BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 368
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 368 (Pavley)
          As Amended  August 15, 2013
          Majority vote

           SENATE VOTE  :36-0  
           
           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 |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Authorizes a Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC)  
          approved special education teacher preparation program to offer  
          comparability and equivalency for coursework, subject to  
          guidelines issued by the CTC.  Specifically,  this bill  : 

          1)Authorizes a program sponsor to offer comparability and  
            equivalency for a special education credential holder seeking  
            to add a special education authorization to his or her  
            credential using the following guidelines, subject to criteria  
            and guidelines issued by the CTC:

             a)   Decisions regarding comparability are at the discretion  
               of the program sponsor.

             b)   A program sponsor has a broad range of possible data  
               that may be considered as evidence for comparability.

             c)   For a candidate simultaneously pursuing a degree in  
               addition to earning a credential, a program sponsor may use  
               its own institutional process and procedure for course  
               credit evaluations.

          2)Authorizes evidence used to verify competency to include the  
            following, subject to criteria and guidelines issued by the  
            CTC:









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             a)   Examination results.

             b)   Portfolio.

             c)   Performance narrative.

             d)   Field experience.

             e)   Video.

             f)   Transcripts.

             g)   Prior learning assessment.

             h)   A review board process.

          3)Authorizes a program sponsor to use the following to evaluate  
            evidence for comparability presented by a candidate, subject  
            to criteria and guidelines issued by the CTC:

             a)   Whether the information is based on current, adopted  
               California credential standards, as appropriate to the  
               authorization sought.

             b)   Whether a written agreement between the candidate and  
               program sponsor is evidence based, as appropriate to the  
               authorization sought.

             c)   Whether the information is aligned with the California  
               Standards for the Teaching Profession.

          4)Authorizes flexible enrollment to be considered for a  
            candidate who needs minimal work to complete a credential  
            program; and, authorizes a program sponsor to explore  
            alternatives for candidate enrollment in the program,  
            including, but not limited to, visitor status, concurrent  
            enrollment, open university, county or district programs,  
            university extension programs, and professional development  
            activities.

          5)Authorizes a program sponsor to take advantage of frequent  
            collaborations to formalize a written agreement concerning  
            comparability of coursework or fieldwork; and specifies the  
            agreement may be created to meet the needs of the individual  
            program or the individual candidate.








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          6)Authorizes a candidate to be granted recognition and credit  
            for his or her life and learning experience through a prior  
            learning assessment in which the candidate has the opportunity  
            to demonstrate how his or her experience and learning are  
            comparable to the CTC program standard.

          7)Defines "Equivalency" to mean the determination, through an  
            evaluation process, that a set of knowledge, skills, and  
            abilities required by a CTC program standard has been met  
            through coursework, fieldwork, or prior learning experience.

          8)Defines "Comparability" to mean the determination that a  
            candidate has demonstrated the essence of a set of knowledge,  
            skills, and abilities required by a CTC program standard  
            through another route.

          9)Defines "Prior learning assessment" to mean a process through  
            which a person develops a portfolio of life experiences,  
            training, or preparation experience that establishes the basis  
            for meeting the CTC program standard.

          10)Defines "Program sponsor" to mean any university-based or  
            local educational agency-based program approved by the CTC.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, no direct fiscal impact to the CTC to implement this  
          measure.  

           COMMENTS  :  This bill allows credentialing programs to issue  
          credit for comparable coursework when a special educator seeks  
          additional specialist authorizations in special education.  For  
          those institutions of higher education that wish to provide  
          credit for previous work, this bill will provide encouragement  
          and guidance as to how to provide such credit.  The bill  
          implements the findings of a CTC report.  According to the  
          author, currently, there is no standard way to credit coursework  
          and experience for added authorizations to the education  
          specialist credential that is earned across multiple  
          CTC-approved programs.  This has resulted in well-qualified  
          candidates being required to take redundant and unnecessary  
          classes, both costing money and making it more difficult to  
          become a special education teacher.  This bill would authorize  
          special education credentialing programs to use a defined  
          process to determine comparability of coursework taken and  








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          experience earned across multiple CTC-approved institutions. 


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


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