AB 872

This bill creates an incentive grant program for school districts that provide

training for certain public safety occupations and provides completion awards for

students who complete those programs.

Under current law, the Department of Workforce Development must award

career and technical education (CTE) incentive grants to school districts in the

amount of $1,000 per student who, in the prior school year, obtained a high school

diploma and successfully completed an industry-recognized certification program

approved by DWD. Currently, DWD approves programs that are designed to

mitigate workforce shortages in an industry or occupation that DWD identifies as

facing workforce shortages or shortages of adequately trained entry-level workers.

The bill requires DWD to also approve industry-recognized certification

programs that are designed to prepare individuals for occupations as fire fighters,

emergency medical responders, or emergency medical services practitioners (public

safety occupation training program). Under the bill, DWD must award all of the

following:

1. A CTE incentive grant to a school district that has a public safety occupation

training program approved by DWD. For each program the school district has, the

amount of the incentive grant is equal to $1,000 for each student in the school district

who successfully completed the program in a school year in which the program was

approved by DWD.

2. A CTE completion award to a student in the amount of $500 for each public

safety occupation training program the student successfully completed in a school

year in which the program was approved by DWD.

Under current law, CTE incentive grants are funded from the appropriation to

DWD for workplace training grants, commonly referred to as “Fast Forward” grants,

and DWD must allocate not less than $3,500,000 in each fiscal year for the CTE

incentive grants. Also under current law, if the amount allocated in any fiscal year

is insufficient to pay the full amount per student, DWD may prorate the amount of

the incentive grants that eligible school districts receive.

Under the bill, the CTE incentive grants related to public safety occupation

training programs are paid from the existing allocation and may be prorated if that

allocation is insufficient in any fiscal year.

The bill creates a sum sufficient appropriation to fund the student completion

awards.