Bill Text: CA SB933 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Teachers: California Teacher Corps Act of 2016: teacher residency programs.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Assembly without further action. [SB933 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB933-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 933 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 14, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 1, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 29, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Allen
( Principal coauthor: Assembly Member
Gordon )
( Coauthor: Senator Huff
)
FEBRUARY 2, 2016
An act to add Chapter 3.9 (commencing with Section 44790) to Part
25 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to
teachers, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 933, as amended, Allen. Teachers: California Teacher Corps Act
of 2016: teacher residency programs.
Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and
secondary education in this state. Existing law establishes local
educational agencies, including school districts and county offices
of education, throughout the state, and authorizes these agencies to
provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12,
inclusive.
This bill would enact the California Teacher Corps Act of 2016,
under which the Superintendent of Public Instruction would make
grants to applicant local educational agencies and consortia of local
educational agencies to assist these agencies in
establishing and maintaining establishing,
maintaining, or expanding teacher residency programs, as
defined. The teacher residency programs established by the bill would
be defined as school-based teacher preparation programs in which a
prospective teacher would teach alongside an experienced mentor
teacher, as defined, while also receiving teacher training
instruction in a teacher credentialing program in a qualified
institution of higher education. The bill would establish eligibility
standards for persons who apply for participation in the teacher
residency programs established by the bill.
This bill would appropriate the sum of $60,000,000 from the
General Fund to the Superintendent on a one-time basis, available for
the 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 fiscal years, to make grants to
applicant local educational agencies and consortia of local
educational agencies, as described above.
Funds appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the
minimum funding requirements for school districts and community
college districts for the 2015-16 fiscal year imposed by Section 8 of
Article XVI of the California Constitution.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 3.9 (commencing with Section 44790) is added to
Part 25 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:
CHAPTER 3.9. CALIFORNIA TEACHER CORPS
44790. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Teacher Corps Act of 2016.
44791. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The shortage of qualified teachers in California is reaching
critical levels in a number of teaching areas.
(b) Education experts agree that shortages of effective teachers
in high-poverty schools and in specific teaching fields create a need
for high-quality teachers who will enter, stay in, and be effective
in, these areas.
(c) At least 30 percent of new teachers leave the profession in
the first five years, and the proportions are generally higher in
low-income communities.
(d) Teacher shortages and high teacher turnover rates have a
negative impact on pupil achievement and the quality of education.
(e) Successful teacher preparation programs, and providing ongoing
support, can make novice teachers effective more rapidly and can
reduce teacher attrition.
(f) Many new teachers lack such support, and, as a result, leave
the profession.
(g) Teacher candidates must see expert practices modeled, and must
then practice them with ongoing mentoring support. Teacher
preparation often lacks adequate or sufficient opportunities to learn
under the direct supervision of expert teachers working in schools
that effectively serve high-need pupils.
(h) It is critical to develop programs that increase the
probability that recruits will succeed and stay in the
high-need classrooms where they are needed. Because many
teacher candidates choose to teach where they grew up or went to
college, it is important to have strong programs in hard-to-staff
urban and rural locations. Teacher residency programs effectively
build teacher supply, since they recruit and prepare candidates in
the school districts that sponsor them, in partnership with local
preparation programs. Teacher residency programs have demonstrated
the capacity to recruit, prepare, retain, and provide effective
support for teachers in high-need
hard-to-staff schools.
44792. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Experienced mentor teacher" means a teacher who meets all of
the following requirements:
(1) Has at least three years of teaching experience and a clear
teaching credential in the field in which he or she will be
mentoring.
(2) Has taught in a high-need
hard-to-staff school.
(3) Has a record of successful teaching.
(4) Receives specific training for the mentor teacher role, and
engages in ongoing professional learning and networking with other
mentors. Compensation shall be ongoing as long as the mentor
continues to serve in the role prescribed by the program.
(5) Receives compensation or appropriate release time, or both, to
serve as a mentor in the initial preparation or induction component
of the teacher residency program.
(b) "Hard-to-staff schools" shall be determined by the governing
board or body of the local educational agency.
(b)
(c) "Local educational agency" includes, but is not
necessarily limited to, a school district, county office of
education, charter school, or charter management organization.
(c)
(d) (1) "Teacher residency program" means a
school-based teacher preparation program that is accredited by the
Commission on Teacher Credentialing and in which a prospective
teacher does all of the following:
(A) Teaches at least one-half time alongside a teacher of record,
who is designated as the mentor teacher, for at least one full
academic year while engaging in initial preparation coursework.
(B) Receives instruction in all of the following:
(i) The teaching of the content area or areas in which the teacher
will become certified to teach.
(ii) Planning, curriculum development, and assessment.
(iii) Learning and child development.
(iv) Management of the classroom environment.
(v) The use of culturally responsive practices, supports for
language development, and supports for serving pupils with
disabilities.
(vi) Professional responsibilities, including interaction with
families and colleagues.
(C) Receives tuition financial
assistance and provides a living stipend.
(D) Attains a preliminary teaching credential upon completion of
the program.
(E) Receives mentoring and induction support following the
completion of the initial credential program necessary to obtain a
clear credential and ongoing professional development and networking
opportunities during his or her first years of teaching.
(F) Has the option of completing a master's degree before
completion of the program.
(2) A "teacher residency program" does all of the following:
(A) Seeks out academically able individuals who
expand the racial, ethnic, gender, and linguistic diversity
of the teaching force meet the Teaching Performance
Expectations of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing
and meet hiring needs of the local educational agency for
teachers in difficult-to-fill areas, such as
chronic teacher shortage areas, including special education and
bilingual teachers, and hard-to-staff schools. Admissions
priorities are developed in concert with the hiring objectives of the
local educational agency, which commits to hire graduates from the
teacher residency program who obtain a preliminary teaching
credential, pass the program's teacher performance assessment if that
is a condition for receiving a license, and meet the standards set
for hiring.
(B) Produces culturally responsive teachers who address specific
pupil populations, local district initiatives and priorities, and
teacher preparation emphasis while maintaining high state-established
standards for credentials.
(B)
(C) Allows residents to learn to teach in the same
local educational agency in which they will work, learning the
instructional initiatives and curriculum of the local educational
agency.
(C)
(D) Groups teacher candidates in cohorts to facilitate
professional collaboration among residents, and places them in
teaching schools or professional development programs that are
organized to support a high-quality teacher learning experience in a
supportive work environment.
(D)
(E) Assigns a high priority to the recruiting of
mid-career professionals, military veterans, and recent college
graduates as prospective participants in the teacher residency
program.
(E)
(F) Builds coursework for residents and mentors around
the classroom experience in ways that are aligned to pupil needs.
(F)
(G) Offers structured feedback and coaching systems
organized around the California Standards for the Teaching Profession
to ensure that participants engage in a meaningful classroom
teaching experience.
(G)
(H) Ensures that candidates are prepared to pass a
teacher performance assessment if that is required by the state as a
condition of the initial license.
(H)
(I) Maintains a program evaluation system that focuses
on continual improvement for residents, mentors, teacher education
faculty, and the teacher residency program itself.
(I)
(J) Is developed collaboratively with the
certified exclusive bargaining representative, or if none exists,
teacher representatives within the local educational agency.
44793. (a) The sum of sixty million dollars ($60,000,000) is
hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Superintendent on a
one-time basis, available for the 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19
fiscal years, to make grants to local educational agencies or
consortia of local educational agencies to assist those agencies to
establish and maintain establish, maintain,
or expand teacher residency programs, with first priority given
to local educational agencies or consortia of local educational
agencies with programs that target chronic teacher shortage areas,
including special education and bilingual teachers. Preference may
also be given to local educational agencies or consortia of local
educational agencies on the basis of their per pupil allocation of
funds as high-need local educational agencies defined in
Section 2102 of pursuant to Part A of Title II
of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education
Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 107-110)
114-95) for the most recent school year. These
local educational agencies shall work with one or more
teacher preparation institutions, institutions of
higher education providing teacher preparation, and may work
with other community partners or nonprofit organizations to develop
and implement teacher residency programs of preparation and mentoring
for prospective teachers who will be supported through teacher
residency program funds and subsequently employed by the sponsoring
local educational agency.
(b) For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8
of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriations
made by subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be "General Fund revenues
appropriated for school districts," as defined in subdivision (c) of
Section 41202, for the 2015-16 fiscal year, and included within the
"total allocations to school districts and community college
districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant
to Article XIII B," as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202,
for the 2015-16 fiscal year.
44794. (a) To be eligible to participate in a teacher residency
program under this chapter, a prospective participant shall become
enrolled simultaneously in a teacher credentialing
program in a university or college or other eligible
institution that satisfies either of the following
conditions:
(1) It has entered into a written agreement relating to that
program with the local educational agency or consortia of local
educational agencies that is the recipient of a grant under this
chapter.
(2) It has been determined to meet the requirements of Article 7
(commencing with Section 44320) of Chapter 2 by the Commission on
Teacher Credentialing.
(b) A participant in a teacher residency program under this
chapter shall, under the supervision of an experienced mentor
teacher, complete not fewer than nine months of teaching a class or
set of classes in a school chosen by the local educational agency
that is the recipient of a grant under this chapter.
(c) (1) A participant in a teacher residency program under this
chapter shall agree in writing to be placed, after successfully
completing the initial year of preparation, as a teacher of record in
a school within the high-need local educational
agency.
(2) Placement under this subdivision shall be for a period of at
least four school years beginning with the school year that begins
after the participant successfully completes the initial year of
preparation and obtains a preliminary teaching credential. Once
licensed, a participant shall be eligible to be hired as a teacher in
a high-need, hard-to-staff,
underserved area or in a high-need
difficult-to-fill subject area. A participant who fails to
complete the period of the placement, or the first four school years
of the placement if the period is more than four school years, is
required to pay back the cost of the training on a pro rata basis,
relative to the amount of time served in proportion to the total
pledged.
(d) If a participant is unable to complete an academic year of
teaching, that academic year may still be counted toward the required
four complete and consecutive academic years if any of the following
occur:
(1) The participant has completed at least one-half of the
academic year.
(2) The employer deems the participant to have fulfilled his or
her contract requirements for the academic year for the purposes of
salary increases, tenure, and retirement.
(3) The participant was not able to teach due to the financial
circumstances of the local educational agency.
agency, including a decision to not reelect the employee for the
next succeeding school year.
(4) The participant has a condition covered under the Family and
Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) (Section 230.8 of the Labor Code) or
similar state law.
(5) The participant was called or ordered to active duty status
for more than 30 days as a member of a reserve component of the Armed
Forces of the United States.
44795. (a) A grant under this chapter shall be in an amount of
twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) per resident of the jurisdiction of
the local educational agency, as matched by that local educational
agency, or a total of up to two million dollars ($2,000,000)
over three school years, as matched by that local educational
agency. Funding may be applied to expenditures for any of
the following: following in accordance with
any relevant collective bargaining agreement: master teachers'
stipends, living stipends and tuition assistance
for residents, teacher residency program management, and costs of
mentoring and induction following initial preparation.
(b) The Superintendent may make grants under this chapter each
fiscal year, commencing with the 2016-17 fiscal year until the
2018-19 fiscal year. A local educational agency or consortia of local
educational agencies shall not receive more than one award for an
application under this chapter in any fiscal year, unless sufficient
funds remain after awarding all other qualified applicants.
(c) To receive a grant under this chapter, a high-need
local educational agency or high-need
consortia of local educational agencies shall submit to the
Superintendent an application at a time, in a manner, and containing
information, prescribed by the Superintendent.
(d) The Superintendent shall award grants under this chapter on a
competitive basis, with first priority given to applicants that
target chronic teacher shortage areas, including special education
and bilingual teachers. Preferences may also be given to local
educational agencies or consortia of local educational agencies on
the basis of their per pupil allocation of funds as
high-need local educational agencies defined in Section 2102 of
pursuant to Part A of Title II of the federal
Elementary and Secondary Education Every
Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 107-110)
114-95) for the most recent school year.
(e) The Superintendent shall conduct an evaluation of the program
established under this chapter to determine its effectiveness in
recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers in chronic teacher
shortage areas, including special education and bilingual teachers,
and high-need hard-to-staff schools.
(f) A local educational agency or consortia of local educational
agencies that receives a grant under this chapter shall provide
matching funds in an amount equal to 100 percent of grant funds
provided to the local educational agency under this chapter to carry
out the activities supported by the grant, which may be provided by
community partners, institutions of higher education, or others.
