SB 845 updates the Education Code and adds a Labor Code provision to create a more explicit bridge between K–12 career technical education (CTE) and registered apprenticeship programs. The bill requires the State Department of Education (SDE) to maintain and periodically update CTE model curriculum standards and a curriculum framework in coordination with industry advisory groups, and it authorizes interagency work to produce occupational and industry skills frameworks intended to align youth apprenticeship and CTE.
The measure also defines a spectrum of work‑based learning activities (internships, mentorships, job shadowing, school‑based enterprises, preapprenticeships, and youth registered apprenticeships), extends authorities to county offices, charter schools, and state special schools to offer and manage those activities, and gives school entities limited employer status and insurance responsibilities for certain student work. Several implementation steps and data collection efforts are made contingent on legislative appropriation.
At a Glance
What It Does
Codifies definitions for work‑based learning and youth apprenticeship, requires SDE to update CTE standards and convene industry advisory groups, and establishes an interagency workgroup to develop occupational and industry skills frameworks for youth apprenticeship alignment. It also authorizes local educational agencies (LEAs) beyond school districts to offer work‑based learning and allows LEAs to serve as employers of record in some circumstances.
Who It Affects
Local educational agencies (school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, state special schools), the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS), California Community Colleges, workforce boards, employers and apprenticeship sponsors, labor representatives, and high‑school and postsecondary students.
Why It Matters
The bill creates a structured pathway to make K–12 CTE tangibly connect with registered apprenticeship credentials — a technical alignment that could accelerate credentialing and employer engagement but also expands operational and liability responsibilities for education providers and increases cross‑agency coordination needs.
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What This Bill Actually Does
SB 845 refocuses how California crafts and updates career technical education by requiring the State Superintendent to develop and maintain CTE model curriculum standards and a curriculum framework on a cyclical schedule not exceeding five years. The department must consult career technical teachers and convene industry sector advisory groups consistent with the federal Perkins framework; advisory groups are expected to include business, labor, community college and university representatives, teachers, administrators, students, parents, and relevant state agencies.
The bill inserts a compact, practical glossary into the Education Code that distinguishes apprenticeships, preapprenticeships, internships, mentorships, job shadowing, school‑based enterprise programs, student apprentices, work‑based learning, and work experience education. Those definitions tie classroom, dual‑enrollment, and early college credit courses more directly to workplace learning and make it explicit that youth apprenticeship programs should serve participants aged 16–24 and provide related and supplemental instruction aligned to school programs.On operations, SB 845 expands which governing bodies may establish and oversee work experience and work‑based learning activities to include county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools, and it explicitly authorizes LEAs to arrange credit, supervise placements, hire coordinators and instructors, and either purchase or require insurance for off‑site training.
The bill clarifies that, in certain school‑connected programs, a local educational agency may be considered the employer of the pupil and may provide workers’ compensation and liability coverage on behalf of a registered apprenticeship sponsor or private employer when the work is connected to a school program and the pupil is earning credit.To link K–12 CTE and registered apprenticeship systems, the SDE may convene an interagency workgroup with the Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, DAS, and the Workforce Development Board to develop occupational and industry skills frameworks. The department will present those frameworks to DAS for possible adoption; DAS retains authority to modify, reject, or adopt them.
Several provisions — the data collection system, creation of frameworks, and expanded administrative activities — are expressly contingent on appropriation, which means the statutory authority exists but many practical steps depend on future funding decisions.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The Superintendent must review and update CTE model curriculum standards and the framework on a 'cyclical basis' defined as a period not exceeding five years.
The bill adds a statutory definition of 'youth apprenticeship program' that serves youth aged 16–24 and requires those programs to offer related and supplemental instruction, comply with minor labor laws, and allow flexible scheduling and part‑time participation to accommodate school enrollment.
A local educational agency may be treated as the employer of pupils for school‑based work‑based learning (including registered youth apprenticeships) and may provide workers’ compensation and liability insurance on behalf of apprenticeship sponsors or private employers when the training is school‑connected and credit‑bearing.
The interagency workgroup the department may convene must include representatives from SDE, the Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, and the Workforce Development Board and is charged with identifying priorities and developing occupational and industry skills frameworks for priority industry sectors.
The statutory framework preserves existing limits and standards for work experience credit and delivery: for example, work experience education programs must meet the same laws for minors and local standards for supervision and instruction, and certain attendance/apportionment rules (including program standards required for state funding) remain in place.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Move CTE to center of curriculum standard development
Rewrites the standard‑setting provision to require the Superintendent to set CTE model curriculum standards in terms of competencies for each CTE subject area, to consult career technical classroom teachers and labor representatives, and to recommend policies ensuring CTE courses reflect up‑to‑date industry standards. It also expressly allows the Superintendent to issue curricular guidance but preserves the prohibition on adopting rules on course content or instructional methods.
Maintain and update a CTE curriculum framework with industry advisory groups
Requires SDE to maintain a CTE curriculum framework and work with career technical industry sector advisory groups consistent with the Perkins State Plan. The section defines 'industry skills frameworks' and 'occupational frameworks,' encourages inclusion of frameworks in K–12 curriculum updates, and instructs the department to prioritize review of CTE subjects based on industry advancement, workforce priorities, and cross‑agency alignment.
Definitions for apprenticeships and work‑based learning
Adds a detailed set of definitions that tie K–12 learning to apprenticeship terminology: apprenticeship program sponsor, apprenticeship standards, internship, mentorship, job shadowing, preapprenticeship, school‑based enterprise, student apprentice, and youth apprenticeship. These statutory definitions determine what activities qualify as work‑based learning and set the baseline for later operational and funding decisions.
Expanded LEA authorities and program delivery rules
Extends the authority to establish, supervise, and award credit for work‑based learning from high school districts to county offices, charter schools, and state special schools. The bill clarifies acceptable delivery methods (school‑based registered apprenticeships, internships, mentorships, job shadowing) and maintains program safeguards: supervision, classroom instruction minimums, and statutory protections for minors. It also retains attendance/apportionment rules tying state funding to program standards.
State data collection on work‑based learning (contingent)
Requires the department, upon appropriation, to build or use existing systems to collect and maintain data on work‑based learning activities, work permits issued by LEAs, and school‑based registered apprenticeship programs. The provision creates a statutory basis for statewide tracking but conditions actual data collection on future funding.
Local plan standards, legal protections, and program mechanics
Directs the Superintendent to adopt standards for local work experience education plans, including selection of worksites, supervision, training agreements, and recordkeeping (including pupil demographics and work permits). It clarifies that employment laws for minors apply to these programs and authorizes LEAs to operate or fund apprenticeship placements outside district boundaries, with narrow limits on payments to private employers.
LEAs as employers and rules for school‑based youth apprenticeship programs
Creates a rule that LEAs and regional centers may be considered employers of pupils participating in school‑connected work‑based learning and allows LEAs to provide workers’ compensation and liability coverage on behalf of sponsors or private employers when the activity is credit‑bearing and monitored by the school. It further requires registered high school‑based youth apprenticeship programs to submit standards and implementation plans to the department, deliver related instruction during the schoolday when appropriate, award graduation credit for qualifying paid on‑the‑job training, and allow completion of portions of apprenticeships before high school graduation.
Local program offerings, cooperative programs, and interagency alignment
Authorizes LEAs that do not operate regional occupational programs to offer work experience education for graduation credit and tasks the Superintendent with issuing rules for cooperative CTE programs and community classrooms run by joint powers authorities or county programs. It also permits districts using targeted instructional funds to require at least two‑course sequences in CTE pathways, to align courses with community college credit/prerequisites, and to participate in an interagency workgroup to develop occupational and industry skills frameworks; those frameworks are to be presented to DAS for potential adoption.
DAS rulemaking for youth apprenticeship program standards
Authorizes the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, in collaboration with SDE, to adopt policies and rules to preserve the educational character of youth apprenticeship programs, create expedited approval processes for new youth apprenticeship programs, and prescribe minimum requirements for high school‑based youth apprenticeships. It also codifies the youth apprenticeship definition for ages 16–24 and the flexibility requirements for school participation.
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Explore Education in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- High‑school students (especially ages 16–24): gain clearer, credential‑aligned pathways via school‑based youth apprenticeship options and potential credit toward graduation and community college prerequisites.
- Apprenticeship sponsors and employers: receive a statutory mechanism for aligning employer training with school curricula via occupational and industry skills frameworks and expedited adoption processes if frameworks are developed and adopted.
- Community colleges and the Chancellor’s Office: benefit from statutory alignment opportunities with K–12 CTE pathways that can streamline articulation, dual enrollment, and credit transfers.
- Labor and workforce boards: gain formal seats at the table through advisory groups and the interagency workgroup to influence the skills and competency standards used in youth apprenticeship and CTE alignment.
Who Bears the Cost
- Local educational agencies (districts, county offices, charter schools, state special schools): face new operational responsibilities — program administration, recordkeeping, supervision, and potential insurance/workers’ compensation obligations — with many actions conditioned on appropriation but statutory duties nonetheless expanded.
- Small or rural LEAs and charter schools: likely to incur disproportionate administrative and supervisory burdens to meet standards, convene employer partnerships, and document work‑based learning without guaranteed additional funding.
- State agencies (SDE, DAS, Chancellor’s Office): must allocate staff time and technical resources to convene advisory groups, develop frameworks, and coordinate rulemaking; many of these activities are expressly contingent on appropriations, creating workload prioritization challenges.
- Private employers and apprenticeship sponsors: may face new coordination requirements, approval processes, and documentation duties to have school‑connected activities recognized for credit, and may need to negotiate insurance and supervision terms with LEAs.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is this: SB 845 seeks to expand and standardize pathways from high school into registered apprenticeships (increasing access and credential alignment) while simultaneously pushing educational institutions into quasi‑employer roles and adding administrative, supervisory, and insurance responsibilities — a trade‑off between accelerating workforce entry for students and shifting operational risk and cost onto schools without guaranteed, concurrent funding or fully harmonized cross‑agency rules.
SB 845 creates useful scaffolding for K–12 to apprenticeship alignment but depends heavily on interagency cooperation and future appropriations. Several key operational steps — building a statewide data system, developing occupational and industry skills frameworks, and expanding administrative support for local apprenticeship integration — are conditioned on legislative funding.
Where funds are not provided, the statutory authorities exist but practical implementation will be limited, leaving LEAs with expanded responsibilities on paper but uneven capacity in practice.
The bill also shifts the practical contours of who 'employs' a student while participating in school‑connected work. Allowing LEAs to be treated as employers and to provide workers’ compensation on behalf of private employers narrows gaps in coverage but raises questions about cost allocation, the scope of liability, and the administrative mechanics of employer‑of‑record arrangements.
The statute preserves that labor laws for minors apply, but it leaves open who bears premium costs and who is ultimately responsible if insurers dispute coverage for private employer placements.
Finally, aligning multiple program approval regimes (SDE model curriculum, community college articulation, and DAS registration and adoption rules) creates potential friction: DAS can reject or modify frameworks SDE presents, and local programs must satisfy multiple approval gates. The bill attempts standardization but leaves unresolved how conflicts among agency priorities, sponsor practices, and local program designs will be adjudicated in real time — particularly given the statutory 'expedited' processes that still require detailed implementation rules.
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