California Education Interagency Council: California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program.

Senator Padilla and Assembly Member Fong anchor a broad reconfiguration of California’s career technical education incentives, pairing a recasting of grant-eligibility standards with the creation of the California Education Interagency Council to coordinate education-to-workforce strategies. The measure shifts the grant program to require a holistic approach beginning in June 2026, with the State Department of Education continuing to administer the competitive grant process. Eligible applicants would be expected to demonstrate collaboration with labor and business entities, alignment of career programs with labor-market demand, pathways that reach underserved pupil populations, and robust information for program evaluation and reporting.

Key elements of the overhaul center on how grants are earned and what they must include. The applicant pool remains comprised of school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and regional occupational centers or programs, including joint powers authorities, with written consent from participating agencies. The proposed framework maintains a proportional local match requirement linked to the allocation formula, with a three-year plan for sustaining career technical education investments and a commitment to continue funding at or beyond prior levels. Minimum eligibility standards detail program design and outcomes: high-quality curriculum aligned to state standards; structured career exploration and work-based learning; student supports; documented system alignment with postsecondary partners and dual enrollment opportunities; ongoing industry and labor partnerships; opportunities for extended-day and out-of-school experiences; alignment with regional labor-market plans; credential attainment; qualified staff and professional development; and comprehensive data reporting, including metrics disaggregated by race and gender and specific follow-up outcomes for former pupils.

The bill also expands the program’s reporting and accountability requirements. Applicants must report data on graduation rates, completion of CTE coursework, credential attainment, work-based learning participation, postsecondary enrollment or employment, and related indicators; the data framework mirrors components of Perkins V and requires periodic review by the California Workforce Pathways Joint Advisory Committee, with recommendations to finance officials and legislators. Data submitted for these metrics would be made available to the California Community Colleges LaunchBoard and subject to annual review by the Workforce Pathways advisory structures. Several provisions become operative only if a separate measure is enacted, with a general operative date of June 1, 2026, and an overarching dependency on AB 1098 for full enactment of the associated provisions.

A central governance innovation is the creation of the California Education Interagency Council within the Government Operations Agency. The council, supported by a managing entity, is charged with advising on career technical education, college and career pathways, and workforce development, and with developing tools to support students throughout their educational careers. Its duties include evaluating data sources to forecast supply and demand for jobs in major sectors, reviewing statewide and regional progress on education-to-workforce goals, and generating recommendations that address bureaucratic efficiencies, expand access, and align efforts across K–12, higher education, and public workforce systems. The council is intended to serve as a central planning and coordination hub, offering written materials and reports to educators and policymakers and maintaining an online portal with agendas, reports, and resources. Finally, the measure contemplates a governance framework in which the council’s recommendations may be implemented by state agencies to the extent permitted by their authority, with operative dates tied to legislative action on related measures.