BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 5
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Date of Hearing: June 12, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
SB 5 (Padilla) - As Amended: April 24, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : Teacher credentialing.
SUMMARY : Authorizes each program of professional preparation
for multiple or single subject teaching credentials to include
not more than two years of, or the equivalent of two-fifths of a
five-year program in, professional preparation.
EXISTING LAW authorizes each program of professional preparation
for multiple or single subject teaching credentials to include
not more than one year of, or the equivalent of one-fifth of a
five-year program in, professional preparation.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : This bill authorizes teacher preparation programs to
increase their length of study from one year to two years. In
the past decade, several new content requirements regarding
teaching English Learners, student health and computer
technology have been added to teacher preparation programs,
thereby making it more difficult to complete the program in the
one year statutory requirement. By increasing the length of
teacher preparation programs, the author contends that teacher
candidates could receive more in-depth instruction on strategies
for teaching English Learners and other special needs students.
Background on Teacher Preparation Program Content : According to
the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), California law
requires candidates to complete a professional preparation
program and specifies that each program of professional
preparation shall not include more than one year or the
equivalent of one fifth of a five year program. Most candidates
complete their teacher preparation after earning a bachelor's
degree. The law also authorizes integrated (blended) programs of
subject matter preparation and professional preparation. While
the law specifies that such programs are not subject to the one
year "cap," the CTC has interpreted the law governing blended
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programs differently over the years and has often applied the
one-year cap to these programs. The content to prepare teachers
to work with special needs students, health education and using
technology in the classroom used to be part of the clear
credential coursework but has now been embedded in the
preliminary program. The content for an individual to understand
how to teach English learners used to be an optional, additional
program which resulted in an additional authorization. The
Crosscultural, Language and Academic Development (CLAD)
coursework to teach English learners was twelve semester units
separate from the preliminary preparation program. Now the
preparation to teach English learners is required to be
incorporated in the preliminary preparation program.
Summary of Additional Content Required to be Included in
Preliminary Teacher Preparation Programs Since 1970
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Topic | Year |Education Code Reference |
| |Added | |
| | | |
|--------------------------------+------+-------------------------|
|Enhanced content in the |1998 |44259 (b) (4) |
|teaching of Reading | | |
|--------------------------------+------+-------------------------|
|Teaching English learners | 1999 |44259.5(a) |
|--------------------------------+------+-------------------------|
|Competency in the use of | 2000 |44259 (b)(7) |
|computers | | |
|--------------------------------+------+-------------------------|
|Some Health, Mainstreaming | 2001 |44259 |
|moved to preliminary program | | |
|--------------------------------+------+-------------------------|
|Additional theoretical content |2006 |44259 (c)(4) |
|in health, mainstreaming, | | |
|technology and teaching English | | |
|learner instruction moved from | | |
|Induction into initial | | |
|preparation | | |
|--------------------------------+------+-------------------------|
|Teaching Performance Assessment |2008 |44259(b)(3) and 44320.2 |
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(Source: CTC)
According to the author, since 1970, state law has restricted
the length of a traditional teacher preparation program to one
year. Over the past four decades more legislative requirements
have been added to teacher preparation programs; for example,
requirements to teach English learners and special need
students. This has made it increasingly difficult to complete a
program within the one-year time frame and capped units. This
also restricts a student teacher's ability to delve deeply into
program requirements and fully develop the necessary skills.
Two Year Cap versus Removing the Cap : The State Superintendent
of Public Instruction's Task Force on Educator Excellence has
recommended lifting the cap on credits for preparation in order
to support preparation models that will provide candidates with
more robust training, particularly to teach culturally and
linguistically diverse learners. Lifting the cap would also
enable programs to provide candidates with a longer period of
supervised student teaching. No other state has a time
restriction on the amount of time or units that comprise
professional teacher preparation programs.
The CTC also confirms that no other state in the nation has a
time restriction on professional teacher preparation programs.
According to the CTC, while some may express concern about a
proliferation of unnecessary courses, the failure to have a unit
cap in other states has not led to making programs longer or
more burdensome. Rather, it has allowed more flexible
management of the learning process for teacher education
candidates. The committee should consider whether lifting the
cap on the length of teacher preparation programs will make the
programs more burdensome, or give greater flexibility to the
programs and the credential candidates.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Association of California School Administrators
Small School Districts' Association
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson
The Alliance for a Better Community
United Ways of California
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087