BILL NUMBER: AB 1052 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 9, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Torrico
FEBRUARY 23, 2007
An act to add Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 8234) to
Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
relating to preschool.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1052, as amended, Torrico. Preschool: teachers:
limited-English-proficient children.
The Child Care and Development Services Act requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer state preschool
programs that include part-day and preschool appropriate programs for
prekindergarten children 3 to 5 years of age, inclusive.
This bill would require the State Department of Education to
establish and implement a demonstration program that includes 3
counties in the state and provides for ,
including one county each from Northern, Central, and Southern
California, as defined. The program would provide college
coursework, training , and career ladder
opportunities for preschool teachers who provide instruction to
limited-English-proficient children, as defined for purposes of
the program . Three grants of $450,000 each would be awarded
to those counties per year for 3 years. Institutions of
higher education, early childhood educational agencies, local
educational agencies, nonprofit organizations, or consorita
consortia of those entities within each
participating county would be eligible to apply for and
receive those grant funds. The department, within one year of the
completion date of the program, would be required to prepare and
submit to the Legislature a report that includes recommendations
regarding the continuation of the program and state and federal
policy changes needed to support the goals of the program.
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. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that quality
instruction begins with well prepared teachers, including teachers
who possess the necessary linguistic skills demanded by an
increasingly diverse population.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to
accomplish all of the following:
(1) Establish a mechanism for demonstrating and evaluating the
effectiveness of programs aimed at enhancing the training and
qualifications of preschool teachers who provide instruction to
limited-English-proficient children.
(2) Increase the number of highly qualified preschool teachers and
other personnel with expertise in working with
limited-English-proficient children and their families by assisting
noncertified educational personnel in meeting professional standards
including certification and licensure.
(3) Improve the early education of limited-English-proficient
children.
(4) Improve the qualifications and skills of noncertified
educational personnel to meet the professional standards of certified
personnel who serve limited-English-proficient pupils through
collaborative training programs operated by institutions of higher
education and local educational agencies.
(5) Establish a grant program for the purpose of awarding grants
to entities that provide education to bilingual teachers interested
in working in the area of early childhood education.
SEC. 2. Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 8234) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code,
to read:
Article 6.5. Career Ladder Pilot Program: Training for
Teachers of Limited-English-Proficient Children
8234. (a) For purposes of this article, the following definitions
apply:
(1) "Department" means the State Department of Education.
(2) "Limited-English-proficient child" means a child, also
referred to as an English language learner, who does not speak
English or whose native language is not English and who is not
currently able to perform ordinary classroom work in English.
(3) "Central California" means Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera,
Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Monterey, San Benito, San Joaquin, San Luis
Obispo, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne Counties.
(4) "Northern California" means Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte,
Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn,
Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Marin, Mendocino, Modoc, Napa, Nevada,
Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara,
Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity,
Yolo, and Yuba Counties.
(5) "Southern California" means Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange,
Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura
Counties.
(b) The department shall establish and implement a pilot program
that includes three counties in the state and provides
, including one county each from Northern, Central,
and Southern California. The program shall provide for
training college coursework, training, and
career ladder opportunities for preschool teachers who provide
instruction to limited-English-proficient (LEP) children.
(c) (1) A total of three grants of four hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($450,000) each shall be awarded per year for three years
pursuant to this article.
(2) The grants described in paragraph (1) may be awarded to
institutions of higher education, early childhood educational
agencies, local educational agencies, nonprofit organizations, or
consortia of those entities.
(3) An entity described in paragraph (2) may apply to the
department for a grant by submitting an application developed by the
department that shall include, but not be limited to, a description
of both of the following:
(A) The manner in which the applicant has assessed the needs of
preschool programs serving LEP children.
(B) The training college coursework,
training, and career ladder opportunities to be developed and
maintained using funds from the grant.
(d) A grant awarded pursuant to this article may be used for all
of the following purposes:
(1) The development of curricula for training
college coursework, training, and career ladder
opportunities.
(2) Costs of preschool teachers who provide instruction to LEP
children related to attending training
college coursework, training, and career ladder opportunities.
(e) In reviewing grant applications submitted pursuant to this
article, the department shall give special consideration to
applications that provide for any of the following:
(1) The participation of institutions of higher education that
include placement and retention activities.
(2) The development of teacher proficiency in English as a second
language, including proficiency in the instructional use of English
in a classroom context.
(2) The enhancement of the expertise and skills of teachers in
language development for limited-English-proficient children in
preschool programs through the use of research-based methods.
(f) The department shall conduct outreach to institutions of
higher education, including, but not limited to, colleges and
universities serving traditionally underrepresented pupils
students , to facilitate the participation of
those institutions in training college
coursework, training, and career ladder opportunities pursuant
to this article.
(g) The department shall develop a process for evaluating the
effectiveness of the program established pursuant to this article and
contract with an independent evaluator to conduct and provide
technical assistance for the evaluation at a maximum cost of one
million dollars ($1,000,000). Within one year of the completion date
of the program, the department shall prepare and submit to the
Legislature a report that includes recommendations regarding the
continuation of the program and state and federal policy changes
needed to support the goals of the program. The report, at a minimum,
shall detail all of the following:
(1) The number of teachers who received educational training and
financial assistance pursuant to this article.
(2) The entities that received grant funds, for the purpose of
offering educational training, outreach, and financial support
pursuant to this article.
(3) The number of preschool teachers, who directly assist with
classroom instruction for LEP children.
(4) Information detailing the effectiveness of the program
established pursuant to this article. The information, at a minimum,
shall incorporate survey data concerning program effectiveness that
has been gathered from program participants
individuals participating in the program and participating
entities.