A measure written by Assemblywoman Carol Liu,...

A measure written by Assemblywoman Carol Liu, a La Canada Flintridge

Democrat, to advance career and technical education offerings in

public schools, has been signed into law.

Assembly Bill 1609, signed into law on Sept. 27, requires high

schools to include in their School Accountability Report Card a

listing by school of all career technical education courses offered,

the percentage of students participating in such courses and who

complete a course sequence, the name of the Advisory Committee Chair

for each school, and the percentage of programs that are designed to

complement existing college programs.

As a result, schools lost about 75% of their industrial arts

programs in the last 10 years, Liu said.

However, Liu believes the need for career and technical education

has grown.

This critical information will help parents understand the options

available for career and technical education at their students’ high

schools and help stakeholders make informed decisions about the

future of these important programs, Liu said.

Career and technical education programs have been shown to

increase high school completion rates, test scores, and grade point

averages.

Students who graduate with a strong basis in academic work and

career and technical education are more likely to attend college,

find a job, and earn a higher salary, according to Liu’s research.

Legislation includes Schiff’s provisions

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Department

of Justice Authorization Act (H.R. 3042), which outlines the

priorities for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat who represents Glendale and Burbank,

offered several provisions that were included in the final version of

the bill.

Introduced by Schiff in July 2001 and first enacted in 2002, the

extension of the Law Enforcement Tribute Act helps local and state

governments to honor men and women who were killed or disabled while

serving as public safety officers.

This bill was inspired by Glendale Police Officer Charles A.

Lazzaretto, who was murdered in the line of duty in 1997.

Through the program, Glendale received $10,000 to build a memorial

honoring Lazzaretto and four others and was recently dedicated.

As a former federal prosecutor, Schiff said he saw successful gang

prevention programs at work.

Schiff is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles and the

co-founder of the Democratic Study Group on National Security. He is

a member of both the House Judiciary and International Relations

committees.

Mountjoy applauds veto of gay marriage

Assembly Bill 849 would have allowed same-sex couples in to be

legally married.

At the same time, Mountjoy was dismayed that so many California

legislators would vote for AB 849 in contradiction to the

overwhelming support of their constituents for Proposition 22, which

stated that marriage is between one man and one woman.

Dreier bill seeks Head Start accountability

Rep. David Dreier, chairman of the House Rules Committee, voted

recently to approve legislation designed to restore fiscal

accountability to the Head Start program.

The School Readiness Act of 2005, H.R. 2123, was approved with

bipartisan support, 231-184.

The General Accountability Office issued a report earlier this

year warning that the financial control system in Head Start is

flawed and failing to prevent multi-million dollar financial abuses.

Several provisions in H.R. 2123 would address these abuses by

requiring annual independent financial audits for grantees;

authorizing the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct

unscheduled reviews of Head Start programs; and requiring all

grantees to publish an annual report detailing how money was spent.

Additionally, the bill requires that within three years of

enactment all newly hired Head Start teachers have at least an

associate’s degree, and that by 2011, half of all Head Start teachers

have at least a baccalaureate degree.

It also requires deficient grantees to compete again for their

federal grants.