BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 915|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 915
Author: Liu (D), et al.
Amended: 5/31/16
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 8-0, 3/9/16
AYES: Liu, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Teacher recruitment: California Center on Teaching
Careers
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill re-stablishes the California Center on
Teaching Careers (Cal Teach) for the purpose of recruiting
qualified individuals into the teaching profession.
Specifically, this bill requires the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing (CTC), subject to an appropriation, to contract
with a local educational agency to establish the program, as
specified.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Establishes the Local Control Funding Formula which
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permanently consolidated the vast majority of categorical
programs, including the Professional Development Block Grant
which supported professional development activities such as
teacher recruitment and retention incentives, along with
revenue limit apportionments, into a single source of
funding.
2) Eliminates the statutory and programmatic requirements for
almost all of these categorical programs, leaving any related
activities left to local school districts' discretion.
This bill:
1) Establishes Cal Teach for the purpose of recruiting
qualified and capable individuals into the teaching
profession.
2) Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI),
subject to an appropriation, to provide a multiyear grant to
a local educational agency through a competitive grant
process to establish Cal Teach with the concurrence of
representatives of the CTC, the University of California, the
California State University, community colleges, and
independent institutions of higher education, as specified.
3) Defines "concurrence" as an agreement on priorities, goals
and general objectives, as specified, and the order in which
the duties specified in this chapter are undertaken.
4) Requires that the activities of Cal Teach be implemented
with the active involvement of local education agencies that
elect to participate.
5) Provides that the duties of Cal Teach include, but not be
limited to:
a) Developing and distributing statewide public service
announcements and publications relating to teacher
recruitment.
b) Developing, modifying, and distributing effective
recruitment publications.
c) Providing information to prospective teachers
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regarding requirements for obtaining a teaching
credential.
d) Providing specific information to prospective teachers
regarding admission to and enrollment into conventional
and alternative teacher preparation programs, including
identification of public and private postsecondary
educational institutions that provide an integrated
four-year preparation program.
e) Providing specific information to prospective teachers
regarding financial aid and loan assistance programs.
f) Creating or expanding a referral database for
qualified teachers seeking employment in the public
schools.
g) Developing and conducting outreach activities to both
prospective teacher candidates in high school and college
and to existing teachers and paraprofessionals to fill
existing teacher shortage areas.
6) Provides that Cal Teach, in conducting its duties, shall
focus on chronic teacher shortage areas, including special
education and bilingual teachers.
7) Provides that Cal Teach, in conducting its duties, shall
coordinate and work collaboratively with the Education Job
Opportunities Information Network, existing teacher
recruitment centers, school districts, county offices of
education, and other teachers clubs and organizations.
8) Requires Cal Teach to periodically reassess its recruitment
activities aimed at individuals from different populations or
target audiences for effectiveness and efficiencies in light
of the state's teacher workforce, changing market conditions,
changes to state and federal law, and any other evolving
circumstances.
9) Requires Cal Teach to periodically review all products and
communication tools for accuracy, quality, ease of use, and
effectiveness. Requires Cal Teach to consider developing and
distributing statewide public service announcements and
recruitment publications in other languages and that are
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culturally and linguistically representative of California's
diverse population and communities.
10)Requires the CTC, on or before January 1, 2020, report to
the Department of Finance, relevant policy and fiscal
committees of the Legislature, and the Legislative Analyst's
Office on the outcomes of Cal Teach, including, but not
limited to, both of the following:
a) A focus on information that identifies the impact of Cal
Teach on meeting the objective of recruiting teachers for
California schools.
b) Survey data from a representative sample of teacher
preparation candidates, new teachers, and school districts
to assess which methods of public outreach and engagement
were most impactful on recruitment.
Comments
Need for the bill. The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) recently
released a report, "Addressing California's Emerging Teacher
Shortage: An Analysis of Sources and Solutions." In this
report, the LPI included the following summary: "After many
years of teacher layoffs in California, school districts around
the state are hiring again. With the influx of new K-12
funding, districts are looking to lower student-teacher ratios
and reinstate classes and programs that were reduced or
eliminated during the Great Recession. However, mounting
evidence indicates
that teacher supply has not kept pace with the increased
demand." The report included the following findings:
1) Enrollment in educator preparation programs has dropped by more
than 70 percent over the last decade.
2) In 2014-15, provisional and short-term permits nearly tripled
from the number issued two years earlier, growing from about
850 to more than 2,400.
3) The number of teachers hired on substandard permits and
credentials nearly doubled in the last two years, to more
than 7,700 comprising a third of all the new credentials
issued in 2014-15.
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4) Estimated teacher hires for the 2015-16 school year increased
by 25 percent from the previous year while enrollment in the
University of California and the California State University
teacher education programs increased by only about 3.8
percent.
SB 915 is part of a legislative package along with SB 933
(Allen) and SB 62 (Pavley) to help address the looming teacher
shortage. Specifically, this bill proposes to re-establish Cal
Teach and help recruit teacher candidates from colleges, other
careers, and other states and identify critical shortage areas
throughout the state. It will also help prospective teacher
candidates navigate the credentialing process and provide them
with valuable information regarding financial aid and loan
assistance programs.
LPI recommendations. The LPI report offered several policy
recommendations for consideration. These recommendations
include the reinstatement of Cal Teach and the establishment of
incentives to attract diverse, talented individuals to teach in
high-need locations and fields. This can be accomplished
through programs that provide funding for candidates who prepare
and teach in such schools and subject areas, e.g. the Assumption
Program of Loans for Education, which is the focus of SB 62
(Pavley). The report also recommends the creation of more
innovative pipelines into teaching, such as high school career
pathways or teacher preparation models that encourage and
support young people and others to go into teaching in their own
communities.
Original Cal Teach program. Cal Teach was initially created in
1997 for the purpose of recruiting qualified and capable
individuals into the teaching profession. The enabling
legislation, SB 824 (Green, Chapter 864, Statutes of 1997)
directed Cal Teach to provide support for the public relations
and media campaigns for teacher recruitments centers in the
state. The program was administered by the California State
University and conducted its responsibilities in a variety of
methods, including a Web site, telephone hotline and call
center, media campaigns, outreach, and collaboration. However,
due to state budget constraints, the program was last funded in
2001-2002 and subsequently repealed on January 1, 2008.
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This bill re-establishes Cal Teach with virtually the same
program elements and responsibilities as when it was
administered by the California State University. However, the
program would be administered by a local educational agency
subject to funds being made available for that purpose.
Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) assessment. As part of its
Proposition 98 Education Analysis for the 2016-17 Governor's
Budget released in February 2016, the LAO includes a section on
teacher workforce trends in which it examines evidence for
teacher shortages in specific areas, identifies and assesses
past policy responses to these shortages, and raises issues for
the Legislature to consider going forward in terms of new policy
responses. In the report, the LAO indicates that the statewide
teacher market will help alleviate existing shortages over time
and that the shortages may decrease without direct state action.
However, the LAO notes there are perennial staffing
difficulties in specific areas, such as special education, math,
and science, for which they encourage the Legislature to address
with narrowly tailored policies rather than with broad statewide
policies. Specifically, they recommend the Legislature
"consider outreach to re-engage former teachers or recruit
out-of-state teachers. Both of these strategies are among the
most cost-effective for increasing the supply of teachers within
California in the short-term. If the state were to spend
one-time funds on outreach, we encourage it to focus
specifically on recruiting individuals who are trained to teach
in perennial shortage areas. Outreach can attract viable
teachers much faster and at a lower cost than many other
shortage policies."
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Program operation: Unknown cost pressure, but could be in the
low millions to low tens of millions based on historical
funding levels of the former program. (Proposition 98)
Administrative costs: Unknown one-time costs, potentially in
the tens of thousands for the CTC to provide a multiyear grant
to a local educational agency through a competitive process.
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(General Fund)
Concurrence requirement: The California State University cites
costs of about $2,000 per campus in staff time to provide
teacher education program information to Cal Teach. Assuming
this estimate for all University of California and CSU
campuses that offer teacher preparation programs, costs would
be about $60,000 General Fund. The California Community
Colleges Chancellor's Office and the CTC indicate minor and
absorbable costs related to this requirement.
SUPPORT: (Verified 5/27/16)
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
California Teachers Association
Californians Together Coalition
Common Sense Kids Action
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
StudentsFirst
Students Matter
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/27/16)
None received
Prepared by:Lenin DelCastillo / ED. / (916) 651-4105
5/31/16 21:58:33
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