Chapter 16.5 - California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program

California Education Code — §§ 53070-53076.4

Sections (8)

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 457, Sec. 2. (SB 638) Effective January 1, 2026.

(a)The California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program is hereby established as a state education, economic, and workforce development initiative with the goal of providing pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, with the knowledge and skills necessary to transition to employment and postsecondary education. The purpose of the competitive program is to encourage, maintain, and strengthen the delivery of high-quality career technical education programs.

(b)The following amounts are hereby appropriated to the department from the General Fund for the program established pursuant to this chapter:

(1)For the 2015–16 fiscal year, four hundred million dollars

($400,000,000).

(2)For the 2016–17 fiscal year, three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000).

(3)For the 2017–18 fiscal year, two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000).

(c)For the 2018–19 fiscal year to the 2020–21 fiscal year, inclusive, one hundred fifty million dollars ($150,000,000) shall be made available to the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute, for the program established pursuant to this chapter.

(d)For the 2021–22 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) shall be made available to the department, upon appropriation

by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute, for the program established pursuant to this chapter.

(e)It is the intent of the Legislature that one-time funding for career technical education appropriated pursuant to Section 94 of Assembly Bill 121 of the 2024–25 Regular Session (Chapter 8 of the Statutes of 2025) be made available to the department for the program established pursuant to this chapter.

(f)Of the amounts appropriated pursuant to subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), 4 percent is designated for applicants with average daily attendance of less than or equal to 140, 8 percent is designated for applicants with average daily attendance of more than 140 and less than or equal to 550, and 88 percent is designated for applicants with average daily attendance of

more than 550, unless otherwise determined by the Superintendent in collaboration with the executive director of the state board. For purposes of this section, average daily attendance shall be those figures that are reported at the time of the second principal apportionment for the previous fiscal year for pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive. For any applicant consisting of more than one school district, county office of education, charter school, or regional occupational center or program (ROCP) operated by a joint powers authority or county office of education, or of any combination of those entities, the sum of the average daily attendance for each of the constituent entities shall be used for purposes of this subdivision.

§ 53071.1

Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 44, Sec. 81. (AB 130) Effective July 9, 2021.

(a)Commencing July 1, 2019, as part of the application process, the department shall ask applicants to indicate whether they have received a grant under the K–12 component of the Strong Workforce Program.

(b)On or before June 30 of each fiscal year, the department shall work with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to produce a list of grant recipients that receive funding under this program as well as through the K–12 component of the Strong Workforce

Program in the fiscal year, including the grant amounts awarded through each program and the purpose for which each grant was awarded, and share the list with the California Workforce Pathways Joint Advisory Committee, established pursuant to Section 12053.

§ 53073

Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 44, Sec. 82. (AB 130) Effective July 9, 2021.

(a)An applicant receiving a grant from this program in a prior fiscal year shall be eligible to apply to receive a renewal grant if the applicant’s career technical education program meets the requirements specified in Section 53071, and, to the extent practicable, has been evaluated and deemed successful by the Superintendent, in collaboration with the executive director of the state board, based on the metrics specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b).

(b)(1) The department, in collaboration with the executive director of the state board, shall determine reporting requirements and renewal grant eligibility using metrics identified pursuant to paragraph (11) of subdivision (c) of Section 53071.

(2)If an

applicant for a renewal grant is subject to the requirements of Sections 52060 and 52061, Sections 52066 and 52067, or Section 47606.5, the inclusion of career technical education programs in the applicant’s local control and accountability plan and annual update shall be required to be eligible for a renewal grant.

§ 53074

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 457, Sec. 9. (SB 638) Effective January 1, 2026.

The department shall consult with the executive director of the state board and entities having career technical education expertise, including, but not limited to, the California Education Interagency Council established pursuant to Section 11902 of the Government Code, state workforce investment organizations, and organizations representing business in the

development of the request for grant applications and in the consideration of grant applications under this chapter. The department shall annually submit its list of recommended new and renewal grant recipients to the state board for review and approval before making annual grant awards. At least 30 days before submitting the list of recommended new and renewal grant recipients to the state board for review and approval, the department shall make the information specified in subdivision (a) of Section 53076 public.

§ 53076

Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 44, Sec. 85. (AB 130) Effective July 9, 2021.

For purposes of administering the program established by this chapter, the Superintendent shall do all of the following:

(a)Determine, in collaboration with the executive director of the state board, and make public on a preliminary basis at least 30 days before a regularly scheduled meeting of the state board, the allocation formula, specific funding amounts, the purposes for which grant funds may be used, allowable and nonallowable expenditures, and the number of grants to be awarded. The information specified in this subdivision shall also be provided in writing to the appropriate policy

and fiscal committees of the Legislature, the Department of Finance, and the

Governor within 30 days following final approval of the state board.

(b)Distribute funding on a multiyear schedule, establish a process for monitoring the use of the funding, and, if necessary, cease distribution of funding and recover previously distributed funding in the case of a recipient’s failure to report the specified data to the Superintendent or comply with a grant prerequisite or minimum standard.

(c)Annually review grant recipients’ expenditures on career technical education programs for purposes of determining if the grant recipients have met the dollar-for-dollar match requirement specified in subdivision (a) of Section 53071.

If, pursuant to Section 53076.1, an auditor determines that a grant recipient failed to meet the matching funds requirement, the Superintendent shall reduce the following year’s grant allocation in an amount equal to the unmet portion of the match requirement, if applicable. The reduction shall not reduce the grant recipient’s match requirement for the year in which the Superintendent reduces the allocation.

If a grant recipient with an audit finding pursuant to Section 53076.1 does not have an allocation in the subsequent year to reduce, the department shall require the recipient to return the unmatched funds identified in the audit finding.

(d)Require grant recipients to submit program reports pursuant to paragraph (11) of subdivision (c) of Section 53071.

(e)Manage the grant process, collect pertinent data, and undertake statewide program improvement activities.

(f)Promote the success of K–12 career technical education programs through statewide activities to improve and administer the program, including by facilitating system, program, and data alignment at the state and regional levels, facilitating the development and delivery of professional development training

modules, and supporting school districts in meeting their college indicator and career indicator targets.

(g)Ensure that the department fulfills the reporting requirements in Section 53076.5.

§ 53076.1

Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 131, Sec. 42. (AB 1754) Effective January 1, 2024.

The Controller shall include instructions in the audit guide required by Section 14502.1 that include procedures for determining that a grant recipient has met the proportional dollar-for-dollar match requirements specified in subdivision (a) of Section 53071. The processes identified in subdivision (d) of Section 41344 or subdivision (d) of Section 41344.1 shall not apply to this audit procedure.

§ 53076.2

Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 44, Sec. 87. (AB 130) Effective July 9, 2021.

On or before January 31, 2024, and on or before January 31 every five years thereafter, the department shall submit to the Department of Finance, the Governor, and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a report evaluating the progress that local educational agencies have made, pursuant to Section 88828 and this chapter, with respect to all of the following:

(a)Expanding the availability, and supporting the ongoing provision, of high-quality, industry-valued career technical education and workforce development opportunities.

(b)Improving coordination and alignment with postsecondary educational institutions and workforce agencies and programs.

(c)Closing equity gaps in program access and completion, to the extent possible.

§ 53076.4

Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 32, Sec. 86. (AB 1808) Effective June 27, 2018.

For purposes of the program established by this chapter, the K–12 Workforce Pathway Coordinators and the K–14 Technical Assistance Providers established pursuant to Section 88833 shall provide technical assistance and support to recipients of grants pursuant to this chapter in implementing career technical education courses, programs, and pathways consistent with the duties outlined in Section 88833.