BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1291
Author: Evans (D)
Amended: 5/25/12
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMM. : 4-0, 4/25/12
AYES: Lieu, DeSaulnier, Leno, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland, Padilla, Runner
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/24/12
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Dutton
SUBJECT : Unemployment benefits: training: teacher
credentialing
SOURCE : California Teachers Association
DIGEST : This bill extends the sunset date of the
California Training Benefits (CTB) Program from January 1,
2015 to January 1, 2019, and requires a determination of
automatic eligibility for benefits under the program to be
issued to an unemployed teacher who is otherwise eligible
for unemployment benefits, if the Employment Development
Department (EDD) finds that the unemployed teacher is a
permanent or probationary teacher who participates in a
Commission on Teacher Credentialing credential preparation
or training program for additional certification in math,
science, or special education, and was laid off.
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ANALYSIS : Unemployment insurance (UI) is a federal-state
program that provides weekly payments to eligible persons
who has lost their jobs through no fault of their own. The
program is financed by employers who pay unemployment taxes
on the first $7,000 in wages paid to each employee in a
calendar year. The benefits range from $40 to $450 per
week depending upon earnings during a 12 month base period.
The EDD released an updated Unemployment Fund forecast in
October 2011 summarizing and projecting the status of fund
solvency. California's fund is currently $10.2 billion in
the red and is forecasted to end 2012 with a deficit of
$10.7 billion if nothing is done to legislatively revise
the revenue generation model. The deficit is still growing
but not as large or as fast as forecasted in May 2011
mainly due to the fact that demand for unemployment
benefits is finally starting to level off a bit, and there
was an offset caused by the addition of almost $839 million
in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.
This bill extends the sunset date of the CTB Program from
January 1, 2015 to January 1, 2019, and requires a
determination of automatic eligibility for benefits under
the program to be issued to an unemployed teacher who is
otherwise eligible for unemployment benefits, if EDD finds
that the unemployed teacher is a permanent or probationary
teacher who participates in a Commission on Teacher
Credentialing credential preparation or training program
for additional certification in math, science, or special
education, and was laid off.
Comments
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
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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 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
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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 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 allows teachers to qualify for
unemployment benefits while they participate in these types
of credential preparation programs or other teacher
training programs, as specified.
Prior Legislation
AB 2058 (Block), Chapter 591, Statues of 2010, modifies the
requirements for participating in the CTB Program in order
to allow unemployed individuals to receive UI benefits
while enrolled in a training program on a full-time basis.
Prior to AB 2058, applications for unemployment benefits
during a period of training or retraining would be reviewed
and approved by EDD on a case-by-case basis.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, minor to
major annual cost to School Employees Fund depending on
claimant participation in the program.
A 26 week training extension would be available to
eligible participants with teachers likely to qualify for
the maximum UI benefit amount of $450 based on their
reported earnings.
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Per participant cost of up to $11,700.
For 100 participants annual cost of $1,170,000; for 1,000
participants annual cost of $11.7 million.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/22/12)
California Teachers Association (source)
California Labor Federation
Dublin Teachers Association
Emery Teachers Association
Fremont Unified District Teachers Association
Livermore Education Association
Mt. Diablo - Alcosta Education Association
Mt. Diablo Education Association
Mt. Diablo Teachers Association
Pittsburg Education Association
Pleasanton Teachers Association
San Ramon Valley Education Association
SRVEA/Acosta Education Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : 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 this bill helps
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 this bill decreases over time the need for
short term staffing permits and ensures that those hired in
emergency circumstances have the support to become
credentialed educators.
PQ:do 5/25/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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