Bill Text: CA SB933 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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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

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BILL NUMBER: SB 933	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 29, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Allen

                        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.



	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  establish   enact  the
California Teacher Corps Act of 2016, under which the Superintendent
of Public Instruction would make grants to applicant 
high-need  local educational agencies and  high-need
consortium   consortia  of local educational
 agencies, as defined,   agencies  to
assist these agencies in establishing and maintaining 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.
   The bill would provide that its provisions would not be
implemented unless funding for its purposes is provided in the annual
Budget Act or in another statute.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. 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 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' 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 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) "High-need consortium of local educational agencies" means two
or more local educational agencies, at least 50 percent of which are
"high-need local educational agencies," as defined in subdivision
(c).  
   (c) "High-need local educational agency" means a local educational
agency that is determined by the Superintendent to be among the
highest 40 percent of local educational agencies in the state in
terms of the percentage of unduplicated pupils, as defined in Section
42238.02.  
   (d) 
    (   b)  "Local educational agency" includes,
but is not necessarily limited to, a school district, county office
of education, charter school, or charter management organization.

   (e) 
    (   c)  (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 assistance that eliminates training costs 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 and
meet hiring needs of the local educational agency for teachers in
difficult-to-fill content areas 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   teacher performance assessment  if
that is a condition for receiving a license, and meet the standards
set for hiring.
   (B) 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) 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) 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) Builds coursework for residents and mentors around the
classroom experience in ways that are aligned to pupil needs.
   (F) 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) 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) Maintains a program evaluation system that focuses on
continual improvement for residents, mentors, teacher education
faculty, and the teacher residency program itself.
   (I) Is developed collaboratively with teacher representatives
within the local educational agency.
   44793.  From amounts made available to carry out this chapter, the
Superintendent shall make grants to  high-need 
local educational agencies or  high-need consortium 
 consortia  of local educational agencies to assist those
agencies to establish and maintain teacher residency 
programs.   programs, with preference given to local
educational agencies or consortia on the basis   of their
per pupil allocation of funds as high-need local educational agencies
defined in Section 2102 of Part A of Title II of the federal
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Public Law 107-110) for the
most recent school year.  These local educational agencies shall
work with one or more teacher preparation institutions, 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.
   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  high-need  local educational
agency or  high-need  consortium 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  high-need 
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, underserved area or in a high-need 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.
   (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 for a period of no
less than three school years, and may be in an annual amount up to
thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) per resident of the jurisdiction of
the local educational agency, as matched by that local educational
agency, or a total of two million dollars ($2,000,000) over three
school years, as matched by that local educational agency, whichever
is less. Funding may be applied to expenditures for any of the
following: master teachers' stipends, stipends and tuition 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 2017-18 fiscal year. A 
high-need  local educational agency or  high-need
 consortium of local educational agencies shall not receive
more than one grant under this chapter in any fiscal year.
   (c) To receive a grant under this chapter, a high-need local
educational agency or high-need consortium 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.   basis, with preference
given to local educational agencies or consortia on the basis of
their per pupil allocation of funds as high-need local educational
agencies defined in Section 2102 of Part A of Title II of the federal
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Public Law 107-110) for the
most recent school year. 
   (e) Of the amount appropriated to implement this chapter, the
Superintendent shall reserve up to 3 percent for an evaluation of the
program established under this chapter to determine its
effectiveness in recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers in
high-need teaching fields and high-need schools.
   (f) A high-need  local educational agency or
 high-need  consortium of local educational agencies
that receives a grant under this chapter shall provide matching
funds in an amount equal to 50 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.
   44796.  This chapter shall not be implemented unless funding for
its purposes is provided in the annual Budget Act or in another
statute.