(a) Commencing with the 2009–10 school year, when funds become available for additional partnership academies within the total number of grants available for all partnership academies pursuant to Section 54691, the Superintendent shall issue grants for the establishment of partnership academies and shall give priority to the establishment of partnership academies dedicated to educating pupils in goods movement occupational areas, such as port and terminal operations, pollution prevention, performance and low-emission vehicle technology, transportation computer systems, fleet conversion, and the servicing and maintenance of those technologies, shipping, logistics, trucking, rail, air, and security, until no less than one goods movement partnership academy has been established in each of the four transportation corridors established by the state.

(b) (1) The selection of school districts to establish the goods movement partnership academies and the planning and development of the goods movement partnership academies shall be conducted pursuant to the procedures and requirements established in Section 54691 for all partnership academies. The planning grants shall be made available for academies pursuant to this article from the total number of grants established pursuant to Section 54691.

(2) In the event a school district applies to convert an existing school program to a partnership academy and meets all the criteria for a partnership academy pursuant to Section 54692 and paragraph (3), the department, in coordination with the Superintendent, may provide that academy with first-year implementation funds, as appropriate.

(3) (A) In order to be eligible for funding pursuant to this article, the coursework and internship or preapprenticeship programs of the proposed academy shall focus significant time on the use of emerging technologies and state-of-the-art equipment. The proposed academy shall demonstrate this through its efforts to obtain input from industry and professional trade organizations.

(B) Staff development opportunities also shall be included in the academy plans to ensure that teaching staff has the opportunity to be educated in the use of emerging technologies and to become familiar with new equipment and current practices in the field.

(c) The priority established in this section may be satisfied when the specified number of goods movement partnership academies meeting the requirements of this article are funded by any of, or a combination of, funds appropriated for the establishment of partnership academies.

(Added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 685, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2009. See same-numbered section in Article 9, as added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 82.)