Education finance: continuation schools and classes: youth workforce development programs: instructional days.

Assembly Member Celeste Rodriguez's education finance proposal would allow continuation high schools to incorporate workforce development programs into their standard instructional schedule while maintaining state funding eligibility. The measure permits these schools to dedicate up to two weekdays for supervised workplace training and certification programs, provided students maintain at least 15 hours of regular classroom attendance per week.

The bill defines qualifying workforce development programs as partnerships between continuation schools and community colleges, adult education programs, regional occupational centers, or accredited workforce training organizations. These programs must enable students to earn academic credit or industry certifications through workplace experiences that develop both technical and interpersonal skills aligned with in-demand careers. Program supervision would be shared between workplace supervisors and certificated school personnel.

School districts implementing these programs must establish attendance and participation tracking procedures. The bill maintains existing state funding mechanisms by classifying workforce development program days as instructional days, while requiring no additional state appropriations. Districts retain responsibility for program costs, partnership development, and compliance monitoring within their existing budgets.