BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2248
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2248 (Holden) - As Amended April 21, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill authorizes the California Commission on Teacher
Credentialing (CCTC) to issue bilingual teaching authorizations
to out-of-state teachers, if the teacher has met preliminary
credential requirements and holds a valid out-of-state
AB 2248
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credential authorizing instruction in a student's primary
language.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor/absorbable costs to the CCTC to review out-of-state
bilingual teacher credentials.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. Under current law, if an out-of-state teacher is
applying for a California teaching credential, and evidence of
a full English learner authorization from a state other than
California is submitted with their application, there is no
need to apply separately for the English learner teaching
authorization. This process is not available to bilingual
out-of-state teachers. This bill is intended to create a
streamlined teaching authorization process for out-of-state
bilingual teachers, similar to the process available to
teachers seeking an authorization to teach English learners.
According to the author, this will allow teachers new to
California, but not new to teaching, to begin working sooner.
2)Background. In addition to the overall shortage of
credentialed teachers in the state, there are chronic and
severe shortages in certain areas, such as math, science, and
special education. There is growing evidence that the state
is facing a shortage of bilingual teachers as well. The
number of bilingual authorizations issued by the CCTC has
declined from 2,195 in 2003-04 to 733 in 2013-14. At the same
time, language immersion and dual language immersion programs
have gained in popularity, increasing the demand for certified
bilingual teachers.
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Demand for bilingual teachers may increase significantly if an
initiative on the November 2016 ballot is approved by the
voters. SB 1174 (Lara), Chapter 753, Statutes of 2014
authorized the ballot initiative that would amend and repeal
various provisions of Proposition 227 of 1998. This includes
repealing the requirement that all children be taught English
by being taught in English and instead allows LEAs to
determine the best language instruction methods and language
acquisition programs to implement.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081