BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 141
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
141 (Bonilla)
As Amended September 4, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | | (June 3, |SENATE: | 35-4 | (September 9, |
| |53-26 |2015) | | |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY: Prohibits, commencing with hiring for the 2016-17
school year, a school district, county office of education
(COE), or charter school from charging a beginning teacher a fee
to participate in a beginning teacher induction program.
The Senate amendments:
1)Delete the requirement for a school district, COE or charter
school to provide beginning teachers with a program of
beginning teacher induction.
2)Specify that a beginning teacher includes a teacher with a
preliminary multiple or single subject teaching credential, or
a preliminary education specialist credential.
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3)Add Legislative findings and declarations about the burden
that teacher induction fees have on beginning teachers and how
those burdens will affect the state's teacher shortage.
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
professional preparation, and if that internship program
fulfills induction standards and is approved, the commission
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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: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this bill's costs will ultimately depend upon the
number of beginning teachers and the cost of the program. These
figures range and fluctuate from year to year. Assuming a
program cost of roughly $5,000 and total teacher preparation
program enrollment for 2012-13 of 19,933, this bill could drive
reimbursable state mandate costs of about $100 million annually
for LEAs to provide new teachers induction programs. The
Commission on State Mandates may identify some offsetting costs
at least in the 2015-16 fiscal year. The California Department
of Education (CDE) indicates that ensuring new teachers are
provided induction programs and that they are not being charged
a fee to participate could be included as a monitoring protocol
in the Title II Federal Program Monitoring process. This is not
anticipated to result in significant costs to the CDE.
COMMENTS: Commencing with hiring for the 2016-17 school year,
this bill requires a school district, COE or charter school
hiring a beginning teacher to provide that teacher with an
induction program. If a district does not operate an induction
program for its teachers, it is unclear how teachers at that
district will be served. It is potentially possible that
teachers at districts that do not operate an induction program
may have trouble finding an induction program locally, since
neighboring districts may not allow them in their program due to
the fact that the district is prohibited from charging a fee.
These teachers would be forced to pay for a Clear Credential
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program at an institution of higher education.
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 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, 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 (Alpert), Chapter 548, Statutes of 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.
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From 1995 until 2009 BTSA Induction programs operated with
dedicated annual funding based on a per-participating teacher
allocation (with a required local educational agency (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 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
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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
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 California State
Universities, 3 Universities of California, 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.
Analysis Prepared by:
Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN:
0002346
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