BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 141
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Date of Hearing: March 25, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 141
(Bonilla) - As Introduced January 9, 2015
SUBJECT: Teacher credentialing: beginning teacher induction
programs
SUMMARY: Requires a school district or county office of
education (COE) to provide a beginning teacher induction program
and prohibits a school district or COE from charging a beginning
teacher a fee to participate in the induction program.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Prohibits a local educational agency (LEA) or a school
district from charging a fee to a beginning teacher to
participate in an alternative program of beginning teacher
induction.
2)Commencing with hiring for the 2016-17 school year, and each
school year thereafter, a school district or COE that hires a
beginning teacher shall provide that beginning teacher with a
program of beginning teacher induction.
3)Prohibits a fee from being charged to a beginning teacher to
participate in induction for LEAs receiving Beginning Teacher
Support and Assessment (BTSA) program grant funding.
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires a teacher to complete one of the following beginning
teacher induction programs in order to obtain a clear multiple
or single subject teaching credential:
a) A program of beginning teacher support and assessment
approved by the commission and the Superintendent, a
provision of the Marian Bergeson Beginning Teacher Support
and Assessment System.
b) An alternative program of beginning teacher induction
that is provided by one or more local educational agencies
and has been approved by the commission and the
Superintendent on the basis of initial review and periodic
evaluations of the program in relation to appropriate
standards of credential program quality and effectiveness
that have been adopted by the commission, the
Superintendent, and the state board.
c) An alternative program of beginning teacher induction
that is sponsored by a regionally accredited college or
university, in cooperation with one or more local school
districts, that addresses the individual professional needs
of beginning teachers and meets the commission's standards
of induction.
2)Specifies that if a candidate satisfies the requirements,
including completion of an accredited internship program of
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professional preparation, and if that internship program
fulfills induction standards and is approved, the commission
shall determine that the candidate has fulfilled the induction
requirements.
3)Specifies that if an approved induction program is verified as
unavailable to a beginning teacher, or if the beginning
teacher is required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act
to complete subject matter coursework to be qualified for a
teaching assignment, the commission shall accept completion of
an approved clear credential program after completion of a
baccalaureate degree at a regionally accredited institution as
fulfilling the induction requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Commencing with hiring for the 2016-17 school year,
this bill requires a school district or COE hiring a beginning
teacher to provide that teacher with an induction program.
Additionally, this bill prohibits a LEA from charging a fee to a
beginning teacher to participate in an induction program.
Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) Background:
According to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC),
induction for new teachers in California has evolved in
significant ways over its 25 year history. The BTSA program was
established as a result of a pilot study conducted during
1988-1992 by the CTC and the California Department of Education
(CDE). This pilot study, known as the California New Teacher
Project demonstrated that the state could increase beginning
teacher retention, success and effectiveness, by providing all
new teachers with structured mentoring and support. After
considerable legislative discussion of the pilot project report,
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the Governor and the Legislature established the BTSA Program in
the 1992-93 State Budget. At that time, the program was a grant
program designed to support new teachers and was not a
credential requirement for teachers.
The successes of the California New Teacher Project grant
programs influenced the CTC
appointed Advisory Panel which conducted a review of the
requirements for earning and renewing teaching credentials.
Their recommendations were embodied in the passage of SB
2042 (Chap. 548, Stats. 1998), which created a two-tiered
teaching credential system, significantly changed the BTSA
program by establishing induction as the second tier in
California's teacher preparation and credentialing system and
instituting the completion of a standards based induction
program as a path toward the Clear Credential for Multiple and
Single
Subject credentials.
In 2004, the Legislature mandated a CTC-approved Induction
program, if available, as the required route for Multiple and
Single Subject teachers to obtain a clear teaching credential.
Legislation clarified that, if an induction program is verified
as unavailable by a beginning teacher's employer or the teacher
needed to complete content area coursework for
No Child Left Behind (NCLB), then the teacher may complete a
Commission-approved Clear Credential program sponsored by a
college or university.
From 1995 until 2009 BTSA Induction programs operated with
dedicated annual funding based on a per-participating teacher
allocation (with a required LEA in-kind match). In February 2009
the State Budget provided LEAs with spending flexibility. LEAs
were able to use funds from about 40 categorical programs,
including the Teacher Credentialing Block Grant of which the
BTSA Induction program was a part, for any educational purpose
for a five year period. This statute created greater program
funding flexibility and removed the in-kind requirement but
continued the funding to local education agencies that sponsor
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CTC approved BTSA Induction programs.
Since the 2009 onset of flexible funding provisions, a number of
Commission-approved programs have become inactive or withdrawn
since the per-participant funding ended. Of specific interest in
terms of statewide program equity, access and parity is the
issue of induction programs charging beginning teachers to
participate. The induction programs sponsored by colleges or
universities have always charged tuition. A few LEA-based
induction programs were approved by the Commission after 2009
and never received any per participant state funding. These
programs, sponsored by charter schools, have always charged
candidates. An additional reality that appears to be surfacing
is the fact that some programs are "capping" the number of new
teachers they will serve, resulting in inequities within a
district as some new teachers receive induction services and
others are faced with having to search and pay for induction
services outside of their district or teach, largely
unsupported, in a classroom for a year or more until they reach
the top of the program's waiting list.
According to the author, some districts and COEs are requiring
teachers to pay for their participation in induction programs,
placing heavy financial burdens on teachers just starting their
careers. According to data collected by the CTC, induction
providers are charging new teachers up to $2,500 a year for the
two-year program. The fee is significant for teachers whose
profession is underpaid. Furthermore, some school districts are
covering the full cost of induction, not putting any additional
financial burdens on their new teachers, creating an unequal
playing field for teachers who have identical experiences,
education, and credentials. According to data collected by the
CTC, induction fee policies vary greatly around the state. Some
LEAs continue to offer induction for free to their beginning
teachers, while others are charging up to $2,500 a year for the
two year program.
Induction Options to Obtain a Clear Teaching Credential:
Completion of an approved Induction Program is the primary route
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to attaining a clear teaching credential. If an employed teacher
(employer is defined as a California public school, any school
that is sponsored by a private California K12 school, nonpublic,
nonsectarian school or agency, charter school, or a school
operated under the direction of a California state agency) does
not have an Induction Program available to them then the teacher
may enroll in a Clear Credential Program. Currently there are 22
Commission-approved Clear Credential programs operating in
California (3 CSUs, 3 UCs, and 16 private and independent
institutions).
Induction Fees: The CTC conducted a survey of CTC-approved
induction programs and received 126 responses out of 165
programs. Of the survey respondents, 11.5% of LEA sponsored
induction programs reported that they charged fees to induction
participants in 2014-15. This equates to 2,063 participants who
paid fees out of 17,907 total participants at respondent LEAs.
Respondents reported the per year fees range from $390 to
$3,350.
Statewide Mandate: This bill requires school districts and COEs
to provide beginning teacher induction programs. This means
districts and COEs will either have to administer an induction
program themselves or partner with another district, COE, or
university to administer an induction program for their
beginning teachers. The district or COE will be required to
cover the costs of the induction program. In the past, induction
programs have been administered as a grant program, and thus no
statewide mandate previously existed for school districts to
provide induction. Is it possible that some school districts
have historically never administered induction programs and
therefore do not currently receive LCFF funding for this
purpose? Is it fair to ask districts to pay for this cost
without any state funding for this purpose, aside from the
mandate claims process?
Charter Schools: It is not clear whether charter schools are
included in the provisions of this bill. While charter schools
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are considered an employer by the CTC, and they sponsor
induction programs, they are not explicitly mentioned in this
bill. Staff recommends the bill be amended to specify that
charter schools are also required to provide induction programs
and are prohibited from charging beginning teachers for those
programs.
Committee Amendments: Staff recommends the bill be amended to
move the requirements for a school district or COE to provide a
beginning teacher induction program, and the prohibition on
charging fees to the beginning teacher to Education Code Section
44259 and remove Education Code Sections 44279.1 and 44279.2
from the bill, since those Code Sections pertain only to the
grant funding for BTSA, which no longer exists. Staff recommends
the bill further be amended to clarify that charter schools are
included in the provisions of the bill.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
California Communities United Institute
California Teachers Association
AB 141
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Public Advocates
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087