BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                 Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
                                 Ted W. Lieu, Chair

          Date of Hearing: April 25, 2012              20011-2012 Regular 
          Session                              
          Consultant: Andrew Chen                      Fiscal:Yes
                                                       Urgency: No
          
                                  Bill No: SB 1291
                                    Author: Evans
                        As Introduced/Amended: April 9, 2012 

           
                                       SUBJECT

               Unemployment benefits: training: teacher credentialing


                                      KEY ISSUE

          Should the State of California automatically extend unemployment 
          insurance benefits to teachers training to receive credentials 
          in math, science, and special education?
            

                                       PURPOSE

          To help unemployed teachers increase their employment 
          opportunities by easing the financial burden of re-credentialing 
          in math, science, and special education through the California 
          Training Benefits program.


                                      ANALYSIS

           Existing law  provides that in order to begin or continue to 
          receive unemployment benefits, an individual must be a) actively 
          looking for work, b) available to work and c) ready to accept 
          suitable work if it arises. (Unemployment Insurance Code § 
          1253.)

           Existing law  provides for the establishment and maintenance of 
          the California Training Benefits program (CTB).  This program 
          allows eligible unemployed individuals, who may lack competitive 
          job skills to find stable employment, to receive benefits while 
          attending training or retraining programs. (Unemployment 









          Insurance Code §1266. - 1274.20.)

           Existing law  stipulates that in order to qualify for 
          unemployment benefits under the CTB program, the training must 
          meet certain requirements.  Specifically:

             1.   The training must be authorized and veriable by one of 
               the following State or federal program sponsors:

                        i.             Workforce Investment Act of 1998 
                         (WIA)

                        ii.            Employment Training Panel (ETP)

                        iii.           Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)

                        iv.            California Work Opportunity and 
                         Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)

             2.   The individual must be an active journey level union 
               member taking industry-related training approved by his/her 
               union.

             3.   The training program and provider must be listed on 
               California's Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL). 
               (Unemployment Insurance Code, § 1269.)


           Existing law  provides for the creation and maintenance of the 
          California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, an independent 
          agency comprised of 15 voting members, 14 of whom are appointed 
          by the governor.  This Commission is comprised of the 
          Superintendent or a designee, college, high school, and 
          elementary school teachers, and representatives of the public.  
          (Education Code § 44210.)



           Existing law  endows this Commission with the power to develop 
          and implement professional standards, assessments, and 
          examinations for entry and advancement in the education 
          profession in the form of teaching credentials. (Education Code 
          Hearing Date:  April 25, 2012                            SB 1291  
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          § 44225.)




           This bill  would add credential preparation programs or other 
          teacher training programs in math, science, and special 
          education to the existing list of programs that would 
          automatically qualify an individual for unemployment benefits. 

          These programs would need to be approved or accredited by the 
          Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and the teacher would need 
          to have had their employment terminated due to a determination 
          of a decline in student enrollment in that district.

           This bill  would also remove a sunset clause that repeals the CTB 
          program on January 1, 2015.



                                      COMMENTS
          
          1. Background and Need for this bill?

            In January 2012, the Commerce Department released a report on 
            the future of the American economy, entitled "The 
            Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States." 
            This study cited government investment in research, 
            infrastructure, and education as the three "pillars" behind 
            the rapid development of the United States economy in the 20th 
            century.  In particular, the report noted that the U.S. 
            educational system in the 20th century produced more high 
            school and college graduates than any other nation in the 
            world, creating a highly skilled workforce that boosted 
            marketplace competitiveness and innovation.  However, the 
            report also noted that recently, the percentage of college and 
            high school graduates has become stagnant, and that "poor 
            preparation in math and science" is one of the main factors 
            restricting the continued development of this highly educated 
            workforce.  

            Additionally, teacher quality has been shown to be one of the 
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            primary determinants of student success in these areas - a 
            2000 study from Stanford University conducted a 50-state 
            survey of teacher performance, concluding that "measures of 
            teacher preparation and certification are by far the strongest 
            correlates of student achievement," and that "policy 
            investments in the quality of teachers may be related to 
            improvements in student performance."  Yet, while California 
            has the largest teacher workforce in the country, with over 
            305,000 teachers, only 40,000 of these are specialized in 
            mathematics or science.  In addition, maintaining an adequate 
            number of special education teachers has been historically 
            challenging.

            The California teacher credentialing system has a tiered 
            structure: in order to become a science, mathematics, or 
            special education teacher, an employee must demonstrate 
            competency through exams and other assessment methods specific 
            to the desired teaching specialty in addition to a general 
            assessment on basic educational skills.  As a result, the 
            population of teachers who choose to specialize in a 
            particular subject is scarce relative to those who are only 
            generally credentialed.

            In the wake of the Great Recession, fiscal conditions have 
            required school districts across the state to dismiss 32,000 
            teachers since 2007-2008, according to the LAO.  These layoffs 
            have exacerbated the scarcity of specialized teachers: 
            according to a 2007 study from The Center for the Future of 
            Teaching and Learning, California will face a deficit of 
            33,000 science and math teachers over the next ten years due 
            to attrition and retirement.  The same study also found that 
            California's current rate of teacher production, particularly 
            in specialized areas, is insufficient to bridge this gap.

            The CTB program addresses problems with persons undergoing job 
            training or retraining being made ineligible to receive 
            unemployment benefits by virtue of their enrollment.  For 
            example, if a training program takes up a significant amount 
            of time each day for several weeks, that person could be 
            considered "unavailable to work" and thus ineligible for 
            unemployment compensation benefits.  By providing unemployment 
            benefits during training, the CTB program is intended to 
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            incentivize the advancement and diversification of workforce 
            skills.

            However, under existing law, teacher re-credentialing 
            programs, unlike other workforce development programs, do not 
            qualify their enrollees for automatic eligibility for 
            unemployment benefits.  For these teachers, the short-term 
            risk of losing benefits may make re-credentialing an 
            unacceptable financial risk.  As a result, unemployed teachers 
            may refrain from seeking increased specialization in 
            high-demand subjects such as math, science, and special 
            education.  This bill would allow teachers to qualify for 
            unemployment benefits while they participate in these types of 
            credential preparation programs or other teacher training 
            programs, as specified.   



          2.  Proponent Arguments  :
            
            Citing the dismissal of 13,000 teachers between 2009-10 and 
            2010-11, proponents, including the California Teachers 
            Association, assert that these layoffs have been detrimental 
            to the quality of K-12 education in California.  They argue 
            that SB 1291 would help California retain thousands of 
            certificated teaching professionals in its education 
            workforce. Proponents also assert that there is a significant 
            negative relationship between the percentage of teachers on 
            emergency permits and student achievement at the school level 
            in California.  They argue that SB 1291 will decrease over 
            time the need for short term staffing permits and ensure that 
            those hired in emergency circumstances have the support to 
            become credentialed educators.

          4.  Prior Legislation  :

            AB 2058 (Block) of 2009: Chaptered 
            This bill modified the requirements for participating in the 
            California Training Benefits Program in order to allow 
            unemployed individuals to receive unemployment insurance (UI) 
            benefits while enrolled in a training program on a full-time 
            basis.  Prior to AB 2058, applications for unemployment 
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            benefits during a period of training or retraining would be 
            reviewed and approved by EDD on a case-by-case basis.



                                       SUPPORT
          
          California Teachers Association - Co-Sponsor 
          California Labor Federation 
          

                                     OPPOSITION
          
          None received



























          Hearing Date:  April 25, 2012                            SB 1291  
          Consultant: Andrew Chen                                  Page 6

          Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations