BILL ANALYSIS AB 2160 Page 1 Date of Hearing: March 24, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Julia Brownley, Chair AB 2160 (Bass) - As Introduced: February 18, 2010 SUBJECT : Teacher credentialing: instruction to pupils with autism SUMMARY : Extends by two years the inoperative and repeal dates of existing provisions currently allowing a local educational agency (LEA) or school to assign a teacher that holds specified credentials to provide instruction to pupils with autism if the teacher consents to the assignment and meets one of two specified criteria. Specifically, this bill : 1)Makes these existing provisions inoperative on October 1, 2013 and repeals them on January 1, 2014, unless a later enacted statute deletes or extends these dates. 2)Deletes the requirement for a report to be developed by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), and be submitted to the Legislature and the Governor by December 1, 2007 relative to the existing process and requirements for obtaining a specialist credential in special education and recommendations for modifications to enhance and expedite those procedures. EXISTING LAW: 1)Authorizes a LEA or school to assign a teacher who holds a level 1 education specialist credential or a credential with an authorization to teach individuals with mild and moderate disabilities to provide instruction to pupils with autism if the teacher consents to the assignment and satisfies either of the following: a) Has provided full-time instruction for at least one year prior to September 1, 2007, in a special education program that serves pupils with autism pursuant to their individualized education programs and received a favorable evaluation or recommendation to teach pupils with autism from the local educational agency or school. b) Has completed a minimum of three semester units of coursework in the subject of autism offered by a regionally AB 2160 Page 2 accredited institution of higher education. The local educational agency or school shall maintain the certificate or other verification of completion of the coursework on file in its office. 2)Makes the provisions noted above inoperative two years after the CTC adopts regulations relating to the requirements for obtaining a specialist credential in special education, or on August 31, 2011, whichever occurs first, and repeals those provisions on January 1, 2012. 3)Requires the CTC, by December 1, 2007, to report to the Legislature and the Governor on the current existing process and requirements for obtaining a specialist credential in special education and recommend modifications to enhance and expedite those procedures. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : SB 1209 (Scott) Chapter 517 Statutes of 2006, required the CTC to convene a workgroup to examine the needs of special education programs and make recommendations to the Legislature to streamline the credentialing process of special education teachers. In December 2007, the workgroup issued their findings and recommendations. Amongst the findings, the CTC report noted that the demand for services for students with autism had steadily increased over the recent years but the authorization to teach children with autism was limited to teachers holding a moderate/severe disabilities specialist credential. To address this need, the working group recommended expanding authorization for the mild/moderate disabilities education specialist credential to serve students with autism and to redesign higher education programs so that all education specialist credential candidates are prepared to teach pupils with autism. The CTC recently implemented regulations pertaining to the issuance of an added authorization in autism and to the issuance of a Special Education Limited Assignment Teaching permit (SELAT permit) to allow a current special education credential holder to be assigned to serve outside of their specialty area while they are completing the coursework for an added authorization. The added authorization in autism, assures that students identified with autism will be served in all environments with AB 2160 Page 3 educators who possess the skills to do so effectively. During the time that these standards and regulations were being developed, AB 2302 (Bass), Chapter 41, Statutes of 2008, was enacted to create a temporary alternate process for assigning veteran teachers that hold a mild/moderate disabilities credential to provide special education instructional services to students with autism in California public schools. This temporary solution was to be in place to address an urgent and immediate need and only until the permanent more adequate standards were developed by the CTC. At the time when AB 2302 was enacted, there were no mechanisms in place for veteran teachers that hold a mild/moderate credential to obtain an authorization to teach pupils with autism. This bill extends the operative date of what was intended to be a short-term solution to allow mild/moderate credential holders to legally teach pupils with autism so long as they meet the minimal criteria established by AB 2302. The provisions of AB 2302 authorize a LEA or school to assign a teacher who holds a level 1 education specialist credential or a credential with an authorization to teach individuals with mild and moderate disabilities to provide instruction to pupils with autism if the teacher consents to the assignment and that teacher either : a) Has provided full-time instruction for at least one year prior to September 1, 2007, in a special education program that serves pupils with autism pursuant to their individualized education programs and received a favorable evaluation or recommendation to teach pupils with autism from the local educational agency or school; or, b) Has completed a minimum of three semester units of coursework in the subject of autism offered by a regionally accredited institution of higher education. The local educational agency or school shall maintain the certificate or other verification of completion of the coursework on file in its office. Credential holders have to meet the criteria of AB 2302 one time only and there is no requirement for the credential holder to continue taking coursework or be evaluated at any time after he or she has been authorized to provide instructional services to pupils with autism pursuant to the provisions of AB 2302. This bill extends the time frame during which a teacher can use this AB 2160 Page 4 option until October 1, 2010. It can be estimated that for the 2008-09 school year, approximately 180 assignments were made pursuant to AB 2302. County offices of education are required to monitor of teacher assignments in their districts each year and 45 such assignments were reported to the CTC for the 2008-09, thus it can be estimated that approximately 180 teachers holding a mild/moderate credential were assigned to teach pupils with autism using this option. According to the author, "Without changing the inoperative date established by AB 2302, many teachers currently teaching this population would no longer be allowed to teach students with ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorders] because they would no longer hold a valid credential." Under current law, however, and pursuant to AB 2302, a school district may continue to employ and assign a mild/moderate credential holder to teach pupils with autism through August of 2011 as long as that teacher meets one of the two criteria in AB 2302. After that date, a mild/moderate credential holder can now obtain a SELAT permit which is valid for one year and may be reissued twice in any one specific subject, thus potentially giving teachers that currently serve under the AB 2302 option over 4 years to complete the added authorization. An argument can be made that current law and the recently enacted CTC regulations provide adequate time for teachers to acquire this added authorization. Furthermore, the CTC recently released a guide for programs to use in accepting experience and professional development in lieu of coursework for the completion of special education teacher preparation programs. Thus there are adequate avenues in place for veteran teachers to acquire the appropriate preparation for the added authorization. According to the CTC, there are currently six programs approved to provide the courses for the added authorization in autism and six more programs in the pipeline for approval. The approved programs are sponsored by: 1)Brandman University 2)Azusa Pacific University 3)California State University, Dominguez Hills 4)University of California, Riverside Extension AB 2160 Page 5 5)Project Impact, San Joaquin County Office of Education 6)National University According to the California Department of Education, in the 2007-08 school year, 46,196 pupils were identified as autistic and 53,183 pupils in 2008-09. It is clear that the demand for teachers that are able to serve this population of students continues to increase and as such, it is important to ensure that teachers are adequately trained and prepared to provide the appropriate instructional services to pupils with autism. Suggested technical amendments : Staff recommends the following technical amendments: On page 3, line 9, strike out "(c)" and insert "(b)" On page 3, line 12, strike out "(b)" and insert "(a)" Strike out "level 1" on page 3, line 3 so as to not to exclude holders of an education specialist level II clear credential. Additionally, the Legislative findings and declarations language speaks to the new standards for new credential candidates. This language is not relevant to the provisions of this bill, as they only apply to veteran teachers who hold a mild/moderate specialist credential and want to be authorized to teach pupils with autism. Staff recommends the bill be amended to delete language in the legislative findings and declarations relative to the new standards for the mild/moderate specialist credential. Arguments in Support : The California School Boards Association writes, "AB 2160 would extend the inoperative date for this statute from 2011 to 2013, and the expiration date from 2012 to 2014. This will allow local educational agencies to continue meeting the needs of their students with autism while teacher candidates complete the permanent certificate requirements being implemented by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing." Previous legislation : SB 1209 (Scott) Chapter 517 Statutes of 2006 requires the CTC to convene a workgroup to examine the needs of special education programs and make recommendations to the Legislature to streamline the credentialing process of special education teachers. AB 2302 (Bass), Chapter 41, Statutes of 2008, authorizes, as an urgency measure, teachers with a level 1 education specialist AB 2160 Page 6 credential for mild to moderate disabilities to provide instruction to pupils with autism, if the teacher meets certain competency criteria, until the CTC adopts relevant regulations; and, specifies the bill shall remain in effect for 2 years following adoption of the regulations but not later than August 31, 2011. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California Alliance of Child and Family Services California Association of Private Special Education School California School Boards Association Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi?a / ED. / (916) 319-2087