Bill Text: CA AB1913 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 1913 (Prior Session Legislation)

CA State Legislature page for AB1913

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Los Angeles Community College District: California Center for Climate Change Education.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-08-11 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB1913 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB1913-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1913

Introduced by Assembly Member Bryan

February 09, 2022

An act to add Article 8 (commencing with Section 78085) to Chapter 1 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1913, as introduced, Bryan. Los Angeles Community College District: California Center for Climate Change Education.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, and authorizes them to provide instruction to students at community college campuses. One of these districts is the Los Angeles Community College District.

This bill would establish the California Center for Climate Change Education, as part of the Los Angeles Community College District, to be located at West Los Angeles College, for purposes of establish partnerships and developing educational resources to assist students and faculty of the state’s public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary systems by providing fact-based education about climate change and its direct relation to equity and environmental justice issues. The bill would appropriate $5,000,000 from the General Fund for the development and initial operations of the center. To the extent the bill would impose additional obligations on the Los Angeles Community College District, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Los Angeles Community College District.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: YES Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP 26, was held in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, from October 31, to November 12, 2021, inclusive.

(2) A goal of the COP26 is to secure net-zero carbon emissions globally by 2050, work together to ensure that the 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming threshold is not exceeded, facilitate all countries to protect and restore ecosystems already impacted by climate change, and enhance the world’s resiliency and adaptation towards the future expected impacts of climate change.

(3) Global climate change is an immediate threat to the United States’ national security, public health, national economy, and the legacy we will leave to our children.

(4) The most vulnerable communities, including communities of color, women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, low-income communities, and those with underlying health conditions, face even greater health risks as a result of climate change.

(5) The United States can lead the world in innovating and manufacturing clean energy technologies, creating good-paying jobs, modernizing the energy grid, and growing new companies that will be the titans of a new, clean energy economy.

(6) On July 8, 2020, the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Community College District adopted the Clean Energy and Sustainability Resolution, which directs the district’s staff to develop and implement a Sustainability Vision 2040 Plan for the district that establishes a pathway to achieving the 100 percent carbon-free energy goal by 2040.

(7) The people of the state, and people across the United States overwhelmingly support teaching students about the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to global climate change.

(8) Domestic clean energy jobs continue to be among the fastest growing occupations despite a temporary setback from the COVID-19 pandemic.

(9) The Los Angeles Community College District’s West Los Angeles College currently offers the only Climate Change and Environmental Studies Associate of Arts Degree in the nation providing-students with educational preparation to understand the impacts that climate change will have on their lives, local communities, and our global society.

(10) West Los Angeles College’s Climate Change and Environmental Studies Associate of Arts Degree is designed as a pathway for students to transfer to environmental studies programs at four-year postsecondary educational institutions, or for students pursuing environmental related careers.

(b) It is the intent of this act to establish the California Center for Climate Change Education at the Los Angeles Community College District, West Los Angeles College campus.

SEC. 2.

Article 8 (commencing with Section 78085) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:

Article 8. The California Center for Climate Change Education

78085.

This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Center for Climate Change Education.

78086.

As used in this article, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Center” means the California Center for Climate Change Education.

(b) “District” means the Los Angeles Community College District.

78087.

(a) The California Center for Climate Change Education is hereby established in the Los Angeles Community College District. The center shall be located at West Los Angeles College to lead in climate change education as the only community college in the nation, as of the 2021–22 academic year, to offer an associate’s degree in climate change and environmental studies.

(b) The primary purpose of the center is to develop educational resources to assist students and faculty of the state’s public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary systems by providing fact-based education about climate change and its direct relation to equity and environmental justice issues.

(c) The center shall support the interrelationships of climate change education and sustainability initiatives, establish opportunities for students to engage in internships, externships, apprenticeships, and other work-based learning opportunities, and partner with local and regional educational institutions, local governments, businesses, industries, and nonprofit organizations to promote education about climate change and sustainability.

(d) The center shall serve as a resource for the state’s public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary educational institutions, specifically on climate change education and policy with the understanding that, at its core, climate change is a global issue of equity and social justice.

(e) The center shall develop partnerships with local school districts, nonprofit organizations, and district entities in developing and supporting programs and initiatives that expand beyond climate sustainability and into climate change education.

(f) The center shall develop relationships with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and its Education for Sustainable Development program to infuse the precepts of the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement, and the associated Action for Climate Empowerment agenda into local and statewide curricula.

(g) The center shall establish partnerships with public and private four-year postsecondary educational institutions that include climate change policy and sustainability as part of their current bachelor’s of science degrees.

(h) Curricula developed in partnership with the center shall meet all of the following requirements:

(1) Meet state requirements to provide access to climate change curricula across all of the state’s community colleges.

(2) Explore how science, technology, engineering- and mathematics initiatives can contribute to climate change education.

(3) Build a clear climate change pathway that leads to appropriate certificates, degrees, and employment opportunities.

(i) The center shall encourage student engagement by doing all of the following:

(1) Enhancing partnerships with nonprofit organizations that encourage the development of student internships and work-based learning opportunities.

(2) Establishing climate change grants for students to do individual research.

(3) Supporting the district’s Energize Colleges Fellowship program in addressing climate change.

(4) Exploring and expanding internships, preapprenticeships, apprenticeships, and other work-based learning opportunities in the equity, environmental justice, and green jobs sectors.

(j) The center shall establish career development opportunities by doing all of the following:

(1) Creating a regional career training center.

(2) Providing ongoing market analysis of green jobs and creation of new occupations.

(3) Partnering with local WorkSource centers to expand student and community access to, and knowledge about, green jobs.

(4) Partnering with external entities to support the “Just Transition” concept of the workforce in Los Angeles’ urban oil fields to train individuals in climate change-related employment.

(5) Partnering with local and regional entities to support the workforce training needed in the greening of the energy grid and other industries.

(k) The center shall enhance community outreach and engagement by doing all of the following:

(1) Developing an annual urban climate change and sustainability conference.

(2) Providing training and professional development for public school teachers in strategies to teach climate change based on science and evidence.

(3) Creating a visiting lecturers’ program that provides outreach education to the County of Los Angeles.

(4) Supporting regional industries by providing information on how to choose greener options and raise awareness amongst stakeholders.

(l) The center’s administrators shall do all of the following:

(1) Recruit for and hire a fixed-term director to coordinate all of the center’s services and programs.

(2) Provide release time to develop curricula and to confirm transfer agreements with the California State University and the University of California.

(3) Engage a grant writer to pursue additional funding opportunities.

(4) Partner with philanthropic organizations to procure gifts and donations in support of climate change education initiatives and to sustain the future of the center.

(m) (1) The sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund for the development and initial operations of the center.

(2) The money appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) may be encumbered for up to a five-year period.

(3) The money appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) may be used for any of the following purposes:

(A) Develop curricula related to climate change education.

(B) Develop educational resources to assist public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary faculty in providing fact-based education about climate change and its direct relation to equity issues.

(D) Establish opportunities for students to engage in hands-on internships and other learning opportunities.

(E) Hire staff to develop the center.

(F) Other areas of need related to climate change education.

SEC. 3.

The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique circumstances regarding the Los Angeles Community College District.

SEC. 4.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.