BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 5 (Padilla)
          As Amended  April 24, 2013
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :37-0  
           
           EDUCATION           7-0         APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
           
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          |Ayes:|Buchanan, Olsen, Chávez,  |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow,   |
          |     |Gonzalez, Nazarian,       |     |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian  |
          |     |Weber, Williams           |     |Calderon, Campos,         |
          |     |                          |     |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez,  |
          |     |                          |     |Hall, Holden, Linder,     |
          |     |                          |     |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
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           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 Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, potential General Fund increased costs, likely less  
          than $75,000, to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC)  
          to review and approve two-year teacher preparation programs.   
          This cost will likely be offset by fee revenue paid to the CTC  
          by programs seeking approval.    

           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  








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          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 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 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                       |      |                         |








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          |--------------------------------+------+-------------------------|
          |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  |
          |                                |      |                         |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          (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 timeframe 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  








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          candidates.  The Assembly 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.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087
                                                                FN: 0001537