BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 916 (Allen) - Teacher credentialing
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|Version: April 27, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: This bill requires the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing (CTC) to issue two new single subject teaching
credentials; one in dance and one in theater.
Fiscal Summary: The CTC anticipates the cost to implement this
bill would be between $400,000 and $500,000 to develop
credential standards and develop both the dance and theater
exams for certification. To the extent the intent of this bill
is to no longer allow future physical education and English
teachers to be authorized to teach dance and theater
respectively, the CTC would incur additional costs to redevelop
those exams. (Test Development and Administration Account)
Background: Existing law authorizes the CTC to issue single
subject teaching credentials in 13 subjects. It also requires
that school districts maintaining grades 7-12 must offer, among
other courses, visual and performing arts, including art, music,
theater, or dance, with emphasis upon development of aesthetic
appreciation and the skills of creative expression. The visual
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and performance arts content standards and curriculum framework
adopted by the State Board of Education include 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 theater do not have single subject credentials despite
having discrete content standards.
Currently dance and theater are subsumed within the physical
education and English single subject credentials. Dance courses
may be offered in departments such as physical education or
anthropology. Theater course work may be found in the English,
drama, and theatre departments. A specific subject matter
authorization can be added to a single subject teaching
credential and other credentials, which authorizes the holder to
teach specific subjects, including dance and theater, at any
grade level.
Also, a supplementary authorization may be added to various
teaching credentials, including the single subject teaching
credential. According to the CTC Subject Matter Authorization
Guideline Book, one major difference between the supplementary
authorizations and the subject matter authorizations is the
option of adding the specific subject authorizations to both
single and multiple subject credentials whereas specific
supplementary authorizations may only be added to single subject
credentials.
Proposed Law: This bill requires the CTC to issue two new single
subject teaching credentials; one in dance and one in theater.
This bill grandfathers in people that have been issued a single
subject teaching credential in English before the establishment
of the new credential in theater, allowing them to continue to
teach theater. The same grandfathering-in provision applies to
physical education and dance. This bill also provides that
nothing in it 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
theater from teaching theater, or a person who holds a
credential in another subject with an authorization to teach
dance, from teaching dance.
Related Legislation: AB 752 (Davis, 2000) proposed to create an
emphasis credential in theater and dance to holders of English
and physical education credentials. This measure was vetoed by
SB 916 (Allen) Page 2 of
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Governor Davis.
AB 1024 (Davis, 1998), similar to this bill, proposed to provide
a single subject credential in dance and theater but was vetoed
by Governor Wilson, whose veto message indicated that it imposes
a needless and unrealistic burden upon the holders of most
single subject credentials that is wholly unrelated to their
chosen discipline.
Staff Comments: The Test Development and Administration Account
was created in the Teacher Credentials Fund as a depository for
all fees collected by the CTC for tests, examinations, or
assessments, as specified, for the development, maintenance, or
administration of tests or other assessments established,
required, or administered by the CTC. As of the 2016-17
Governor's Budget, this account had a reserve of $2.9 million in
the 2014-15 fiscal year.
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