California Community Colleges and California Department of Education Announce Career Technical Education Plan Review

SACRAMENTO – The California Community Colleges and California Department of Education (CDE) draft federal Perkins Act Career Technical Education (CTE) Plan is now available for public review and comment, California Community Colleges Chancellor Diane Woodruff and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announce.

"The California community colleges are committed to providing quality career technical educational programs to all Californians and the CTE Plan will take us further down that road," said Chancellor Woodruff.

Chancellor Woodruff noted that the federal Perkins Act fulfills an important program improvement funding role for California, and provides important incentives for accountability and locally responsive performance. "CTE is an important mission of our community colleges and provides opportunities for Californians to increase their technical skills," Chancellor Woodruff added. "CTE also interacts with our other missions -- such as basic skills, transfer education and of course, economic development and workforce preparation."

State Superintendent O'Connell said he's always been an advocate of career technical education that links California's rigorous curriculum to real-world skills. "But in order to better serve students and prepare them for more challenging jobs of the future,we must have the public's input on what they need and whether our draft Plan meets those needs," Superintendent O'Connell added. "This truly is an opportunity for the community to participate in government and help shape a plan that will benefit students for generations to come."

The Plan has been developed in accordance with the federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006, which requires states to submit newly formulated state plans in order to be eligible for federal career technical education funds. California receives approximately $140 million in Perkins funding annually which is divided by formula between the California Community Colleges System Office and CDE.

The draft CTE Plan was developed over a six-month period under the auspices of the Joint Advisory Committee for Career Technical Education (JACCTE) with critical input from a 55-member State CTE Resource Group representing stakeholder groups from government, industry, business, and education.

The Plan can be viewed and downloaded at: http://www.wested.org/cteplan (Outside Source). The site is designed to allow direct input on the Plan. It also provides background information on the development of the Plan and the list of JACCTE and Resource Group members. The site will remain open for comment by the public until September 30, 2007.

In addition, the California Community Colleges and CDE will be holding four joint hearings throughout California to receive public testimony and input. The hearings will be held at:

• Los Angeles County Office of Education in Downey: September 7, 9:00–12:00 noon
• Ohlone Community College in Fremont: September 14, 1:00–4:00 p.m.
• Fresno City Community College: September 17, 1:00–4:00 p.m.
• California Department of Education in Sacramento: September 24, 2:00–5:00 p.m.

The hearings will also be web cast, for access from personal computers. For additional information on the hearings or web casts, please check the Web site or email cteplan@wested.org. For further information on the draft CTE Plan, contact either Dean Smith at dsmith@cccco.edu or Lee Murdock at lmurdock@cde.ca.gov.

The California Community Colleges is the largest higher educational system in the nation comprised of 72 districts and 109 colleges with more than 2.5 million students per year. Community colleges supply workforce training and basic skills education, prepare students for transfer to four-year institutions and offer opportunities for personal enrichment and lifelong learning. The System Office provides leadership, advocacy and support under the direction of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.

For more information about the community colleges system, please visit http://www.cccco.edu (Outside Source). For more information, please call Ron Owens, California Community Colleges, at 916-327-5356 or 916-804-4238, or e-mail at rowens@cccco.edu.