BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 916
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Allen |
|-----------+-----------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |January 27, 2016 Hearing Date: |
| | April 20, 2016 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant:|Lenin Del Castillo |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Teacher credentialing
SUMMARY
This bill adds dance and theatre credentials to the existing
list of 13 single subject credentials the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing (CTC) is authorized to issue.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1) Authorizes the CTC to issue single subject teaching
credentials in the following 13 subjects: agriculture, art,
business, English, foreign language, health science, home
economics, industrial and technology education,
mathematics, music, physical education, science, and social
science. The CTC is authorized to issue the single subject
credential in foreign language with an authorization to
teach Chinese, French, German, Russian, Spanish, or any
other language that the CTC determines is appropriate.
(Education Code § 44257)
2) Authorizes the CTC to issue a multiple or single subject
teaching credential with a specified concentration in a
particular subject based upon the depth of an applicant's
preparation in an important subject of the school
curriculum in order to ensure excellence in teaching in
specific subjects.
SB 916 (Allen) Page 2
of ?
(Education Code § 44257.2)
3) Authorizes the CTC to issue credentials for teaching
specialties, including bilingual education, early childhood
education, and special education. Education specialist
teaching credentials are to be based upon a baccalaureate
degree from an accredited institution, completion of a
program of professional preparation, and standards that the
CTC may establish.
(Education Code § 44265)
4) Specifies that school districts maintaining grades 7-12
must offer, among other courses, visual and performing
arts, including art, music, theatre, or dance, with
emphasis upon development of aesthetic appreciation and the
skills of creative expression. (Education Code § 51220)
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Adds dance and theatre credentials to the existing list of
13 single subject credentials the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing (CTC) is authorized to issue.
2) Provides that 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.
3) Provides that 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.
4) Provides that 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
SB 916 (Allen) Page 3
of ?
authorization to teach dance from teaching dance.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the author's office, "in
order to teach dance, a teacher must obtain a credential in
physical education, even though the standards for teaching
dance are separate from the standards for teaching physical
education. Similarly, to teach theatre, an instructor must
obtain an English credential, even though an English
credential provides no training in theatre instruction.
Dance and theatre are the only two subject areas with
discrete subject standards that are not taught under their
own single-subject credential."
The author's office indicates that dance and theatre
undergraduate majors are prevalent in California with 73
public and private colleges and universities offering dance
majors, and 131 colleges offering theatre majors. These
students earning degrees in dance or theatre are unable to
teach in their respective fields unless they get a
credential in physical education or English.
2) Visual and performing arts framework. Existing law
specifies that school districts maintaining grades 7-12
must offer courses in visual and performing arts, including
art, music, theatre, or dance, with emphasis upon
development if aesthetic appreciation and the skills of
creative expression. Additionally, the framework and
content standards for visual and performing arts adopted by
the State Board of Education include the four disciplines
of dance, music, theater, and visual arts. Two of these
content areas, art and music, have single subject
credential authorizations. However, the other two content
areas of dance and theatre do not have single subject
credentials despite having discrete content standards.
3) Current options for teaching theatre and dance. As
indicated above under Comment No. 2, single subject
credentials in dance or theatre do not currently exist in
the state. Those subjects are subsumed within the physical
education and English single subject credentials. There
are subject matter authorizations which may be added to
SB 916 (Allen) Page 4
of ?
single subject, multiple subject, standard elementary,
standard secondary, and special secondary teaching
credentials. This enables the credential holder to teach
an authorized subject at any grade level, including an
authorization to teach dance as part of the physical
education department or theatre as part of the English
department. The subject matter authorization typically
requires completion of 32 semester units of non-remedial
coursework in the subject or major directly related to the
subject listed on the credential.
Additionally, a supplementary authorization may be added to
the various teaching credentials for any grade level.
Similarly, dance courses may be found within the physical
education department while theatre courses may be found as
part of the English department. A supplementary
authorization typically requires completion of 20 semester
units of collegiate coursework in the subject or 10 upper
division and graduate coursework in the specific subject of
the authorization.
4) Impact on the existing authorizations? While the bill adds
the authority for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing
to issue single subject credentials in dance and theatre,
it does not appear to expressly prohibit the continued use
of the existing authorizations to teach dance and theatre
courses. To the extent that there is ambiguity on the
bill's implications, the author may wish to consider
addressing this as the bill moves forward.
5) Grandfathering provisions. The bill includes provisions
that are intended to protect the teachers that are
currently teaching dance and theatre under the physical
education and English credentials. To protect existing
candidates in the pipeline that are working towards
completing a teacher preparation program, staff recommends
that the bill be amended to allow these candidates to
complete their programs without meeting any new
requirements imposed as a result of this bill after the
candidates' enrollment in those programs.
6) Previous legislation.
AB 752 (Davis, 1999) proposed to create an emphasis
SB 916 (Allen) Page 5
of ?
credential in theatre and dance to holders of English and
physical education credentials. This measure passed the
Legislature and was enrolled to the Governor, but
subsequently withdrawn at the author's request.
AB 1052 (Davis, 1998), similar to this measure, proposed to
provide a single subject credential in dance and theatre
but was vetoed by Governor Wilson with the following
message:
This bill would require the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing to adopt regulations establishing new
standards for theater and dance teachers within
existing single subject teaching credentials.
Appreciation of the arts is an important part of every
child's education, and should be encouraged. But this
bill imposes a needless and unrealistic burden upon
the holders of most single subject credentials that is
wholly unrelated to their chosen discipline. A far
more relevant and appropriate approach to achieving
the same result was that taken by Senate Concurrent
Resolution 31 of 1994.
SUPPORT
California Alliance for Arts Education
California Association for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance
California Educational Theatre Association
California Federation of Teachers
California Music Educators Association
California State PTA
California Teachers Association
Common Sense Kids Action
Los Angeles Unified School District
National Art Education Association
National Association for Music Education
National Dance Education Organization
National Educational Theatre Association
Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio
Artists
Teaching Artists Guild
United Teachers Los Angeles
Letters from individuals
SB 916 (Allen) Page 6
of ?
OPPOSITION
None received.
-- END --