Pupil instruction: career technical education, career education, and apprenticeships.

Senator Pérez's comprehensive career technical education reform package modernizes California's approach to work-based learning and apprenticeships, establishing new frameworks for collaboration between schools and industry partners. The legislation requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to update career technical education standards every five years with input from industry advisory groups, while mandating that standards reflect specific competencies needed in each technical field.

The bill expands work-based learning opportunities by authorizing county offices of education and charter schools to establish programs previously limited to school districts. It introduces formal definitions and requirements for youth apprenticeships, allowing students as young as 16 to begin registered apprenticeship programs while still in high school. These programs must offer flexible scheduling and allow students to complete a portion of their apprenticeship before graduation.

Local educational agencies receive new authority to serve as employers of record for student apprentices and provide workers' compensation coverage. The Department of Education must collect data on work-based learning activities, work permits, and apprenticeship programs. The legislation also creates an interagency workgroup to develop occupational frameworks and coordinate youth apprenticeship policies across education and labor agencies.

For schools using targeted improvement funding, the bill requires offering sequences of at least two career technical courses that align with regional workforce priorities. These courses must articulate with community college programs to create clear pathways through grades 13 and 14. The Division of Apprenticeship Standards receives authority to establish expedited approval processes for youth apprenticeship programs while maintaining educational standards.