BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 1060
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          Date of Hearing:   June 11, 2014

                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                                Joan Buchanan, Chair
                      SB 1060 (Liu) - As Amended:  May 27, 2014

           SENATE VOTE :   35-0
           
          SUBJECT  :  School employees: professional growth.

           SUMMARY  :   Specifies that if a local educational agency (LEA)  
          offers a program of professional growth for teachers,  
          administrators, paraprofessional educators, or other classified  
          employees involved in the direct instruction of pupils, the LEA  
          shall consider high quality professional development that meets  
          specified criteria.  Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Specifies that if a LEA offers a program of professional  
            growth for teachers, administrators, paraprofessional  
            educators, or other classified employees involved in the  
            direct instruction of pupils, the LEA shall consider high  
            quality professional development that meets all of the  
            following criteria:
             a)   Helps attract, grow, and retain effective educators.
             b)   Is a part of every educator's experience in order to  
               accelerate instructional improvement and support pupil  
               learning.
             c)   Is based on needs assessment of educators and tied to  
               supporting pupil learning.
             d)   Emphasizes the importance of meeting the needs of all  
               pupils.
             e)   Is grounded in a description of effective practice, as  
               articulated in the California Standards for the Teaching  
               Profession.
             f)   Affords educators opportunities to engage with others to  
               develop their craft, including, but not limited to,  
               opportunities to increase their content knowledge.
             g)   Ensures educators have adequate time to learn about,  
               practice, reflect, adjust, critique, and share what  
               educators need to ensure that all pupils, especially  
               high-needs pupils, develop knowledge and lifelong learning  
               skills that will help the pupils to be successful.
             h)   Recognizes and utilizes expert teacher and leader  
               skills.
             i)   Attends to collective growth needs as well as educators'  








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               individual growth needs.
             j)   Contributes to a positive, collaborative, and supportive  
               adult learning environment.
             aa)  Contributes to cycles of inquiry and improvement.
             bb)  Is not limited to a single instance, but supports  
               educators through multiple iterations or engagements.
             cc)  Is based on a coherent and focused plan.

          2)Authorizes professional development activities to also include  
            collaboration time for teachers to develop new instructional  
            lessons, to select or develop common formative assessments, to  
            analyze pupil data, for mentoring projects for new teachers,  
            or for extra support for teachers to improve practice; and,  
            specifies that appropriate professional development may be  
            part of a coherent plan that combines school activities within  
            the school, including, but not limited to, lesson study or  
            co-teaching, and external learning opportunities that meet all  
            of the following criteria:
             a)   Are related to the academic subjects taught.
             b)   Provide time to meet and work with other teachers.
             c)   Support instruction and pupil learning to improve  
               instruction in a manner that is consistent with academic  
               content standards.

          3)Defines "local educational agency" to mean a school district,  
            county office of education, or charter school.

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Declares Legislative intent to encourage teachers to engage in  
            an individual program of professional growth that extends  
            their content knowledge and teaching skills and for school  
            districts to establish professional growth programs that give  
            individual teachers a wide range of options to pursue as well  
            as significant roles in determining the course of their  
            professional growth.  (Education Code 44277)

          2)Specifies that an individual program of professional growth  
            may consist of activities that are aligned with the California  
            Standards for the Teaching Profession that contribute to  
            competence, performance, or effectiveness in the profession of  
            education and the classroom assignments of the teacher.  
            Specifies that acceptable activities may include, the  
            completion of courses offered by regionally accredited  
            colleges and universities, including instructor-led  








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            interactive courses delivered through online technologies;  
            participation in professional conferences, workshops, teacher  
            center programs, staff development programs, or a California  
            Reading Professional Development Program; service as a mentor  
            teacher; participation in school curriculum development  
            projects; participation in systematic programs of observation  
            and analysis of teaching; service in a leadership role in a  
            professional organization; and, participation in educational  
            research or innovation efforts. Authorizes employing agencies  
            and the bargaining agents of employees to negotiate to agree  
            on the terms of programs of professional growth within their  
            jurisdictions. (Education Code 44277)

          3)Establishes the Professional Development Block Grant and  
            authorizes a school district to expend funds received for  
            either of the following:
             a)   Any purpose authorized by the programs listed in Section  
               41531, as the statutes governing those programs read on  
               January 1, 2004.
             b)   To compensate new and existing mathematics, science, and  
               special education teachers in schools ranked, in the  
               2008-09 school year or any subsequent school year, in  
               decile 1, 2, or 3 of the Academic Performance Index, in a  
               manner separate from the uniform allowance for years of  
               training and years of service. (Education Code 41530)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   This bill is keyed non-fiscal.

           COMMENTS  :  In years past, the state required specific  
          professional development (PD) for certificated employees and  
          funded the Professional Development Block Grant to fund both  
          state mandated PD, and to give LEAs discretion to provide PD  
          that was most appropriate for their workforce.  The  
          implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)  
          defunded the Professional Development Block Grant and folded  
          those funds into the LCFF.  While the statutes are still valid,  
          they are no longer relevant in light of the LCFF, and SB 971  
          (Huff) from 2014, which is pending in the Assembly, and was  
          introduced to repeal these irrelevant code sections.  Under  
          LCFF, LEAs have the discretion to provide PD in the manner and  
          amount of their choosing, as it is no longer required under  
          existing state law.  This bill requires LEAs that choose to  
          provide PD, to consider several attributes when choosing a PD  
          program.









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           PD and QEIA  :  This bill authorizes PD to include collaboration  
          time for teachers to develop common assessments, analyze data  
          and work together to improve practice, among other things.   
          Collaboration time as part of PD has been a priority for the  
          state for several years.  For example, under the Quality  
          Education Investment Act (QEIA), the required PD specifically  
          included collaboration time for teachers as one option to meet  
          the required 40 hours of PD per year.  According to the  
          California Department of Education, the QEIA program defined PD  
          to include all of the following: collaboration time for  
          teachers; mentoring projects for new teachers; extra support for  
          teachers to improve practice; and, rigorous, in-depth PD on  
          pedagogical practices to extend subject matter knowledge. Much  
          of the language in this bill mirrors the language used to  
          describe collaboration time in the QEIA program.  
           
          According to the author, "As a result of budget cuts that school  
          districts have endured since 2009 and due to categorical  
          flexibility provisions that have been put in place, funding for  
          professional development activities has been severely reduced  
          and diverted to fill other budget gaps.  According to a May 2012  
          report from the Legislative Analyst (Year-Three Survey:  Update  
          on School District Finance in California), more than half of  
          school districts report that they have eliminated or  
          significantly reduced professional development offered to  
          teachers and principals, and one-third of districts have reduced  
          paid professional development days.  As a consequence, the  
          continued professional training and knowledge base that is  
          needed for effective teaching has suffered, negatively impacting  
          not only educators, but students as well.  Even worse, the lack  
          of professional training may have persuaded some teachers to  
          leave the profession.  With the implementation of common core  
          standards and the upcoming roll out of the Smarter Balanced  
          Assessment Consortium (SBAC) assessments in 2014-15, it is  
          imperative more now than ever, that teachers, administrators,  
          and paraprofessionals have the necessary, up-to-date training to  
          adequately prepare students."  


          Further the author states, "SB 1060 seeks to help LEAs attract,  
          grow, and retain effective educators and encourages them to  
          provide high quality professional growth opportunities for  
          school employees involved in the direct instruction of students.  
           Further, the bill provides criteria guidelines for LEAs in  
          developing meaningful and effective professional development  








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          programs for education professionals that embody collaboration,  
          continuous improvement, a focus on instruction, capacity  
          building, and expanding content knowledge."


          Professional Learning Standards  :  According to the State  
          Superintendent's 2013 Quality Professional Learning Standards  
          publication, " Professional learning standards are the  
          cornerstone of quality professional learning, identifying  
          essential elements of quality professional learning that cut  
          across specific content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and  
          dispositions. The Superintendent's Quality Professional Learning  
          Standards (QPLS) serve as a foundation for the content,  
          processes, and conditions essential to all educator professional  
          learning. The Superintendent has identified the following seven  
          interdependent professional learning standards to promote  
          quality teacher learning and development:
                  Data  - Quality professional learning uses varied sources  
               and kinds of information to guide priorities, design and  
               assessments. 
                  Content and Pedagogy  - Quality professional learning  
               enhances educators' expertise to increase students'  
               capacity to learn and thrive. 
                  Equity  - Quality professional learning focuses on  
               equitable access, opportunities, outcomes for all students,  
               with an emphasis on addressing achievement and opportunity  
               disparities between student groups. 
                  Design and Structure  - Quality professional learning  
               reflects evidence-based approaches, recognizing that  
               focused, sustained learning enables educators to acquire,  
               implement, and assess improved practices. 
                  Collaboration and Shared Accountability  - Quality  
               professional learning facilitates the development of a  
               shared purpose for student learning and collective  
               responsibility for achieving it.
                  Resources  - Quality professional learning dedicates  
               resources that are adequate, accessible, and allocated  
               appropriately toward established priorities and outcomes. 
                  Alignment and Coherence  - Quality professional learning  
               contributes to a coherent system of educator learning and  
               support that connects district, school, and individual  
               priorities and needs with state and federal requirements  
               and resources. 
          The seven QPLS represent essential components of a  
          comprehensive, research-based, quality 








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          professional learning system that is appropriate for California.  
          Each broadly stated standard is 
          made more concrete by identifying three to five major elements  
          that are building blocks of the 
          standard. For each element, indicators further detail what  
          quality professional learning looks 
          like in practice."

           Committee Amendments  : Staff recommends the bill be amended to  
          clarify that if an LEA provides professional development, the  
          LEA shall evaluate professional development programs based on  
          all the listed attributes, and specify that LEAs are encouraged  
          to choose professional development programs that meet any or all  
          the listed attributes.  Staff further recommends the bill be  
          amended to change the term "professional development" to  
          "professional learning" to bring this code section up to date  
          with commonly used terminology.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          California Federation of Teachers
          California Teachers Association
          The Education Trust - West
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file.


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