CHAPTER 16. California Career Pathways Trust [53010. - 53016.]

Cal. Education Code - EDC 16.

in effect

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 53010. Section 53010.

The California Career Pathways Trust is hereby established as a state education and economic and workforce development initiative with the goal of preparing pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to successfully transition to postsecondary education and training and to employment in high-skill, high-wage, and high-growth or emerging sectors of the state’s economy.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 53011. Section 53011.

Contingent upon funding provided for this purpose in the annual Budget Act, the department shall administer the California Career Pathways Trust as a competitive grant program for kindergarten and grades 1 to 14, inclusive. Funds appropriated in Item 6110-280-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2014 shall be available for expenditure in the 2014–15 fiscal year to the 2016–17 fiscal year, inclusive. Recipients shall do all of the following: (a) Prioritize work-based learning opportunities, as defined in Section 51760.1, for pupils and students in partnership with regional business and industry, state and local governmental entities, and nonprofit and community-based organizations. (b) Define the labor market of the regional economy in a manner that identifies high-skill, high-wage, high-growth jobs in the current regional economy or in emerging economic sectors. (c) Establish or strengthen existing regional collaborative relationships and partnerships among business entities, schools serving pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and postsecondary educational agencies, organizations that provide apprenticeship opportunities, and nonprofit or government entities. (d) Develop and integrate standards-based academics with a career-relevant, sequenced curriculum following industry-themed pathways that are aligned to high-skill, high-wage, high-growth jobs in the current regional economy, or in emerging regional economic sectors. (e) Provide articulated pathways from high school to postsecondary education and training that are aligned with the workforce development needs of regional economies. (f) Ensure that career pathway programs are designed and implemented in a manner that leads students to a postsecondary degree or certification in a high-skill, high-wage, and high-growth or emerging field. (g) Leverage and build on any of the following: (1) Existing structures, requirements, and resources of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006, California Partnership Academies, and Regional Occupational Centers and Programs. (2) The California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development Program. (3) Matching resources and in-kind contributions from public, private, and philanthropic sources.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 53012. Section 53012.

A grant recipient under this chapter may be a school district, county office of education, direct-funded charter school, regional occupational center or program operated by a joint powers authority, or community college district.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 53013. Section 53013.

The following are conditions of receipt of California Career Pathways Trust funds: (a) A grant recipient shall not use the funds to supplant other funding from state, federal, or any other public or private sources that would otherwise be used in the absence of funding provided by a California Career Pathways Trust grant. (b) A grant recipient shall identify and set aside funding within its own budget and obtain funding commitments from program partners sufficient to support the ongoing costs of the program for multiple years following the expiration of grant funding pursuant to this chapter. (c) A grant recipient subject to the requirements of Sections 52060 and 52061, Sections 52066 and 52067, or Section 47606.5 shall ensure that the activities supported by the California Career Pathways Trust funds are in alignment with the priorities and activities of the grant recipient’s local control and accountability plan. (d) A grant recipient subject to the requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 52302 shall ensure that the activities supported by the California Career Pathways Trust funds are in alignment with the elements of the plan identified in that section. (e) A grant recipient shall annually collect and submit data on outcome measures to the department, which shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following: (1) Pupil and student academic performance indicators. (2) The number and rate of school or program graduates. (3) Attainment of certificates, transfer readiness, and postsecondary enrollment. (4) Transitions to appropriate employment, apprenticeships, or job training.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 53014. Section 53014.

The Superintendent shall consult with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, state workforce investment organizations, and organizations representing business in the development of the request for grant applications and in the consideration of grant applications under this chapter.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 53015. Section 53015.

For purposes of administering the California Career Pathways Trust, the Superintendent may do any of the following: (a) Establish a structure for awarding grants on a regional or local basis as defined by the Superintendent. (b) Determine specific funding amount categories and the number of grants to be awarded in each category. (c) Distribute funding on a multiyear schedule, and establish a process for monitoring the use of the funding, and, if necessary, cease distribution of funding and recover previously distributed funding in the case of a recipient’s failure to comply with a grant award condition. (d) Require grant recipients to submit program reports pursuant to a schedule determined by the Superintendent. (e) Set aside up to 1 percent of the total amount provided for in the trust for one or both of the following purposes: (1) To provide planning grants. (2) To contract with a local educational agency for the provision of technical assistance to applicants and grant recipients.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 53016. Section 53016.

For purposes of considering competitive priorities for the California Career Pathways Trust, the Superintendent shall do all of the following: (a) Consider how to prioritize grants to applicants in regions with higher-than-state-average rates of high school dropouts as measured by the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System. (b) Provide special consideration to an applicant or applicants seeking to establish or strengthen legal career pathways and promote a better understanding of the role and operations of state and federal courts and their relationship to the other branches of government. (c) Provide special consideration to an applicant or applicants seeking to establish or strengthen career pathways that include both high school opportunities and at least one of the following significant postsecondary pathways: a degree pursuant to Section 78041, if that section is added by Senate Bill 850 of the 2013–14 Regular Session of the Legislature, or an EdPrize apprenticeship opportunity pursuant to Section 33135.5, if that section is added by Senate Bill 923 of the 2013–14 Regular Session of the Legislature.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026