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  








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               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  








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          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  








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          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 








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          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  








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          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