shall be subject to the approval of the department and
shall comply with all requirements and standards set forth in the
State Plan for Career Technical Education. The department shall
approve regional occupational centers only after giving due
consideration to career technical education opportunities offered by
community colleges serving the same geographical area. The State
Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations establishing
guidelines and criteria for differentiating between courses
appropriate for regional occupational centers or regional
occupational programs and those appropriate for high schools.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall prepare and
distribute by April 1, 1977, and thereafter maintain, a detailed
handbook for use by the local educational agencies and regional
councils established pursuant to Section 8020. The handbook shall
contain course approval criteria, job market study criteria,
implementation plans for administrative regulations, and procedures
for securing course and program approvals.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the curriculum provided by a
regional occupational center or program shall not be subject to the
approval of the department as to any curriculum that is certified, by
resolution of the governing body of the regional occupational center
or program, to comply with the course approval criteria set forth in
the handbook described in subdivision (b).
52310. Credits earned from courses completed in a regional
occupational center or regional occupational program may be applied
toward fulfillment of requirements for a high school diploma. A
governing board of a district maintaining a regional occupational
center may confer a high school diploma upon any pupil who attends a
regional occupational center maintained by the district full time and
has satisfactorily completed the prescribed course of study of the
school district of residence or the course of study prescribed by the
county superintendent of schools, school district, or school
districts, as the case may be, maintaining such center.
52310.5. (a) Each regional occupational program or center shall be
maintained by, and subject to the authority and control of, its
governing board.
(b) The governing board of a regional occupational program or
center maintained by a single school district is the governing board
of the school district.
(c) The governing board of a regional occupational program or
center maintained by a county superintendent of schools is the county
board of education.
(d) The governing board of a regional occupational program or
center established by two or more school districts pursuant to
Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7
of Title 1 of the Government Code, shall consist of at least one
member of the governing board of each of the school districts
cooperating in the regional occupational program or center, the
member to be selected by the governing board of the district
represented by that member.
(e) Any other cooperative agreement established after 1965 to
establish a regional occupational program or center pursuant to
Section 52301 shall have a governing board which shall consist of at
least one member of the governing board of each of the school
districts cooperating in the regional occupational program or center.
Each member is to be selected by the governing board of the district
represented by that member.
(f) The governing board of a regional occupational center
maintained by either a single school district or a county is not
entitled to an additional stipend merely to carry out governance of
the operations of the regional occupational center or program.
52311. Each regional occupational center shall be established at a
readily accessible place selected to serve the pupils who will attend
the center. The county superintendent of schools or district or
districts, as the case may be, maintaining, or participating in the
operation of, the center may provide necessary transportation to the
pupils attending such center.
52312. For the purposes of this chapter the county superintendent
of schools, the governing board of the school district, or the
governing boards of school districts establishing a regional
occupational center, or regional occupational program, may acquire a
site for each regional occupational center or regional occupational
program maintained by him or the district, or districts, as the case
may be, and may plan, construct, purchase, or lease buildings
therefor, and may purchase or lease furniture, equipment, fixtures,
and other personal property therefor.
52313. The county superintendent of schools or governing board of a
school district or districts, as the case may be, maintaining a
regional occupational center, or regional occupational program, may
accept and expend grants from the federal government or from other
public or private sources for the purposes of this chapter.
52314. (a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (b), any pupil
eligible to attend a high school or adult school in a school district
subject to the jurisdiction of a county superintendent of schools
operating a regional occupational center or regional occupational
program, and who resides in a school district which by itself or in
cooperation with other school districts, has not established a
regional occupational center, or regional occupational program, is
eligible to attend a regional occupational center or regional
occupational program maintained by the county superintendent of
schools. Any school district which in cooperation with other school
districts maintains a regional occupational center, or regional
occupational program, or any cooperating school districts may admit
to the center, or program, any pupil, otherwise eligible, who resides
in the district or in any of the cooperating districts. Any school
district which by itself maintains a regional occupational center, or
regional occupational program, may admit to the center, or program,
any pupil, otherwise eligible, who resides in the district. No pupil,
including adults under Section 52610 shall be admitted to a regional
occupational center, or regional occupational program, unless the
county superintendent of schools or governing board of the district
or districts maintaining the center, or program, as the case may be,
determines that the pupil will benefit therefrom and approves of his
or her admission to the regional occupational center or regional
occupational program.
(2) Adult students shall not be enrolled in regional occupational
center or program courses during the school day on a high school
campus unless specifically authorized by the policy of the governing
board of the school district.
(3) A pupil may be admitted on a full-time or part-time basis, as
determined by the county superintendent of schools or governing board
of the school district or districts maintaining the center, or
program, as the case may be.
(b) A pupil is not eligible to be admitted to a regional
occupational center or program, and his or her attendance shall not
be credited to a regional occupational center or program, until he or
she has attained the age of 16 years, unless the pupil meets one or
more of the following conditions:
(1) The pupil is enrolled in grade 11 or a higher grade.
(2) The pupil received a referral and all of the following
conditions are met:
(A) The pupil is referred to a regional occupational center or
program as part of a comprehensive high school plan that has been
approved by a school counselor or school administrator. The approval
of the pupil's parents or guardian may be sought but is not required.
(B) The pupil's comprehensive high school plan requires referral
to a regional occupational center or program as part of a sequence of
vocational courses that allows the pupil to learn a comprehensive
skill occupation that culminates in earning a postsecondary
vocational certificate or diploma or its equivalent.
(C) The pupil is enrolled in a school that maintains any of grades
9 to 12, inclusive.
(3) The individualized education program of a pupil adopted
pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
56300) of Part 30 prescribes occupational training for which his or
her enrollment in a regional occupational center or program is deemed
appropriate.
(4) The pupil is enrolled in grade 10 and has a comprehensive high
school plan that has been approved by a school counselor, and the
admission of that pupil will not result in the denial of admission or
displacement of pupils in grades 11 and 12 that would otherwise
participate in the regional occupational center or program.
(c) (1) Each school district, county superintendent of schools, or
joint powers agency that maintains a regional occupational center or
regional occupational program shall submit to the department, at the
time and in the manner prescribed by the Superintendent, the
enrollment and average daily attendance for each grade level and the
enrollment and average daily attendance for each exemption set forth
in subdivision (b).
(2) The department shall submit this information to the education
and budget committees of the Legislature, the Legislative Analyst's
Office, and the Director of Finance by April 1 of each year for the
preceding school year.
52314.5. A regional occupational center or program established and
maintained by a county superintendent of schools, school districts,
or joint powers agencies pursuant to Section 52301 shall admit youths
between the ages of 15 to 18 years who are eligible to attend a high
school in a school district, but who have not been enrolled on a
full-time or part-time basis for a period of more than three months
during the regular school year, if all of the following apply:
(a) The center or program, in conjunction with the appropriate
school district, develops a comprehensive high school plan that
describes the academic and vocational instruction that will be
provided to the pupil.
(b) The pupil's parents or guardian approves the comprehensive
plan in writing.
(c) The pupil enrolls in the appropriate adult school or high
school courses that are needed to satisfy the comprehensive high
school plan.
52315. (a) Any visually impaired, orthopedically impaired, or deaf
person who is not enrolled in a regular high school or community
college program may attend a regional occupational center or regional
occupational program pursuant to the requirements described in
Section 52314.5. Additional special instruction and support services
shall be provided to these persons.
(b) If the Superintendent determines that there would be a
duplication of effort to these impaired persons if a regional
occupational center or regional occupational program provided
services to them, in that other programs exist that are available to
them, the Superintendent may disapprove of the curriculum to provide
programs to these impaired persons pursuant to Section 52309 and of
any state funding made available pursuant to Section 41897 for these
purposes.
52316. Any pupil enrolled in grade 10, 11, or 12, and who is also
attending a regional occupational center or regional occupational
program may be excused from attending courses in physical education
by the governing board of the school district maintaining grade 10,
11, or 12, and in which the pupil is enrolled, if attendance upon
such classes results in hardship because of travel time involved.
If a pupil is excused from physical education classes pursuant to
this section, the minimum schoolday for him in his regular high
school is 180 minutes.
52317. The governing board of any regional occupational center or
program operated by a joint powers agency, a single district, or a
county superintendent of schools maintaining a county regional
occupational center or program, may admit to its programs or classes,
on a full-time or part-time basis, any person who can benefit from
the program or class, including a person who does not reside in the
attendance area of the center or program, if there are openings in
the program or class. For purposes of this section, an interdistrict
attendance agreement shall not be required for out-of-district
enrollments.
Under no circumstances shall any person be enrolled in a regional
occupational center or program pursuant to this section in a manner
which contradicts delineation of function agreements.
Notwithstanding Section 51769 of the Education Code and Section
3368 of the Labor Code, regional occupational centers or programs or
school districts within the area controlled by regional occupational
centers or programs offering training to pupils residing outside its
attendance area, shall provide for workers' compensation for pupils
enrolled in a community classroom program.
52319. Whenever the establishment and maintenance of a regional
occupational center by two or more school districts has been
undertaken pursuant to an agreement entered into in accordance with
the provisions of Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter
5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, and the terms of
the agreement so authorize, provision may be made for the issuance of
bonds for construction and other capital expenditure for the
regional occupational center. An election shall be called, held, and
conducted in the manner provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 5300) of Part 4 of Division 1 of Title 1 on the question of
the approval of the issuance of such bonds. If, at the election, the
requisite number of voters cast their ballots in favor of the
issuance of bonds, the bonds shall be issued and sold in the manner
provided by law for the issuance and sale of bonds of a high school
district. The issuance and sale of such bonds shall be deemed to be
an act of the governing board of a high school district.
The total amount of bonds issued shall not exceed one-half of 1
percent of the taxable property of the area served by the regional
occupational center as shown by the last equalized assessment roll of
the county or counties which the center serves, and as modified
pursuant to Section 41201.
Bonds issued and sold pursuant to this section shall be retired
from proceeds of the tax under the provisions of Section 52317.
52320. For the purposes of receiving advances of funds from the
county treasury only, a regional occupational center shall be deemed
to be a school district.
52321. (a) (1) Commencing in the 2009-10 fiscal year, a regional
occupational center or program established and maintained by school
districts or joint powers agencies pursuant to Section 52301 shall
receive in annual operating funds directly from the county office of
education in which it is located an amount per unit of average daily
attendance equal to the revenue limit received by each of the
participating school districts for each unit of average daily
attendance generated in the regional occupational center or program
by each participating school district.
(2) A regional occupational center or program established and
maintained by a county superintendent of schools pursuant to Section
52301 shall receive funding pursuant to Section 2550. A county
superintendent of schools shall report average daily attendance to
the Superintendent for that funding.
(b) A regional occupational center or program may budget and
accumulate an amount necessary to meet the cashflow needs of the
regional occupational center or program known as a general reserve,
and also may budget and accumulate amounts known as the designated
fund balance and as the unappropriated fund balance. Alternatively, a
regional occupational center or program may budget and accumulate
amounts necessary to meet its long-term program needs in a separate
account known as the capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve
account, and this account shall be part of the designated fund
balance. At the end of each school year, the ending balance in the
regional occupational center or program account may be distributed to
any of the general reserve, designated fund balance, and
unappropriated fund balance accounts, provided that the combined
total distributed does not exceed 15 percent of the expenditures for
the current school year.
(1) The general reserve, the designated fund balance, including
the capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve account, and the
unappropriated fund balance shall be available for appropriation
only after approval by a majority vote of the governing body of the
regional occupational center or program.
(2) Funds of a regional occupational center or program shall be
distributed to the capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve
account only upon adoption by the governing board of a resolution
specifying the general use to which each appropriation from the
account would be put.
(c) (1) At the end of each school year, the combined ending
balances of the general reserve, the designated fund balance, except
the capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve account, and the
unappropriated fund balance shall not exceed 15 percent of the
expenditures for the current fiscal year.
(2) A regional occupational center or program may accumulate, over
a period of two or more school years, an ending balance in the
capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve account of more than
15 percent of the expenditures for the current fiscal year, under
provisions of a resolution of the governing board pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b).
(d) Funds placed in either the general reserve, the designated
fund balance, including the capital outlay and equipment replacement
reserve account, or the unappropriated fund balance shall be expended
only for regional occupational center or program educational
purposes.
(e) Commencing in the 2007-08 fiscal year, the Superintendent
shall require an annual certification by school districts, county
superintendents of schools, and joint powers agencies that the
regional occupational center or program funds have been expended as
provided in this section. The Superintendent shall withhold from the
apportionment of a subsequent fiscal year, any ending fund balance in
excess of 15 percent of the expenditures for the year, except those
funds specifically set aside by the governing board in the capital
outlay and equipment replacement reserve account.
52322. The State Board of Education shall make provision in
allocating any funds received from the federal government pursuant to
Public Law 576 of the 90th Congress to include regional occupational
centers and programs that comply with the requirements of this
chapter.
52323. No instruction shall be given in a regional occupational
center except by a qualified teacher holding a certificate issued
pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 44200) of Part 25 of
Division 3 of this title.
52324. Units of average daily attendance in the regional
occupational centers or regional occupational programs of a county
for a fiscal year are the quotient arising from dividing the total
number of days of pupil's attendance in the centers, or programs,
during the fiscal year by 175.
Attendance in regional occupational centers, or regional
occupational programs, operated under subdivision (a) of Section
52305 shall be considered pupil's attendance under this section, but
attendance in regional occupational centers, or regional occupational
programs, under subdivision (b) of Section 52305 shall not be so
considered.
As used in this section, "school district" includes each of those
districts which are cooperating in the maintenance of the center or
program, with the approval of the county superintendent of schools,
pursuant to Section 52301; and units of average daily attendance of
pupils residing in the school district shall be credited to the
school district.
52324.5. For the purpose of crediting attendance for apportionments
from Section A of the State School Fund during the fiscal year, any
person who is concurrently enrolled in a nonpublic high school and in
a regional occupational center or program operated under subdivision
(a) of Section 52305 and maintained by a district or districts shall
be classified as a regular student enrolled in a regular high school
program, notwithstanding Section 52610.
For the purposes of this section, a nonpublic high school is a
school which satisfies the requirements of Section 48222 if such
school is exempt from taxation under Section 214 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code, and if instruction in such school is given through
grade 12.
52324.6. (a) Any regional occupational program shall be eligible to
apply for apportionments as a necessary small regional occupational
program under this section if it is a regional occupational program
with an annual total average daily attendance of 350 or less in the
prior fiscal year, and the regional occupational program provides
instructional service to a comprehensive high school or schools that
have an average daily attendance in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, during
the fiscal year of 350 or less.
A necessary small regional occupational program may apply for a
small school regional occupational program service allocation
pursuant to this section for any or all of the comprehensive high
schools within its boundaries that have an average daily attendance
of 350 or less during the fiscal year, and at which instruction is
provided by the regional occupational program.
The county superintendents of schools shall annually certify the
eligibility of a regional occupational program as a necessary small
regional occupational program and annually certify the eligibility of
all comprehensive high schools within the boundaries that have been
selected by the necessary small regional occupational program to
receive small school regional occupational program service
allocations.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall annually
allocate small school regional occupational program service funding,
in accordance with the schedule prescribed in this subdivision, for
any and all comprehensive high schools that are certified as eligible
and are selected in accordance with subdivision (a). Regional
occupational programs that do not certify the employment of the
minimum number of full-time equivalent certificated employees at each
school shall have the total small school regional occupational
program service allocation for that school reduced by a pro rata
amount, based on the percentage of employee service provided in
comparison to the total number of regional occupational program
employees required for full funding. Full-time equivalency for
purposes of this subdivision shall be equal to six teaching periods
of comprehensive high school.
The small school regional occupational program service allocation
shall be adjusted annually by the same percentage cost-of-living
adjustment applied to other regional occupational center and program
revenue limits.
(c) (1) If a regional occupational program applies for funding
under this section, the regional occupational program shall certify
to the Superintendent of Public Instruction all concurrently enrolled
average daily attendance generated during the previous year in each
school to which small school regional occupational program service
funds were allocated under subdivision (b). The average daily
attendance certified under this subdivision shall be subtracted from
the regional occupational program's prior year total allowable
average daily attendance, and the remainder shall become the current
year allowable regional occupational program average daily attendance
for all nonconcurrently enrolled students and concurrently enrolled
students from schools not funded under subdivision (b). This
calculation shall be completed the year a regional occupational
program applies to become a necessary small regional occupational
program or the year that the eligible regional occupational program
selects any comprehensive high school defined in subdivision (a) to
receive a small school regional occupational program service
allocation.
(2) In the fiscal year that an eligible regional occupational
program selects to remove a certified comprehensive high school from
the small school regional occupational program service allocation
funding or when the comprehensive high school no longer qualifies
under the provisions of subdivision (a), the superintendent shall
allocate a sum equal to the average of the prior two years' annual
regional occupational program average daily attendance for the
comprehensive high school multiplied by either the statewide average
revenue limit per average daily attendance or the revenue limit per
average daily attendance of the regional occupational program,
whichever is greater, to the revenue limit of the eligible regional
occupational program.
(3) In addition, the superintendent shall raise the prior year's
annual concurrently enrolled average daily attendance for all schools
not funded under subdivision (b) of the eligible small school
regional occupational program an amount equal to the average of the
prior two years' annual regional occupational program average daily
attendance for the comprehensive high school. This adjusted allowable
average daily attendance shall be the new base upon which growth is
calculated for nonconcurrently enrolled students and concurrently
enrolled students from high schools not funded under subdivision (b),
within an eligible regional occupational program.
(d) Total annual apportionments for regional occupational programs
that qualify for funding under this section as necessary small
regional occupational programs shall be calculated in accordance with
the following formula:
Total small school Reported allowable Total annual
ROP service alloca- average daily state appor-
tions to selected attendance pursuant tionment for
comprehensive + to subdivision (c) = a necessary
high schools of multiplied by either small ROP
350 or less the statewide average
average daily ROP revenue limit or
attendance pursuant the ROP revenue limit,
to subdivision (b) whichever is greater
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require eligible
regional occupational programs to apply for funding under this
section.
(f) In fiscal years subsequent to the 1989-90 fiscal year, the
prior year's apportionment under this section shall be annually
adjusted by the same cost-of-living increase provided to regional
occupational programs through the standard apportionment system.
52325. A day of attendance for pupils enrolled in a regional
occupational center or program is 180 minutes of attendance.
52327. The governing board of any district maintaining a regional
occupational center may establish a bookstore on district property
for the purpose of offering for sale textbooks, workbooks,
supplementary textbooks and workbooks, school supplies, stationery
supplies, confectionary items, and related auxiliary school supplies
and services.
The governing board may establish a bookstore fund into which the
proceeds derived from the operation of a regional occupational center
bookstore may be transferred. Moneys in a bookstore fund shall be
deposited or invested in one or more of the following ways:
(a) Deposits in a bank or banks, or other institution, whose
accounts are federally insured.
(b) Investment certificates or withdrawable shares in
state-chartered savings and loan associations and savings accounts of
federal savings and loan associations, provided the associations are
doing business in this state and have their accounts insured by the
Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.
(c) Purchase of United States securities pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 16430 of the Government Code.
The governing board shall designate an employee or official of the
district to act as trustee for funds derived from the operation of a
regional occupational center bookstore and to receive those funds in
accordance with procedures established by the board.
All necessary expenses, including salaries, wages and costs of
capital improvements may be deducted from the revenue of a regional
occupational center bookstore. Net proceeds from the operation of a
regional occupational center bookstore shall be used for the general
benefit of the student body as determined by the governing board.
Income from a regional occupational center bookstore shall not be
included in the district revenue limit. Funds derived from the
operation of a regional occupational center bookstore shall be
subject to audit pursuant to Section 41020.
52327.5. Each governing board establishing or maintaining a
regional occupational center or program pursuant to Section 52310.5
shall meet the requirements set forth in Sections 35145, 41010,
41011, 41015, 41020, 42103, 51040, 51041, 51050, and 51056.
52328. (a) Any school district, located in whole or in part in a
county contiguous with the Republic of Mexico, or any county
superintendent of schools of a county contiguous with the Republic of
Mexico, which maintains a regional occupational center may enter
into a student exchange agreement with a trade and technical training
school located in the Republic of Mexico. Such student exchange
agreement shall permit Mexican students to take all or part of their
occupational training in the regional occupational center and shall
permit United States students to take all or part of their
occupational training in the Mexican trade and technical school.
(b) In computing the average daily attendance of the regional
occupational center, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
include any Mexican students in attendance if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) The student exchange agreement provides as nearly as
practicable for the exchange of students on a one-for-one basis
between the regional occupational center and the trade and technical
school.
(2) The educational services provided the United States students
in Mexico are at least equivalent in quality to the services provided
in the regional occupational center.
(3) The student exchange agreement has been approved by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction prior to its operative date.
(c) No average daily attendance shall be credited to the regional
occupational center for the United States students while in
attendance at the Mexican trade and technical school.
52329. The governing board of a school district located in a
county, or the county superintendent of schools maintaining a
regional occupational program in a county, any of the boundaries of
which are contiguous to the State of Arizona, may enter into an
agreement with a public or private educational agency located in that
state to provide to students living in the district and enrolled in
a regional occupational program, career technical or technical
training which, due to geographical isolation, is not otherwise
available to these students.
The program of training at the public or private educational
agency shall be approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction
of California and shall conform to the California State Plan for
Career Technical Education.
The attendance of pupils receiving career technical or technical
training at a public or private educational agency as authorized by
this section shall be included in the computation of average daily
attendance as prescribed by Sections 52324 and 52325, and shall be
credited to the county school service fund of the county of
residence. In no event, however, shall the county school service fund
be credited with more than one unit of average daily attendance per
calendar year on account of a pupil participating in a program
authorized by this section.
52330. The governing board of any school district or the county
superintendent of schools that is operating or jointly operating a
regional occupational center or program may establish and maintain
regional occupational center or regional occupational program classes
in industrial or school facilities located outside of the school
district or the jurisdiction of the county superintendent of schools,
respectively, for the purpose of providing training for students
enrolled in such a center or program.
The governing board of a school district or the county
superintendent of schools shall notify the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, prior to the establishment of classes pursuant to this
section, of the proposed establishment.
52331. A regional occupational program or center, established
pursuant to Section 52301, may contract with a community college
district to provide career technical education instruction and
services for students enrolled, or seeking to enroll, in a regional
occupational center or program. The instruction and services shall
comply with the requirements and standards for regional occupational
programs and centers as set forth in the State Plan for Career
Technical Education.
52334. Indirect costs charged to regional occupational centers and
programs may not exceed that of the school district or county office
of education, as appropriate, prior year indirect cost rate as
approved by the State Department of Education.
The indirect costs charged by county offices of education and
school districts that provide regional o
52300. In enacting this article, it is the intent of the
Legislature to provide qualified students with the opportunity to
attend a technical school or enroll in a career technical or
technical training program, regardless of the geographical location
of their residence in a county or region. The Legislature hereby
declares that a regional occupational center will serve the state and
national interests in providing career technical and technical
education to prepare students for an increasingly technological
society in which generalized training and skills are insufficient to
prepare high school students and graduates, and out-of-school youth
and adults for the many employment opportunities which require
special or technical training and skills. The Legislature also
declares that regional occupational centers will enable a broader
curriculum in technical subjects to be offered, and will avoid
unnecessary duplication of courses and expensive training equipment,
and will provide a flexibility in operation which will facilitate
rapid program adjustments and meeting changing training needs as they
arise.
It is recognized by the Legislature that career technical programs
may achieve great flexibility of planning, scope and operation by
the conduct of these programs in a variety of physical facilities at
various training locations.
It is the further intent of the Legislature that regional
occupational centers and programs provide career technical and
occupational instruction related to the attainment of skills so that
trainees are prepared for gainful employment in the area for which
training was provided, or are upgraded so they have the higher level
skills required because of new and changing technologies or so that
they are prepared for enrollment in more advanced training programs.
52301. (a) (1) The county superintendent of schools of each county,
with the consent of the state board, may establish and maintain, or
with one or more counties may establish and maintain, a regional
occupational center, or regional occupational program, in the county
to provide education and training in career technical courses. The
governing boards of any school districts maintaining high schools in
the county may, with the consent of the state board and of the county
superintendent of schools, cooperate in the establishment and
maintenance of a regional occupational center or program, except that
if a school district also maintains 500 or more schools, its
governing board may establish and maintain one or more regional
occupational centers or programs, without those restrictions. A
regional occupational center or program may be established by two or
more school districts maintaining high schools through the use of the
staff and facilities of a community college or community colleges
serving the same geographic area as the school districts maintaining
the high schools, with the consent of the state board and the county
superintendent of schools.
(2) The establishment and maintenance of a regional occupational
center or program, by two or more school districts may be undertaken
pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code. In a regional
occupational center or program, the functions of the county auditor
undertaken pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of
Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code shall be
performed by the county superintendent of schools in a county in
which the board of supervisors has transferred educational functions
from the county auditor to the county superintendent of schools
pursuant to Sections 42649, as added by Chapter 533 of the Statutes
of 1977, and 85265.5. If a school district or school districts
establish and maintain a regional occupational center or program,
pursuant to this chapter, the county superintendent of schools may,
with the consent of the state board, establish and maintain a
separate regional occupational center or centers or program or
programs.
(b) Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, a single
school district located in a class 1 county, as defined in Section
1205, and having an average daily attendance of 50,000 or more, or a
single school district located in a class 2 county, as defined in
Section 1205, and having an average daily attendance of 100,000 or
more, may apply to the state board through the county superintendent
of schools for permission to establish a regional occupational center
or program. Except as provided in subdivision (c), the state board
shall, within 90 days of receipt of an application, prescribe a
procedure whereby the school district may establish a center or
program in accordance with its application and in compliance with the
provisions of the State Plan for Career Technical Education. The
county superintendent of schools may supervise establishment of the
center or program.
(c) (1) The state board may disapprove a waiver application
submitted by a single school district pursuant to Article 3
(commencing with Section 33050) of Chapter 1 of Part 20 for
permission to establish a regional occupational center or program
which does not meet the requirements of this section if the state
board determines that the establishment of the center or program
would have an adverse effect upon existing regional occupational
centers or programs located in school districts which are contiguous
to the applicant school district.
(2) The state board shall establish criteria to measure adverse
effect. The criteria shall include, but not be limited to, hardship
on (A) school districts operating regional occupational centers or
programs which are contiguous to the applicant school district and
(B) students of school districts operating regional occupational
centers or programs that are contiguous to the applicant school
district.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any regional
occupational center or program operated by a single school district
under Section 33050 shall be granted permanent status if the single
school district has previously been granted two waivers from the
state board to operate a single school district regional occupational
center or program and the single school district maintains at least
three but not more than five comprehensive high schools within the
school district. The revenue limit for a regional occupational center
or program established under this subdivision shall be the lower of
either: (1) the revenue limit under which the center or program
operates as of January 1, 1985, or (2) the revenue limit of the
school district as of January 1, 1985, except that this revenue limit
shall be subject to annual percentage cost-of-living adjustments
provided for regional occupational centers and programs. The
governing board of the school district shall retain authority to
decide whether or not to operate the regional occupational center or
program under this subdivision.
52301.3. Notwithstanding subdivision (d) of Section 52301, the
State Board of Education may grant permanent status to the Kern Union
High School District to operate a single district regional
occupational center or program, if that status is requested in
writing by the county superintendent of schools of Kern County and
the governing board of the Kern Union High School District.
52301.5. For the purposes of this chapter:
(a) "California Occupational Information System" means the
statewide comprehensive labor market and occupational supply and
demand information system described by Section 10530 of the
Unemployment Insurance Code.
(b) "State-Local Cooperative Labor Market Information program"
means that labor market information system established in Section
10533 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.
(c) "Job market study" means a review of the existing educational
programs in light of available labor market information, including
occupational supply and demand, for a labor market area.
(d) "Labor market area" means a county or aggregation of counties
designated by the Employment Development Department that has one or
more central core cities and that meets criteria of population,
population density, commute patterns, and social and economic
integration specified by the Employment Development Department.
52302. (a) On or before July 1, 2010, the governing board of each
regional occupational center or program shall ensure that at least 90
percent of all state-funded courses offered by the center or
program, in occupational areas in which both the program or center
and the community college offer instruction, are part of occupational
course sequences that target comprehensive skills. Each occupational
sequence shall do all of the following:
(1) Result in an occupational skill certificate developed in
cooperation with the appropriate employer advisory board created
under Section 52302.2.
(2) Provide prerequisite courses that are needed to enter
apprenticeship or postsecondary vocational certificate or degree
programs. Where possible, sequenced courses shall be linked to
certificate and degree programs in the region.
(3) Focus on occupations requiring comprehensive skills leading to
high entry-level wages or the possibility of significant wage
increases after a few years on the job, or both.
(4) Offer as many courses as possible that have been approved by
the University of California as courses meeting the "A-G" admissions
requirements.
(b) (1) On or before July 1, 2008, the governing board of each
regional occupational center or program shall develop a plan for
establishing sequences of courses, and certify to the department,
that those sequences have been developed, as described in subdivision
(a). The board shall consult with the superintendents of the school
districts served by the center or program and presidents of community
colleges in the area during the development of the plan.
(2) The plan shall be presented at a public hearing by the
governing board of each school district served by the regional
occupational center or program and by the county board of education.
(3) Community college boards with identified articulated programs
shall also review the plans in a public session.
(4) In developing the plan, each regional occupational program or
center shall consult with school districts and community college
districts located within the region served by the program or center
and with the relevant occupational advisers and local workforce
investment board to ensure the plan meets the vocational education
needs of high school pupils in the region by providing sequences of
courses that begin with middle or high school introductory courses,
including, but not limited to, occupational skill courses provided by
high schools or regional occupational programs or centers.
(5) The plan shall maximize the use of local, state, and federal
resources in helping high school pupils enter comprehensive skill
occupations or apprenticeship programs, or continue education in
college, or all of these, after graduating from high school.
(6) The plan shall include strategies for filling gaps in courses
or other services needed to make the sequences effective in meeting
the needs of pupils in developing skills and attending community
college upon graduation from high school.
(7) Each center or program shall submit a copy of the approved
plan to the appropriate community college or colleges in the region
and the Superintendent on or before September 1, 2008. Every four
years after this date, on or before July 1, each center and program
shall submit an update to the plan to the local community college or
colleges and the Superintendent.
(c) As a condition of receiving federal funds provided under the
Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of
1998 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 2301 et seq.), or a successor of that act, and
to the extent permitted by federal law, school districts, regional
occupational centers or programs, and community college districts
shall do all of the following:
(1) Develop course sequences that meet the requirements of this
section according to the schedule set forth in this paragraph.
(A) On or before July 1, 2008, school districts, regional
occupational centers or programs, and community college districts
shall have adopted an approved plan as required under this section.
(B) On or before July 1, 2009, school districts, regional
occupational centers or programs, and community college districts
shall have established course sequences as required under this
section that include at least one-third of the courses offered by the
regional occupational center or program in occupational areas in
which both the program or center and the community college offer
instruction.
(C) On or before July 1, 2010, school districts, regional
occupational centers or programs, and community college districts
shall have established course sequences as required under this
section that include at least two-thirds of the courses offered by
the regional occupational center or program in occupational areas in
which both the program or center and the community college offer
instruction.
(2) Provide pupils who are participating in vocational sequences
with information and experiences designed to increase their
postgraduation work and school options, including, but not limited
to, all of the following:
(A) Information about the admissions requirements of the
University of California and California State University.
(B) Information about the placement requirements of the local
community college or colleges.
(C) Information about higher education options related to the
interests of the pupil.
(D) Encourage visits to local colleges and universities offering
programs that allow pupils to gain additional skills and degrees in
related occupations.
(E) Information and referrals to employers for internships, summer
employment opportunities, and employment after graduation from high
school.
(3) School districts, regional occupational centers or programs,
and community college districts that do not develop course sequences
on or before the dates established under this subdivision, and have
not received a waiver under subdivision (d), shall enter into a
corrective action plan with the department and shall meet any
timelines established by the Superintendent.
(d) (1) The department, with the assistance of the Office of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, shall meet with each
program or center and the community college or colleges in the
region no later than the 2009-10 fiscal year to validate that course
sequences meeting the requirements of this section have been
developed. These meetings shall be conducted using the existing
resources of the department and shall be consistent with the
standards developed pursuant to Section 51226.
(2) The department and the office of the chancellor shall provide
technical assistance to programs or centers and community colleges
that have developed articulated sequences for less than half of the
courses offered by the program or center.
(3) The Superintendent may waive the requirements of subdivision
(a) for programs or centers and community colleges located in rural
areas of the state if the Superintendent finds that development of
sequences is infeasible because of the distance, travel time, or
safety between the center or program and the community college.
52302.2. (a) The governing board of each regional occupational
center or program shall establish and maintain an employer advisory
board or boards pursuant to guidelines developed by the department.
The advisory board shall do all of the following:
(1) Assist in the development of skill certificates that identify
the skills and knowledge that pupils completing an occupational
course sequence are expected to acquire upon completing the sequence.
The advisory board also shall recommend the measures and criteria,
and methods to evaluate whether pupils actually acquired the
identified skills and knowledge.
(2) Review at least once a year whether pupils who are assessed as
having met the requirements for a skill certificate possess the
skills needed for success in employment in that occupation.
(3) Review the specific occupational sequences offered by the
regional occupational center or program to train pupils for jobs that
are in demand and offer high beginning salaries or the potential for
significant wage increase after several years on the job.
(4) Assist the regional occupational center or program in
developing internships, paid summer employment, and postgraduation
employment opportunities for pupils participating in the course
sequences.
(5) Assist the regional occupational center or program in
identifying and creating college scholarships for pupils
participating in the course sequences.
(b) Employer advisory boards shall be composed of representatives
of trade organizations and businesses or government agencies that
hire a significant number of employees each year and require the
skills and knowledge that are taught in the course sequence or
sequences in that occupational area, as well as at least one
representative from a school district career technical educational
advisory committee. The department shall develop regulations guiding
the establishment of these boards.
(c) Regional occupational centers or programs operated in a rural
county of the sixth, seventh, or eighth class may designate a local
business or industry organization as the advisory board and consult
with the leadership of the local business or industry organization to
determine skill needs in the region and emerging job market needs.
For purposes of this section, the local business organization may be
designated as the advisory board for the regional occupational center
or program.
52302.3. (a) Every career technical course or program offered by a
school district or districts or county superintendent or
superintendents sponsoring a regional occupational center or program
shall be reviewed every two years by the appropriate governing body
to assure that each course or program does all of the following:
(1) Meets a documented labor market demand.
(2) Does not represent unnecessary duplication of other job skills
training programs in the area.
(3) Is of demonstrated effectiveness as measured by the employment
and completion success of its pupils.
(b) Any course or program that does not meet the requirements of
subdivision (a) and the standards promulgated by the governing body
shall be terminated within one year.
52302.5. A regional occupational center or regional occupational
program shall do all of the following:
(a) Provide individual counseling and guidance in career technical
matters.
(b) Provide a curriculum that includes a sequence of academic and
skill instruction in specific occupational fields leading to an
approved skill certificate and vocational degree, apprenticeship, or
postsecondary certificate program pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 52302, or provide an opportunity for
pupils to acquire entry-level career technical skills.
(c) Maintain a pupil-teacher ratio which will enable pupils to
achieve optimum benefits from the instructional program.
(d) Assign the highest priority in services to youth from the age
of 16 to 18 years, inclusive.
52302.8. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that
vocational training resources that are provided through regional
occupational centers and programs are an essential component of the
state's secondary school system and the local system of providing
occupational skills training to high school pupils. For this reason,
the Legislature finds and declares that these resources should be
focused primarily on the needs of pupils enrolled in high school.
(b) For the 2008-09 fiscal year, a regional occupational center or
program may claim no more than 50 percent of the state-funded
average daily attendance for which the center or program is eligible,
for services provided to students who are not enrolled in grades 9
to 12, inclusive.
(c) For the 2009-10 fiscal year, a regional occupational center or
program may claim no more than 30 percent of the state-funded
average daily attendance for which the center or program is eligible,
for services provided to students who are not enrolled in grades 9
to 12, inclusive.
(d) For the 2011-12 fiscal year and every fiscal year thereafter,
a regional occupational center or program may claim no more than 10
percent of the state-funded average daily attendance for which the
center or program is eligible, for services provided to students who
are not enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, and up to an
additional 5 percent for CalWORKs, Temporary Assistance Program, or
Job Corps participants and participants under the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2810 et seq.) who are enrolled
in Intensive Training services.
(e) Pupils who are CalWORKs, Temporary Assistance Program, or Job
Corps participants shall have priority for service within the
percentage limits established under subdivision (d).
(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (d), a regional occupational
center or program may claim more than 15 percent of its average daily
attendance for students who are not enrolled in grades 9 to 12,
inclusive, if all of the students who are not enrolled in grades 9 to
12, inclusive, are CalWORKs, Temporary Assistance Program, or Job
Corps participants, and if the governing board of the regional
occupational center or program does all of the following:
(1) Meets with local human services directors, and representatives
of adult education programs, community colleges and other
institutions of higher education, to assess the needs of CalWORKs,
Temporary Assistance Program, or, Job Corps and federal Workforce
Investment Act participants to identify alternative ways to meet the
needs of these adult students.
(2) Enters into a transition plan, approved by the Superintendent,
to become in compliance with subdivision (d) in accordance with
benchmarks and timelines established in the transition plan.
Transition plans shall be established pursuant to guidelines issued
by the department, in consultation with the State Department of
Social Services, and shall be resubmitted and reviewed annually.
(g) Notwithstanding subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), a regional
occupational center or program that claims more than 40 percent of
its students are not enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, on
January 1, 2007, shall submit a letter to the Superintendent by July
1 of each year until it complies with this subdivision, outlining the
goals of the regional occupational center or program to reduce the
number of adult students in order to comply with subdivision (d) on
or before July 1, 2013.
(h) Regional occupational centers and programs operated in a rural
county of the sixth, seventh, or eighth class may exceed the number
of adults by an additional 10 percent of the limits established in
subdivisions (b), (c), and (d).
(i) (1) For purposes of this calculation, adult average daily
attendance attributable to continuously enrolled grade 12 pupils who
have not passed the high school exit examination pursuant to Section
60851 is excluded from the calculation under this section. Amounts
that may become available from reductions resulting from the
enactment of this section shall be redirected to other regional
occupational centers or programs to serve additional secondary
pupils.
(2) Adult average daily attendance funding for a regional
occupational center or program that has entered into a corrective
action plan pursuant to subdivision (k) shall not be redirected to
other regional occupational centers or programs to serve additional
secondary pupils for up to three years while the regional
occupational center or program is in corrective action.
(j) The governing boards of a community college district and a
regional occupational center or program may enter into contractual
agreements under which the center or program provides services to
adult students of the community college district affected by this
section if both of the following are satisfied:
(1) The agreements conform to state regulations and audit
requirements jointly developed by the Chancellor of the Office of the
California Community Colleges and the State Department of Education,
in consultation with, and subject to approval by, the Department of
Finance.
(2) A course offered for adults pursuant to an agreement entered
into pursuant to this subdivision is limited to the same cost per
student to the state as if the course were offered at the regional
occupational center or program. This subdivision does not authorize
the apportionment of funds for community colleges for adult students
in excess of the revenue limit for regional occupational centers or
programs if a course is deemed eligible for college credit.
(k) A regional occupational center or program that fails to meet a
timeline established under subdivision (c), (d), or (g) shall meet
with the community college, adult education program, or other adult
service to identify alternative means of meeting the needs of adult
students and shall enter into a corrective action plan administered
by the department. The corrective action plan shall be established
pursuant to guidelines issued by the department and shall be
submitted to the department annually for review.
52302.9. Regional occupational centers and programs may jointly
establish, operate, and share the enrollments and costs of career
technical education instruction with adult education programs offered
by school districts serving the same geographic area. These programs
shall be approved by the State Board of Education and the county
superintendent of schools and shall be subject to guidelines
established by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. These
programs shall also be funded at the adult revenue limit amount
provided pursuant to Section 42238.
52303. "Regional occupational program," as used in this chapter,
means a sequence of career technical or technical training programs
that meet the criteria and standards of instructional programs in
regional occupational centers and are conducted in a variety of
physical facilities that are not necessarily situated in one single
plant or site.
52304. Subsequent to completing the survey required by Section
52302 and prior to establishing a regional occupational center or
program authorized by Section 52301, the appropriate governing board,
boards, or county superintendent of schools, as the case may be,
shall determine whether or not the survey and analysis made pursuant
to Section 52302 justifies the proposed skill training, and shall
further determine whether the skill training will be offered through
a regional occupational center or program, or through a contract with
an approved private postsecondary school pursuant to the provisions
of Section 8092.
52304.1. The governing board of each school district maintaining a
high school shall annually review and assess the participation of
pupils in grades 11 and 12 in regional occupational centers and
programs. The governing board shall prepare an annual plan to
increase the participation of these pupils unless it determines that
there are no additional pupils enrolled in the district who would
benefit from this participation.
The governing board shall conduct public hearings for purposes of
reviewing the participation of these pupils and for the adoption of
the plan required under this section.
52305. A regional occupational center or regional occupational
program may:
(a) Be established pursuant to Section 52301 to provide day,
including Saturday and Sunday, and evening full-time and part-time
career technical education programs for minors and adults, the year
around.
(b) Include within its career technical training programs, the
establishment and operation of a sheltered workshop.
(c) Permit the establishment and operation of business,
commercial, trade, manufacturing, or construction activities as will
best serve the aims and purposes of career technical education. These
activities shall also permit the sale of products or services to
private or public corporations or companies, or to the general
public.
52306. (a) Any business, commercial, trade, manufacturing, or
construction activity referred to in subdivision (c) of Section 52305
may be undertaken as part of a regional occupational center or
program provided all the following conditions have been complied
with:
(1) Any facility or program operated pursuant to this section
shall be only for the education or training of students enrolled in a
regional occupational center or program.
(2) The facility or program shall be operated on a nonprofit
basis, with all revenues restricted in their use to cover
instructional and operating costs.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the facility or
program initially shall obtain the approval of the appropriate trade
associations concerned with the activity proposed and the approval of
the county labor council in the county in which the facility or
program is located.
(b) An activity conducted by a regional occupational center or
program, as described in subdivision (a), may be conducted without
the need to apply for or obtain local business licenses or permits,
nor shall the activity be subject to payment of local business taxes.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, proceeds from business
activities authorized in this section may, subject to the approval
of the governing board, be deposited in a checking account or
accounts by each regional occupational center or program and
disbursed for the necessary expenses of those business activities.
The account shall be established by the regional occupational center
or program and be in the custody of the principal or other
administrative official designated by the governing board or the
county superintendent of schools, as the case may be. The principal
or administrative official shall be responsible for all expenditures
therefrom, subject to regulations prescribed for this purpose by the
governing board or the county superintendent of schools, as the case
may be. An exact accounting of receipts and disbursements shall be
made to the district or county accounting office within a reasonable
period of time. The governing board or the county superintendent of
schools, as the case may be, shall provide for an audit of these
accounts on a regular basis.
(c) Attendance of students in any business, commercial, trade,
manufacturing, or construction activity referred to in subdivision
(c) of Section 52305, at any regional occupational center or regional
occupational program, shall be credited to that facility or program
for the purposes of apportionments from the State School Fund.
52307. To the extent feasible, in establishing programs pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 52305, efforts shall be made to work
cooperatively with sheltered workshops which are located in the area
of such programs.
52308. A regional occupational center or program may lease
buildings of not more than one story or equipment for a term not to
exceed 10 years, subject to an extension for a period not to exceed
10 years, without complying with any other provision of this code
relating to the lease of school buildings or equipment.
52309. (a) The curriculum initially provided by a regional
occupational center or regional occupational program upon commencing
operation shall be subject to the approval of the department and
shall comply with all requirements and standards set forth in the
State Plan for Career Technical Education. The department shall
approve regional occupational centers only after giving due
consideration to career technical education opportunities offered by
community colleges serving the same geographical area. The State
Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations establishing
guidelines and criteria for differentiating between courses
appropriate for regional occupational centers or regional
occupational programs and those appropriate for high schools.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall prepare and
distribute by April 1, 1977, and thereafter maintain, a detailed
handbook for use by the local educational agencies and regional
councils established pursuant to Section 8020. The handbook shall
contain course approval criteria, job market study criteria,
implementation plans for administrative regulations, and procedures
for securing course and program approvals.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the curriculum provided by a
regional occupational center or program shall not be subject to the
approval of the department as to any curriculum that is certified, by
resolution of the governing body of the regional occupational center
or program, to comply with the course approval criteria set forth in
the handbook described in subdivision (b).
52310. Credits earned from courses completed in a regional
occupational center or regional occupational program may be applied
toward fulfillment of requirements for a high school diploma. A
governing board of a district maintaining a regional occupational
center may confer a high school diploma upon any pupil who attends a
regional occupational center maintained by the district full time and
has satisfactorily completed the prescribed course of study of the
school district of residence or the course of study prescribed by the
county superintendent of schools, school district, or school
districts, as the case may be, maintaining such center.
52310.5. (a) Each regional occupational program or center shall be
maintained by, and subject to the authority and control of, its
governing board.
(b) The governing board of a regional occupational program or
center maintained by a single school district is the governing board
of the school district.
(c) The governing board of a regional occupational program or
center maintained by a county superintendent of schools is the county
board of education.
(d) The governing board of a regional occupational program or
center established by two or more school districts pursuant to
Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7
of Title 1 of the Government Code, shall consist of at least one
member of the governing board of each of the school districts
cooperating in the regional occupational program or center, the
member to be selected by the governing board of the district
represented by that member.
(e) Any other cooperative agreement established after 1965 to
establish a regional occupational program or center pursuant to
Section 52301 shall have a governing board which shall consist of at
least one member of the governing board of each of the school
districts cooperating in the regional occupational program or center.
Each member is to be selected by the governing board of the district
represented by that member.
(f) The governing board of a regional occupational center
maintained by either a single school district or a county is not
entitled to an additional stipend merely to carry out governance of
the operations of the regional occupational center or program.
52311. Each regional occupational center shall be established at a
readily accessible place selected to serve the pupils who will attend
the center. The county superintendent of schools or district or
districts, as the case may be, maintaining, or participating in the
operation of, the center may provide necessary transportation to the
pupils attending such center.
52312. For the purposes of this chapter the county superintendent
of schools, the governing board of the school district, or the
governing boards of school districts establishing a regional
occupational center, or regional occupational program, may acquire a
site for each regional occupational center or regional occupational
program maintained by him or the district, or districts, as the case
may be, and may plan, construct, purchase, or lease buildings
therefor, and may purchase or lease furniture, equipment, fixtures,
and other personal property therefor.
52313. The county superintendent of schools or governing board of a
school district or districts, as the case may be, maintaining a
regional occupational center, or regional occupational program, may
accept and expend grants from the federal government or from other
public or private sources for the purposes of this chapter.
52314. (a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (b), any pupil
eligible to attend a high school or adult school in a school district
subject to the jurisdiction of a county superintendent of schools
operating a regional occupational center or regional occupational
program, and who resides in a school district which by itself or in
cooperation with other school districts, has not established a
regional occupational center, or regional occupational program, is
eligible to attend a regional occupational center or regional
occupational program maintained by the county superintendent of
schools. Any school district which in cooperation with other school
districts maintains a regional occupational center, or regional
occupational program, or any cooperating school districts may admit
to the center, or program, any pupil, otherwise eligible, who resides
in the district or in any of the cooperating districts. Any school
district which by itself maintains a regional occupational center, or
regional occupational program, may admit to the center, or program,
any pupil, otherwise eligible, who resides in the district. No pupil,
including adults under Section 52610 shall be admitted to a regional
occupational center, or regional occupational program, unless the
county superintendent of schools or governing board of the district
or districts maintaining the center, or program, as the case may be,
determines that the pupil will benefit therefrom and approves of his
or her admission to the regional occupational center or regional
occupational program.
(2) Adult students shall not be enrolled in regional occupational
center or program courses during the school day on a high school
campus unless specifically authorized by the policy of the governing
board of the school district.
(3) A pupil may be admitted on a full-time or part-time basis, as
determined by the county superintendent of schools or governing board
of the school district or districts maintaining the center, or
program, as the case may be.
(b) A pupil is not eligible to be admitted to a regional
occupational center or program, and his or her attendance shall not
be credited to a regional occupational center or program, until he or
she has attained the age of 16 years, unless the pupil meets one or
more of the following conditions:
(1) The pupil is enrolled in grade 11 or a higher grade.
(2) The pupil received a referral and all of the following
conditions are met:
(A) The pupil is referred to a regional occupational center or
program as part of a comprehensive high school plan that has been
approved by a school counselor or school administrator. The approval
of the pupil's parents or guardian may be sought but is not required.
(B) The pupil's comprehensive high school plan requires referral
to a regional occupational center or program as part of a sequence of
vocational courses that allows the pupil to learn a comprehensive
skill occupation that culminates in earning a postsecondary
vocational certificate or diploma or its equivalent.
(C) The pupil is enrolled in a school that maintains any of grades
9 to 12, inclusive.
(3) The individualized education program of a pupil adopted
pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
56300) of Part 30 prescribes occupational training for which his or
her enrollment in a regional occupational center or program is deemed
appropriate.
(4) The pupil is enrolled in grade 10 and has a comprehensive high
school plan that has been approved by a school counselor, and the
admission of that pupil will not result in the denial of admission or
displacement of pupils in grades 11 and 12 that would otherwise
participate in the regional occupational center or program.
(c) (1) Each school district, county superintendent of schools, or
joint powers agency that maintains a regional occupational center or
regional occupational program shall submit to the department, at the
time and in the manner prescribed by the Superintendent, the
enrollment and average daily attendance for each grade level and the
enrollment and average daily attendance for each exemption set forth
in subdivision (b).
(2) The department shall submit this information to the education
and budget committees of the Legislature, the Legislative Analyst's
Office, and the Director of Finance by April 1 of each year for the
preceding school year.
52314.5. A regional occupational center or program established and
maintained by a county superintendent of schools, school districts,
or joint powers agencies pursuant to Section 52301 shall admit youths
between the ages of 15 to 18 years who are eligible to attend a high
school in a school district, but who have not been enrolled on a
full-time or part-time basis for a period of more than three months
during the regular school year, if all of the following apply:
(a) The center or program, in conjunction with the appropriate
school district, develops a comprehensive high school plan that
describes the academic and vocational instruction that will be
provided to the pupil.
(b) The pupil's parents or guardian approves the comprehensive
plan in writing.
(c) The pupil enrolls in the appropriate adult school or high
school courses that are needed to satisfy the comprehensive high
school plan.
52315. (a) Any visually impaired, orthopedically impaired, or deaf
person who is not enrolled in a regular high school or community
college program may attend a regional occupational center or regional
occupational program pursuant to the requirements described in
Section 52314.5. Additional special instruction and support services
shall be provided to these persons.
(b) If the Superintendent determines that there would be a
duplication of effort to these impaired persons if a regional
occupational center or regional occupational program provided
services to them, in that other programs exist that are available to
them, the Superintendent may disapprove of the curriculum to provide
programs to these impaired persons pursuant to Section 52309 and of
any state funding made available pursuant to Section 41897 for these
purposes.
52316. Any pupil enrolled in grade 10, 11, or 12, and who is also
attending a regional occupational center or regional occupational
program may be excused from attending courses in physical education
by the governing board of the school district maintaining grade 10,
11, or 12, and in which the pupil is enrolled, if attendance upon
such classes results in hardship because of travel time involved.
If a pupil is excused from physical education classes pursuant to
this section, the minimum schoolday for him in his regular high
school is 180 minutes.
52317. The governing board of any regional occupational center or
program operated by a joint powers agency, a single district, or a
county superintendent of schools maintaining a county regional
occupational center or program, may admit to its programs or classes,
on a full-time or part-time basis, any person who can benefit from
the program or class, including a person who does not reside in the
attendance area of the center or program, if there are openings in
the program or class. For purposes of this section, an interdistrict
attendance agreement shall not be required for out-of-district
enrollments.
Under no circumstances shall any person be enrolled in a regional
occupational center or program pursuant to this section in a manner
which contradicts delineation of function agreements.
Notwithstanding Section 51769 of the Education Code and Section
3368 of the Labor Code, regional occupational centers or programs or
school districts within the area controlled by regional occupational
centers or programs offering training to pupils residing outside its
attendance area, shall provide for workers' compensation for pupils
enrolled in a community classroom program.
52319. Whenever the establishment and maintenance of a regional
occupational center by two or more school districts has been
undertaken pursuant to an agreement entered into in accordance with
the provisions of Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter
5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, and the terms of
the agreement so authorize, provision may be made for the issuance of
bonds for construction and other capital expenditure for the
regional occupational center. An election shall be called, held, and
conducted in the manner provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 5300) of Part 4 of Division 1 of Title 1 on the question of
the approval of the issuance of such bonds. If, at the election, the
requisite number of voters cast their ballots in favor of the
issuance of bonds, the bonds shall be issued and sold in the manner
provided by law for the issuance and sale of bonds of a high school
district. The issuance and sale of such bonds shall be deemed to be
an act of the governing board of a high school district.
The total amount of bonds issued shall not exceed one-half of 1
percent of the taxable property of the area served by the regional
occupational center as shown by the last equalized assessment roll of
the county or counties which the center serves, and as modified
pursuant to Section 41201.
Bonds issued and sold pursuant to this section shall be retired
from proceeds of the tax under the provisions of Section 52317.
52320. For the purposes of receiving advances of funds from the
county treasury only, a regional occupational center shall be deemed
to be a school district.
52321. (a) (1) Commencing in the 2009-10 fiscal year, a regional
occupational center or program established and maintained by school
districts or joint powers agencies pursuant to Section 52301 shall
receive in annual operating funds directly from the county office of
education in which it is located an amount per unit of average daily
attendance equal to the revenue limit received by each of the
participating school districts for each unit of average daily
attendance generated in the regional occupational center or program
by each participating school district.
(2) A regional occupational center or program established and
maintained by a county superintendent of schools pursuant to Section
52301 shall receive funding pursuant to Section 2550. A county
superintendent of schools shall report average daily attendance to
the Superintendent for that funding.
(b) A regional occupational center or program may budget and
accumulate an amount necessary to meet the cashflow needs of the
regional occupational center or program known as a general reserve,
and also may budget and accumulate amounts known as the designated
fund balance and as the unappropriated fund balance. Alternatively, a
regional occupational center or program may budget and accumulate
amounts necessary to meet its long-term program needs in a separate
account known as the capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve
account, and this account shall be part of the designated fund
balance. At the end of each school year, the ending balance in the
regional occupational center or program account may be distributed to
any of the general reserve, designated fund balance, and
unappropriated fund balance accounts, provided that the combined
total distributed does not exceed 15 percent of the expenditures for
the current school year.
(1) The general reserve, the designated fund balance, including
the capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve account, and the
unappropriated fund balance shall be available for appropriation
only after approval by a majority vote of the governing body of the
regional occupational center or program.
(2) Funds of a regional occupational center or program shall be
distributed to the capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve
account only upon adoption by the governing board of a resolution
specifying the general use to which each appropriation from the
account would be put.
(c) (1) At the end of each school year, the combined ending
balances of the general reserve, the designated fund balance, except
the capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve account, and the
unappropriated fund balance shall not exceed 15 percent of the
expenditures for the current fiscal year.
(2) A regional occupational center or program may accumulate, over
a period of two or more school years, an ending balance in the
capital outlay and equipment replacement reserve account of more than
15 percent of the expenditures for the current fiscal year, under
provisions of a resolution of the governing board pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b).
(d) Funds placed in either the general reserve, the designated
fund balance, including the capital outlay and equipment replacement
reserve account, or the unappropriated fund balance shall be expended
only for regional occupational center or program educational
purposes.
(e) Commencing in the 2007-08 fiscal year, the Superintendent
shall require an annual certification by school districts, county
superintendents of schools, and joint powers agencies that the
regional occupational center or program funds have been expended as
provided in this section. The Superintendent shall withhold from the
apportionment of a subsequent fiscal year, any ending fund balance in
excess of 15 percent of the expenditures for the year, except those
funds specifically set aside by the governing board in the capital
outlay and equipment replacement reserve account.
52322. The State Board of Education shall make provision in
allocating any funds received from the federal government pursuant to
Public Law 576 of the 90th Congress to include regional occupational
centers and programs that comply with the requirements of this
chapter.
52323. No instruction shall be given in a regional occupational
center except by a qualified teacher holding a certificate issued
pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 44200) of Part 25 of
Division 3 of this title.
52324. Units of average daily attendance in the regional
occupational centers or regional occupational programs of a county
for a fiscal year are the quotient arising from dividing the total
number of days of pupil's attendance in the centers, or programs,
during the fiscal year by 175.
Attendance in regional occupational centers, or regional
occupational programs, operated under subdivision (a) of Section
52305 shall be considered pupil's attendance under this section, but
attendance in regional occupational centers, or regional occupational
programs, under subdivision (b) of Section 52305 shall not be so
considered.
As used in this section, "school district" includes each of those
districts which are cooperating in the maintenance of the center or
program, with the approval of the county superintendent of schools,
pursuant to Section 52301; and units of average daily attendance of
pupils residing in the school district shall be credited to the
school district.
52324.5. For the purpose of crediting attendance for apportionments
from Section A of the State School Fund during the fiscal year, any
person who is concurrently enrolled in a nonpublic high school and in
a regional occupational center or program operated under subdivision
(a) of Section 52305 and maintained by a district or districts shall
be classified as a regular student enrolled in a regular high school
program, notwithstanding Section 52610.
For the purposes of this section, a nonpublic high school is a
school which satisfies the requirements of Section 48222 if such
school is exempt from taxation under Section 214 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code, and if instruction in such school is given through
grade 12.
52324.6. (a) Any regional occupational program shall be eligible to
apply for apportionments as a necessary small regional occupational
program under this section if it is a regional occupational program
with an annual total average daily attendance of 350 or less in the
prior fiscal year, and the regional occupational program provides
instructional service to a comprehensive high school or schools that
have an average daily attendance in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, during
the fiscal year of 350 or less.
A necessary small regional occupational program may apply for a
small school regional occupational program service allocation
pursuant to this section for any or all of the comprehensive high
schools within its boundaries that have an average daily attendance
of 350 or less during the fiscal year, and at which instruction is
provided by the regional occupational program.
The county superintendents of schools shall annually certify the
eligibility of a regional occupational program as a necessary small
regional occupational program and annually certify the eligibility of
all comprehensive high schools within the boundaries that have been
selected by the necessary small regional occupational program to
receive small school regional occupational program service
allocations.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall annually
allocate small school regional occupational program service funding,
in accordance with the schedule prescribed in this subdivision, for
any and all comprehensive high schools that are certified as eligible
and are selected in accordance with subdivision (a). Regional
occupational programs that do not certify the employment of the
minimum number of full-time equivalent certificated employees at each
school shall have the total small school regional occupational
program service allocation for that school reduced by a pro rata
amount, based on the percentage of employee service provided in
comparison to the total number of regional occupational program
employees required for full funding. Full-time equivalency for
purposes of this subdivision shall be equal to six teaching periods
of comprehensive high school.
The small school regional occupational program service allocation
shall be adjusted annually by the same percentage cost-of-living
adjustment applied to other regional occupational center and program
revenue limits.
(c) (1) If a regional occupational program applies for funding
under this section, the regional occupational program shall certify
to the Superintendent of Public Instruction all concurrently enrolled
average daily attendance generated during the previous year in each
school to which small school regional occupational program service
funds were allocated under subdivision (b). The average daily
attendance certified under this subdivision shall be subtracted from
the regional occupational program's prior year total allowable
average daily attendance, and the remainder shall become the current
year allowable regional occupational program average daily attendance
for all nonconcurrently enrolled students and concurrently enrolled
students from schools not funded under subdivision (b). This
calculation shall be completed the year a regional occupational
program applies to become a necessary small regional occupational
program or the year that the eligible regional occupational program
selects any comprehensive high school defined in subdivision (a) to
receive a small school regional occupational program service
allocation.
(2) In the fiscal year that an eligible regional occupational
program selects to remove a certified comprehensive high school from
the small school regional occupational program service allocation
funding or when the comprehensive high school no longer qualifies
under the provisions of subdivision (a), the superintendent shall
allocate a sum equal to the average of the prior two years' annual
regional occupational program average daily attendance for the
comprehensive high school multiplied by either the statewide average
revenue limit per average daily attendance or the revenue limit per
average daily attendance of the regional occupational program,
whichever is greater, to the revenue limit of the eligible regional
occupational program.
(3) In addition, the superintendent shall raise the prior year's
annual concurrently enrolled average daily attendance for all schools
not funded under subdivision (b) of the eligible small school
regional occupational program an amount equal to the average of the
prior two years' annual regional occupational program average daily
attendance for the comprehensive high school. This adjusted allowable
average daily attendance shall be the new base upon which growth is
calculated for nonconcurrently enrolled students and concurrently
enrolled students from high schools not funded under subdivision (b),
within an eligible regional occupational program.
(d) Total annual apportionments for regional occupational programs
that qualify for funding under this section as necessary small
regional occupational programs shall be calculated in accordance with
the following formula:
Total small school Reported allowable Total annual
ROP service alloca- average daily state appor-
tions to selected attendance pursuant tionment for
comprehensive + to subdivision (c) = a necessary
high schools of multiplied by either small ROP
350 or less the statewide average
average daily ROP revenue limit or
attendance pursuant the ROP revenue limit,
to subdivision (b) whichever is greater
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require eligible
regional occupational programs to apply for funding under this
section.
(f) In fiscal years subsequent to the 1989-90 fiscal year, the
prior year's apportionment under this section shall be annually
adjusted by the same cost-of-living increase provided to regional
occupational programs through the standard apportionment system.
52325. A day of attendance for pupils enrolled in a regional
occupational center or program is 180 minutes of attendance.
52327. The governing board of any district maintaining a regional
occupational center may establish a bookstore on district property
for the purpose of offering for sale textbooks, workbooks,
supplementary textbooks and workbooks, school supplies, stationery
supplies, confectionary items, and related auxiliary school supplies
and services.
The governing board may establish a bookstore fund into which the
proceeds derived from the operation of a regional occupational center
bookstore may be transferred. Moneys in a bookstore fund shall be
deposited or invested in one or more of the following ways:
(a) Deposits in a bank or banks, or other institution, whose
accounts are federally insured.
(b) Investment certificates or withdrawable shares in
state-chartered savings and loan associations and savings accounts of
federal savings and loan associations, provided the associations are
doing business in this state and have their accounts insured by the
Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.
(c) Purchase of United States securities pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 16430 of the Government Code.
The governing board shall designate an employee or official of the
district to act as trustee for funds derived from the operation of a
regional occupational center bookstore and to receive those funds in
accordance with procedures established by the board.
All necessary expenses, including salaries, wages and costs of
capital improvements may be deducted from the revenue of a regional
occupational center bookstore. Net proceeds from the operation of a
regional occupational center bookstore shall be used for the general
benefit of the student body as determined by the governing board.
Income from a regional occupational center bookstore shall not be
included in the district revenue limit. Funds derived from the
operation of a regional occupational center bookstore shall be
subject to audit pursuant to Section 41020.
52327.5. Each governing board establishing or maintaining a
regional occupational center or program pursuant to Section 52310.5
shall meet the requirements set forth in Sections 35145, 41010,
41011, 41015, 41020, 42103, 51040, 51041, 51050, and 51056.
52328. (a) Any school district, located in whole or in part in a
county contiguous with the Republic of Mexico, or any county
superintendent of schools of a county contiguous with the Republic of
Mexico, which maintains a regional occupational center may enter
into a student exchange agreement with a trade and technical training
school located in the Republic of Mexico. Such student exchange
agreement shall permit Mexican students to take all or part of their
occupational training in the regional occupational center and shall
permit United States students to take all or part of their
occupational training in the Mexican trade and technical school.
(b) In computing the average daily attendance of the regional
occupational center, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
include any Mexican students in attendance if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) The student exchange agreement provides as nearly as
practicable for the exchange of students on a one-for-one basis
between the regional occupational center and the trade and technical
school.
(2) The educational services provided the United States students
in Mexico are at least equivalent in quality to the services provided
in the regional occupational center.
(3) The student exchange agreement has been approved by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction prior to its operative date.
(c) No average daily attendance shall be credited to the regional
occupational center for the United States students while in
attendance at the Mexican trade and technical school.
52329. The governing board of a school district located in a
county, or the county superintendent of schools maintaining a
regional occupational program in a county, any of the boundaries of
which are contiguous to the State of Arizona, may enter into an
agreement with a public or private educational agency located in that
state to provide to students living in the district and enrolled in
a regional occupational program, career technical or technical
training which, due to geographical isolation, is not otherwise
available to these students.
The program of training at the public or private educational
agency shall be approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction
of California and shall conform to the California State Plan for
Career Technical Education.
The attendance of pupils receiving career technical or technical
training at a public or private educational agency as authorized by
this section shall be included in the computation of average daily
attendance as prescribed by Sections 52324 and 52325, and shall be
credited to the county school service fund of the county of
residence. In no event, however, shall the county school service fund
be credited with more than one unit of average daily attendance per
calendar year on account of a pupil participating in a program
authorized by this section.
52330. The governing board of any school district or the county
superintendent of schools that is operating or jointly operating a
regional occupational center or program may establish and maintain
regional occupational center or regional occupational program classes
in industrial or school facilities located outside of the school
district or the jurisdiction of the county superintendent of schools,
respectively, for the purpose of providing training for students
enrolled in such a center or program.
The governing board of a school district or the county
superintendent of schools shall notify the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, prior to the establishment of classes pursuant to this
section, of the proposed establishment.
52331. A regional occupational program or center, established
pursuant to Section 52301, may contract with a community college
district to provide career technical education instruction and
services for students enrolled, or seeking to enroll, in a regional
occupational center or program. The instruction and services shall
comply with the requirements and standards for regional occupational
programs and centers as set forth in the State Plan for Career
Technical Education.
52334. Indirect costs charged to regional occupational centers and
programs may not exceed that of the school district or county office
of education, as appropriate, prior year indirect cost rate as
approved by the State Department of Education.
The indirect costs charged by county offices of education and
school districts that provide regional o
