BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1918
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1918 (O'Donnell) - As Amended March 8, 2016
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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:
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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
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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
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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
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