SECTIONS 51775-51778 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 51775-51778

51775. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that work
experience education is an integral part of the total educational
process of pupils, and that work experience education can provide
opportunities for pupils to acquire lifelong employability skills, as
well as opportunities for pupils to develop general and specific
occupational skills.
The Legislature recognizes that there is a need to provide for the
review of work experience education programs offered by school
districts offering these programs at least once every three years, in
accordance with regulations prescribed by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction.
It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this article to
establish a mechanism for the review and improvement of work
experience education programs offered in the public schools to ensure
that pupils receive high quality instruction. It is further the
intent of the Legislature to establish a system whereby school
districts and county offices of education may form consortia for
purposes of conducting quality reviews of work experience education
programs and for the sharing of information, resources, and technical
assistance.

51776. The governing board of each school district offering work
experience education programs may elect to provide for independent
onsite program review of work experience education programs at least
once every three years in the district offering these programs. If
the governing board elects to provide for an independent onsite
program review, it shall not be required to participate in the
federally required consolidated compliance review conducted by the
State Department of Education.

51777. (a) For purposes of facilitating the program reviews
required by Section 51776, the governing boards of two or more school
districts may agree to establish a consortium of participating
school districts. The Superintendent of Public Instruction may
determine whether the size of a school district would be
counterproductive to the establishment of a consortium with that
school district and another school district, thereby making it
advisable that the school district is reviewed by its own certified
program reviewers. In cases in which the Superintendent of Public
Instruction has determined that the onsite review shall be conducted
by certified program reviewers from that district, the reviewers may
conduct reviews in any school of the district other than the school
in which they are employed. In all other onsite reviews, the reviews
shall not be conducted by persons who are employed by the district.
(b) Each consortium shall maintain a list of available certified
program reviewers submitted by participating school districts.
(c) Trained members of each consortium shall review work
experience education programs in participating school districts. A
report on the results of the review shall be submitted to the
governing board of the school district, the State Department of
Education, and the Work Experience Education Consortia Steering
Committee established under Section 51778.

51778. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall establish
a Work Experience Education Consortia Steering Committee comprised
of certificated representatives of consortia of school districts
established under this article. The steering committee, in
consultation with the superintendent, utilizing applicable program
standards and regulations regarding work experience education
programs shall develop all of the following materials:
(1) Program quality indicators.
(2) Training materials.
(3) Guide books.
(4) Program review reports.
(b) The Work Experience Education Consortia Steering Committee
shall contract with appropriate personnel to conduct in-service
training programs for work experience education teachers and
coordinators who will be conducting schoolsite reviews of work
experience education programs. The training shall include, but is not
necessarily limited to, all of the following:
(1) A program quality review instrument.
(2) The compliance review instrument developed by the department.
(3) Reporting and review materials.
(4) Program review methodologies.
(5) The preparation of summary reports.
Only persons who have been certified by the steering committee as
having completed the training program shall be eligible to conduct
work experience education program quality reviews.
(c) Utilizing the compliance review instrument described in
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), the advisory committee shall
recommend a followup review for schools that have not met a
prescribed number of the work experience education compliance
criteria. The followup review required by this subdivision shall be
conducted within one year of the initial review.