SECTIONS 52910-52911 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 52910-52911

52910. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) That California's present employment preparation and career
education programs need to be strengthened and expanded to meet the
needs of employers for a skilled work force and student and employee
demands for career-vocational preparation and occupational training,
including the use of computers and other technologies.
(b) That changes occurring in California's economy make it
imperative that there be available a work force with the personal and
occupational skills and knowledge to productively support new
economic and technological developments. The Legislature also finds a
need to improve coordination among the many service providers funded
by federal and state funds to avoid unnecessary duplication of
programs and services.
(c) That it is in the best interest of the state to provide all
students with a cohesive and well articulated system of
career-vocational preparation and occupational training which
prepares students for roles as family members and community members,
leaders, and productive workers. The Legislature also finds that the
alternative means authorized in subdivision (b) of Section 51225.3
are currently being underutilized by school districts.
(d) That students in California's public schools face inadequate
access to quality career-vocational preparation and occupational
training programs, and declares that providing high quality
curriculum and instruction in this area is a high priority of the
state. The Legislature believes that all students should be prepared
with basic job entry skills at the completion of their schooling.
(e) That every student shall attain a minimum of 12 years of
systematic study or its equivalent that effectively prepares the
student to enter college, a job, or advanced preparation.
(f) That the number of pupils who drop out of school is excessive
and detrimental to the public interest, as is the excessively high
rate of unemployment among youths.
(g) That dropping out of school reduces a young person's potential
for future employment and income, and depresses the productivity of
the state's economy.
(h) That it is in the state's best interests to provide all pupils
with a cohesive, defined, and well-articulated system of career
education and job training.
(i) That pupils enrolled in public intermediate, secondary, and
postsecondary schools face diminished access to quality vocational
and career educational programs, and that the provision of a high
quality curriculum and course of instruction in these areas are a
high priority within the state.
(j) That a pupil's pursuit of career education programs in
secondary schools and their use to satisfy the requirements for
admission to baccalaureate postsecondary educational programs should
not be mutually exclusive.
(k) That vocational education and basic academic skills should not
be viewed as competitive or alternative programs, but rather should
be viewed as complementary educational programs.
(l) That there are many opportunities, particularly for pupils who
are not college bound, to obtain basic academic skills in an applied
manner through vocational education programs.
It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to
require that all pupils enrolled in the public schools be afforded
the best possible opportunity to complete the equivalent of 12 years
of systematic training to enable him or her to graduate from high
school, in a manner which will enable him or her to advance to a
college or university and to meet entry-level requirements for a
chosen occupational field. The Legislature recognizes that in order
to graduate from high school, pupils must complete the prescribed
course of study of sufficient rigor and duration as necessary to
enable them to effectively function as family members, citizens,
leaders, and working members of their communities.

52911. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Applied academic areas" means the subject matter areas of
agriculture, business and office education, marketing, consumer and
homemaking education, health careers, home economic related
occupations, and industrial arts, technical, trade and industrial
education and methodologies including, but not limited to, work
experience education, cooperative vocational education, and community
classroom.
(b) "Applied academic programs" means programs that teach and
reinforce academic, technical, and employability skills, necessary
for employment or advanced training, in applied academic areas.