BILL NUMBER: SB 916	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Allen
   (Coauthors: Senators Fuller and Hertzberg)

                        JANUARY 27, 2016

   An act to amend Section 44257 of the Education Code, relating to
teacher credentialing.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 916, as introduced, Allen. Teacher credentialing.
   Existing law authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to
issue single subject teaching credentials only in specific subjects.

   This bill would add dance and theatre to the list of authorized
subjects.
   Existing law authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to
authorize a person who holds a certain teaching credential and who
has completed 20 semester hours of coursework or 10 semester hours of
upper division or graduate coursework approved by the commission at
an accredited institution in any subject commonly taught in grades 7
to 12, inclusive, other than the subject for which he or she is
already certificated to teach, to have this subject appear on the
credential as an authorization to teach this subject.
   This bill would provide that a person issued a single subject
teaching credential in physical education or English before the
establishment of a single subject teaching credential in dance or
theatre, respectively, is authorized to teach in dance or theatre,
respectively.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 44257 of the Education Code is amended to read:

   44257.  (a) The commission shall issue single subject teaching
credentials only in the following subjects:
   (1) Agriculture.
   (2) Art.
   (3) Business. 
   (4) Dance.  
   (4) 
    (5)  English. 
   (5) 
    (6)  Foreign Language. 
   (6) 
    (7)  Health Science. 
   (7) 
    (8)  Home Economics. 
   (8) 
    (9)  Industrial and Technology Education. 
   (9) 
    (10)  Mathematics. 
   (10) 
    (11)  Music. 
   (11) 
    (12)  Physical Education. 
   (12) 
    (13)  Science. 
   (13) 
    (14)  Social Science. 
   (15) Theatre. 
   (b) The commission shall issue the single subject  teaching
 credential in foreign language with an authorization to teach
Chinese, French, German, Russian, Spanish, or any other language that
the commission determines is appropriate.
   (c) Subjects that are commonly taught in departmentalized classes
in California public schools shall be subsumed under the credential
categories in subdivision  (a) of this section. 
 (a). 
   (d) The commission shall issue single subject teaching credentials
in the categories that were identified in Section 44282 as of
December 31, 1993, to applicants who were in the process of preparing
to earn those credentials  prior to   before
 the effective date of the commission's implementation of
subdivision (a). 
   (e) (1) A person issued a single subject teaching credential in
English before the establishment of a single subject teaching
credential in theatre is authorized to teach theatre.  
   (2) A person issued a single subject teaching credential in
physical education before the establishment of a single subject
teaching credential in dance is authorized to teach dance.  

   (f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a
school district from employing a person who holds a single subject
teaching credential in another subject with an authorization to teach
theatre from teaching theatre, or a person who holds a single
subject teaching credential in another subject with an authorization
to teach dance from teaching dance.