BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1918 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 1918 (O'Donnell) - As Amended March 8, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Education |Vote:|6 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill authorizes county offices of education (COE) to issue temporary certificates to teachers employed at nonpublic schools (NPS), including out-of-state teachers, while their credential applications are being processed at the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC), and increases background check requirements for all applicants for temporary certificates. Specifically, this bill: AB 1918 Page 2 1)Requires that, prior to issuing a temporary certificate, COEs and school districts obtain a certificate of clearance for the individual from the CCTC. 2)Requires the CCTC to honor requests from the California Department of Education (CDE) to expedite the processing of applications on behalf of employees at NPS to the same degree the CCTC does for requests from another employing agency. 3)Requires the CDE to recognize the authority of all teacher permits, credentials, and certificates issued by the commission or a county, or city and county, board of education. 4)Sunsets on July 1, 2024, provisions of the bill authorizing the provision of temporary certificates to teachers employed at NPSs. FISCAL EFFECT: 1)General Fund administrative costs to the CCTC of approximately $90,000 for the increased workload related to prioritizing review of certification applications submitted by holders of temporary teaching certificates. 2)Proposition 98/GF cost pressure, potentially in the low tens of thousands of dollars, for county offices of education to issue temporary certificates to teachers in nonpublic schools. According to the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, the average cost of issuing a temporary credential is $100. There are 1704 NPS classrooms statewide. Assuming 20% of are in need of a temporary credential, and AB 1918 Page 3 COEs choose to issue these credentials, statewide costs would be approximately $34,000. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. NPS classrooms must be certified by the California Department of Education (CDE) in order to serve special education students. If a NPS classroom is inappropriately staffed, the CDE cannot certify the classroom and the classroom or program may be threatened with closure. The acute teacher shortage in special education can make maintaining certified programs challenging. The California Association of Private Special Education Schools (who represent NPS) are sponsoring this bill to allow NPS classrooms to be staffed by teachers issued a temporary teaching certificate. This bill also strengthens background checks for ALL teachers authorized by temporary certificates, and codifies the existing practice of issuing temporary certificates for teachers prepared out of state. 2)Temporary certificates. School districts have the ability to hire a teacher whose credential application is pending at the CCTC if a COE issues a temporary teaching certificate. Temporary certificates are generally used to provide salary payments to employees whose credential or permit applications are pending at the CCTC. These certificates are granted if the individual has passed the state assessment of teachers' basic skills and the COE has obtained a criminal record summary from the Department of Justice (DOJ). These temporary AB 1918 Page 4 certificates are valid for one year, although credentials are usually cleared by the CCTC within 10 to 50 days. 3)Certificates of Clearance. Under current law, county offices of education obtain a background check through the DOJ before issuing a temporary certificate. This bill requires teachers to instead obtain a certificate of clearance from the CCTC prior to issuance of a temporary certificate. A certificate of clearance involves a more thorough background check through the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) database, which contains information about credentials in other states that have been annulled, denied, suspended, revoked, or otherwise invalidated. A certificate of clearance is required for all new credential applications, so this check would happen for the credential applicant whether or not he or she were applying for a temporary certificate. The fee for the certificate is applied to the applicant's credential processing fee. According to the CCTC, the certificate is generally issued in 1-2 days for applicants with no issues of concern. Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081 AB 1918 Page 5