52485-52490
EDUCATION CODE
SECTION 52485-52490
52485. (a) The Legislature recognizes that home economics career technical education includes two distinct programs, consumer home economics education which is crucial to the economic and social well-being of individuals and families, and home economics related occupation programs, which provide a continued source of trained and qualified individuals for employment in various fields, including child development and education, consumer services, fashion design, manufacturing and merchandising, food science, dietetics and nutrition, food service and hospitality, hospitality, tourism and recreation, interior design, furnishings, and maintenance. These industries are of central importance to the economic growth and development of the state, and their maintenance requires a continued source of trained and qualified individuals in order to maintain a productive workforce. (b) The Legislature hereby declares that it is in the best interests of the people of the State of California that a comprehensive home economics careers and technology career technical program be created and maintained by the public school system to include instruction in consumer home economics education, which prepares individuals for effective personal life management and to be a member of a well-functioning family, and instruction in home economics related occupations education, in order to ensure both an adequate supply of trained and skilled individuals, and appropriate representation of racial and ethnic groups in all phases of the industries. (c) For this purpose, the Legislature affirms that a program of home economics career technical education shall be a part of the curriculum of the public school system and made readily available to all school districts which may, at their option, include programs in career technical home economics education as a part of the curriculum of that district. 52486. The State Department of Education shall adopt such rules and regulations as are necessary to implement the provisions of this article. The rules and regulations shall not create any new state mandates on school districts or county offices of education as a condition of receiving federal, state, and local funds by those entities. It is the intent of the Legislature that, although this article does not create any new mandates, school districts and county offices of education are strongly advised to follow the guidelines set forth in this article. 52487. (a) There is hereby created within the State Department of Education the Home Economics Careers and Technology Career Technical Education Unit, to be staffed by qualified home economics education-trained personnel, to assist school districts in the establishment and maintenance of the educational programs provided for by this article. (b) The staffing of the unit shall be at least 3.3 personnel-years. (c) The State Supervisor of the Home Economics Careers and Technology Career Technical Education Unit, under the direction of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall have responsibility for the administration of the program set forth in this article, as well as for the articulation of the program to the requirements and mandates of federally assisted career technical education. (d) An appropriate number of employees shall serve as program consultants in the Home Economics Careers and Technology Career Technical Education Unit, and shall be available to provide assistance to school districts. To the extent possible, the program consultants shall be geographically located in areas that are most readily accessible to the school districts they assist. At least one consultant shall be responsible for the coordination of the leadership development activities of pupil home economics careers and technology organizations and associations. (e) The State Department of Education shall accomplish the staffing of the Home Economics Careers and Technology Career Technical Education Unit in compliance with this article by reassigning priorities in staff assignments within the department so that the staffing results in no new costs to the state. 52488. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall establish on July 1, 1997, and convene the Home Economics Careers and Technology Advisory Committee. The committee shall develop recommendations for state programs in home economics careers and technology education for presentation to the Legislature for review and to the State Board of Education to be used in the development and adoption pursuant to Section 52486 of the rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this article. Recommendations shall include, but not be limited to, the development of a curriculum and a strategy for the purpose of establishing a source of trained and qualified instructors for home economics careers and technology programs throughout the public school system, and a public information outreach strategy regarding the importance of consumer home economics education and home economics-related occupations in California. Members of the advisory committee shall serve without compensation, including travel and per diem. The advisory committee shall cease to exist on January 1, 2000. (b) The committee shall be representative of consumer home economics education and home economics-related occupation specialists and representatives of the various fields and industries in California described in Section 52485. Nominations for the committee shall be solicited from the various task forces that have assisted in the development of curriculum standards for home economics careers and technology career technical education programs. (c) The committee shall be composed of the following: (1) A voluntary representative from a university conducting a teacher education program in home economics careers and technology. (2) A voluntary representative from a community college conducting a program in home economics careers and technology education. (3) A voluntary representative from a high school conducting a consumer home economics program in home economics careers and technology. (4) A voluntary representative from a high school conducting a home economics-related occupations program in home economics careers and technology. (5) A voluntary representative from a middle level school conducting an exploratory program in home economics careers and technology. (6) A former student of a home economics careers and technology education program. (7) A parent of a pupil enrolled in home economics careers and technology education. (8) Eight other individuals representing diverse industries related to established career paths in home economics careers and technology education from various geographic locations in the state. The State Supervisor of the Home Economics Careers and Technology Vocational Education Unit shall serve as the committee consultant. 52489. (a) The curriculum of school districts that choose to participate in the state program of home economics careers and technology career technical education shall include all of the following components: (1) Organized classes in the study of home economics careers and technology, both for consumer home economics and home economics-related occupations. (2) A pupil-supervised worksite learning experience appropriate to the specific home economics career and technology program. (3) A program of leadership, organization, personal development, and service learning. (b) Pupil learning activities developed to supplement these components shall be considered curricular and shall contribute to the grade of the participating pupil when those activities are integral to assisting the pupil to achieve the personal or career objective of the class or course. 52490. (a) In order to ensure effective instruction in home economics careers and technology career technical education, instructors need access to updated curricula that prepares pupils with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to function as effective family members, citizens, and community leaders as well as productive employees in industries critical to the economic growth of California, including, but not limited to, hospitality, tourism, and food service. In addition, an ongoing professional development program tied to the latest research, educational trends, industry-validated curriculum standards, and effective teaching strategies is crucial if instructors are to provide quality, relevant instruction. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that a statewide home economics careers and technology curriculum and professional development project be established to do the following: (1) Create opportunities for researchers, higher education, faculty, and elementary and secondary school faculty to work together to accomplish all of the following: (A) Identify exemplary teaching practices. (B) Examine and develop research on learning, knowledge, and educational materials. (C) Give consideration to the implementation of statewide curriculum standards in the content areas of both consumer home economics education and home economics-related occupations education, with particular attention to the learning needs and styles of an increasingly diverse pupil population, many of whom are underachieving. (2) Be modeled after projects that have been successful in strengthening systematically the subject matter knowledge and instructional strategies of project participants, including, but not limited to, the California Writing Project and the California Mathematics Project. (3) Include an evaluation plan designed to measure the degree of implementation of the statewide project and local sites, changes in the instructional practices of participating teachers, and improvements in the learning and involvement by pupils in career technical home economics careers and technology education. (c) The project shall be established by contract at a university with a viable teacher education program that prepares instructors to teach in both consumer home economics education and home economics-related occupations education programs. The contract shall be awarded under the request for proposal provisions of Section 10344 of the Public Contract Code. (d) The project shall operate under the direction of the Home Economics Careers and Technology Career Technical Education Unit within the State Department of Education to ensure effective collaboration and articulation of programs in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. (e) The project shall be funded only from available federal funds.