BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2353 (McCarty) - Teacher professional development:
culturally responsive instruction
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|Version: June 21, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill requires the California Department of
Education (CDE) to identify professional development programs in
culturally responsive instruction and provide links to those
programs on its website. This bill also authorizes local
educational agencies (LEAs) to use professional development
funding appropriated in the Budget Act of 2015 to provide
professional development in culturally responsive instruction.
Fiscal
Impact:
CDE estimates about $150,000 one-time General Fund for experts
to review and identify programs to post online and for CDE
staff to support the project. These costs include the
substitute reimbursements and travel costs for 20 volunteer
teachers to serve as reviewers for three days and for four
content experts. To the extent that the intent of this bill
AB 2353 (McCarty) Page 1 of
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could also be met with consultation of a select few experts
and a comparable reduction in administrative oversight, costs
to the state could be mitigated.
Background: The Budget Act of 2015 included $490 million Proposition 98
for LEAs to promote educator effectiveness to be spent over
three years, until the 2017-18 fiscal year. LEAs may use this
funding for the following purposes:
Beginning teacher and administrator support and mentoring;
Professional development, coaching, and support services for
teachers who have been identified as needing improvement or
additional support by LEAs.
Professional development for teachers and administrators that
is aligned to the state academic content standards.
To promote educator quality and effectiveness, including
mentoring and coaching certificated staff and training
certificated staff to support effective teaching and learning.
(AB 104, 2015, Section 58)
According to the author's office, the California Teacher
Credentialing Commission is responsible for, among other things,
ensuring that teachers receive appropriate training in cultural
competency as part of their pre-service and induction programs.
However, this structure does not include strategies for ensuring
the competency of those who seek employment in a school district
where racial and cultural makeup of the student body is vastly
different from the school district where they were trained in
their core competencies.
Proposed Law:
This bill requires the CDE to identify professional
development programs in culturally responsive instruction and
provide links to those programs on its website. This bill also
AB 2353 (McCarty) Page 2 of
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authorizes LEAs to use the $490 million Proposition 98 that was
appropriated in the Budget Act of 2015 for teacher professional
development to provide professional development in culturally
responsive instruction.
In the context of this bill, an LEA is a school district, county
office of education, charter school, or a state special school.
Staff
Comments: This bill specifically authorizes the use of teacher
effectiveness funding appropriated in the Budget Act of 2015 to
be used to provide professional development in culturally
responsive instruction. According to the CDE, all funding has
been allocated to LEAs. As a condition of receiving funds,
existing law provides that LEAs develop a plan delineating how
funds will be spent and submit the reports to CDE by July 1,
2018. The CDE is required to submit a summary of the
information reported by LEAs and to the Legislature and the
Department of Finance by January 1, 2019. Without this report,
it is unclear how LEAs will prioritize the use of these funds
and whether they have been committed to other professional
development activities.
This bill would expand the use of funds agreed to by the
Administration and the Legislature in last year's budget act for
which LEAs may have already planned and budgeted.
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