Leadership magazine Nov/Dec 2015 V45 No 2 | Page 12

Revitalizing
Adult Education
Programs
TO BENEFIT THE DISTRICT

School districts are in
an especially unique
position to look toward
AEBG funding as an
asset to better serve
students, parents and
their communities.

12

Leadership

On July 1 of this year, the gover-

nor and Legislature restored $500 million
to revitalize adult schools in California
through the Adult Education Block Grant
(AEBG), Assembly Bill 104. The effort begins to make up for the billions in cuts to the
5 million California adults in need of Adult
Education services, including basic skills,
English as a Second Language, high school
diploma or equivalency, and Career Technical Education.
Through AEBG, these new dollars can
be used in addition to any current funding
school districts provide through the Local
Control Funding Formula and Local Control and Accountability Plans, as well as
other resources. AEBG is in every region of
California and requires a community college
district and school districts within those
boundaries to participate in order to receive
funding. It is the intention of the governor
and the Legislature that AEBG funding

will be ongoing, leading to a re-imagining
of what Adult Education can look like in
California.
Now is the right time to look at what
Adult Education can do for school districts.
According to AB 104, AEBG funding can
provide: 1) Programs in elementary and
secondary basic skills, including programs
leading to a high school diploma or High
School Equivalency certificate; 2) Programs
for immigrants eligible for educational services in citizenship, ESL and workforce
preparation; 3) Programs for adults – including, but not limited to older adults – that are
primarily related to entry or reentry into the
workforce; 4) Programs for adults, including
older adults, that are primarily designed to
develop knowledge and skills to assist elementary and secondary school children to
By Christian Nelson