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.

(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 13, Sec. 35. (AB 104) Effective June 24, 2015.)